House of the Sea Bajau, a photo from Sabah, East

Photographer's Note

This is a house of a Sea Bajau (sea nomads) family, an ethnic minority living on the islands off east coast of Malaysian Borneo. Sea Bajau build their houses on or near those islands. Some of their homes are located way into the sea, when the water is still shallow enough to reach the bottom with long stilts.

As you can see here Sea Bajau are very poor by our standards and live relatively simple lifes. They move around the islands, and that means they do not stay in one place for too long. That's why their homes look so rickety. Nevertheless, these houses are strong enough to protect them from the sun, rain and wind (except for typhoons and hurricanes, of course).

This photo was taken near the island of Mantabuan. It was quite early, the light was not strong yet - the colours of the sky and sea mixed perfectly. Seeing those houses somewhere in the sea was kind of a surreal experience.

WelshTraveller, avene, bisok, Floydian, marine-coeur, Waylim, asajernigan, rabani, patdeph, Atousa, ilDottore oznaczył to zdjęcie jeko użyteczne

Critiques | Translate

WelshTraveller (354) 2008-10-20 13:14

Hi Michal

Nice shot of everyday life.

TFS David

avene (12675) 2008-10-20 13:21

very nice work, Michal, I like a lot the intense blue colour and that it is almost impossible separate the water from the sky, the feeling of "Waterworld" is quite overwhelming. the red clothes add good colour accent, and I quite like the simple composition, it lets the viewer focus on the content of the shot.

best,
Kristine

bisok (948) 2008-10-20 13:35

Hi Michał

Czyż nie cudowny kraj ? Malezja ? Malaysia ?
Gdzieś na CNN czy BBC kraj ten reklamował się jako "Truly Asia"
Myślę, iż to bardzo trafne określenie. Zresztą co ja tu będę ... Sam dobrze wiesz.

...

Posługujesz się sprzętem firmy którą bardzo cenię. Potrafisz go dobrze wykorzystać. Ja niestety korzystam z 8 letniego Olka no i efekty tego są takie jakie są.

...

Serdeczności z tamtych stron.

Mirek

Floydian (30970) 2008-10-20 13:45

Hi Michal,
What a life, what a misery to live like that, but also good in seeing and presenting this. Glad you put the little boat with the woman in the frame, it makes the image alive and really shows how these people live. Technical speaking it's okay, but i am more impressed how people live all over the world....very good work in showing this.
Regards, Henk

marine-coeur (1072) 2008-10-20 13:57

Evryday life,and their happy house, hopefully image, lovely details all the best for this family
Well done MICHAL.

toni_al (15875) 2008-10-20 14:03

Salut Michal
Une image qui nous emmene dans le reve lointain, dans les iles.
salutations
Toni

Waylim (25436) 2008-10-20 16:07

Michal,
this is wonderful I love it, such a good depiction of hard life in part of the world, this may seems hard, but if that is all they know, in their own perspective, life is good. Just like when I was little living in Laos, I didn't know I was miserable until now that I live here in the U.S. From our perspective, that is a hard life, but they do the best they can and seem happy.
Thanks
Way

asajernigan (21427) 2008-10-20 18:07

Michal,
This is a great shot of this stilt house. The lighting and colors are great with excellent sharpness and detail. There seems to be very little difference between the color of the sea and sky.
TFS,
Asa

rabani (9645) 2008-10-20 20:10

Hi Michal,
It has been a while since I last posted and when I do, it's usually after an assignment where I have the time to post, write and comment/critique.

Thank you Michal that you found my works of the Sea Bajau, drawing enough for you to come here and study them. It was a surreal experience to myself too when I first came across them years ago. And staying with them over the years to document their livelihood and way of life was an eye opener.

I liked what you have taken here. I too would have done the same like you did. While getting the shelter is very objective at any time, the lady with her baby on the sampan is the strongest feature of your work here. This makes your work, thoughtful beside educational to others. It shows that you are a thinking photographer and not just a seeing one. Better photographers always teach or show and tell.

Regards
Rabani

Atousa (7131) 2008-10-20 22:58

Salam Michal,

What a simple life! an unusual place to live!..very interesting capture with worth seeing details ..good timing too..thanks for sharing.
Regards, A

ilDottore (5252) 2008-10-21 1:55

Hej Michał,
Bardzo egzotyczne zdjęcie z fantastyczną notką.
Dowód, że można zyć inaczej - nawet dziś. Dowód przeciwko poglądowi, głoszonemu przez niektórych, że mamy oto XXI wiek.
Naprawdę?
Zmiana słoika na dłuższy i już jakość optyczna zdjęcia spadła niestety. Jakże wiele zalezy od szkła! Szczególnie gdy swiatło nie najlepsze...
Natomiast kompozycja i idea zdjęcia doskonałe. Bez przeróbek do National Geographic! Należy się! :)
Pozdrawiam!
Krzysiek

patdeph (35750) 2008-10-21 3:16

hello Michal
incredible!I have the same!But for me ,the weather was grey,and I have not this nice blue tones and luminosity!I love the gowing water and the reflection,and I love that the blue of the sky and water are exactly the same!The woman in the boat is a superb subject to show how these people live!Yes,they are poor,but they are free,and seem happy of their life!I miss this sensation of freedom in our society or only the money is important!Maybe I would like to rejoin these Bajau later!
Best regards
Pascale

romalek (3126) 2008-10-21 11:27

Witaj
Ładna fotka, pomimo że dom jest prowizoryczny to i tak urzeka swoim urokiem. Jak zawsze bardzo dobra ostrość, piekne kolory
pozdrowienia
Roman