Idul Fitri

The celebration of the end of Ramadan for Islamic society.

Most religious cultures have some version of fasting, 'Lent' springs to mind. In most religions the fasting part has been consigned to the history books, but not in the Islamic society. Every man, woman and child is proud to take part in this month long religious festival.

You might think that a hard working farmer tending his fields all day, might forgive himself a sneaky ciggy, but oh no! I have been watching my farmer friends every day and they have all been true to the principles of Ramadan, they have all been good boys.

On the final day of Ramadan, all the Mosques are in full vocal mode, chanting non-stop for 24hours. The atmosphere is awesome, with as many as half a dozen Mosques within earshot, all the sounds clashing and merging in a gradual crescendo throughout the night.

The streets fill with smiling faces, kids beating drums, fireworks, feasting and general merriment, without the staggering and falling over bit I might add! Not a good day for goats though!

At first light this morning, feeling the need for my daily blip-fix, I wrapped my knees and headed for the paddy fields. As I arrived, the air was already heavy with the very Indonesian smell of burning cloves. A big cloud of smoke billowed up from the middle of the rice paddy and then the farmer's head popped up. There was never any question of what would be today's blip, as the farmer celebrated Idul Fitri in his own way, savouring his first post Ramadan kretek (clove cigarette).

I removed the lens hood and under exposed to try and capture some atmosphere, a bit of an experiment. Not so sure it worked but it is not always about pin sharp images, sometimes it's all about the moment!

Dave