Photographer Carolyn McKay is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this documentary photography. From the book ‘All She Is – Encounters with Women of Bali’. For more info click on any photograph.

Beyond the ceremony – where the lives of Balinese women unfold

All She Is – Encounters with Women of Bali

Book By

Carolyn McKay

This premium hardcover photo book features more than 50 intimate and authentic images from time I have spent with women across the island. Images that explore how Balinese women are navigating the tensions between tradition and ‘modernity’ in a tourism-driven society. It is a collective story about identity, and the recurring themes of faith, sisterhood, responsibility, and community.

I have been travelling to Bali for more than 25 years. Like many other visitors, I was enamoured by the daily canang sari, temple ceremonies with their flowers and incense, men in their payat alit and women in kebaya. The beauty, the calm, the meditation for all the senses …. the ‘typical’ postcard.

It is 5 years since my first ‘workshop’ with National Geographic photographer John Stanmeyer. And there have been several since. It is with his support that my passion for photography as storytelling grew.

And I began to see Bali differently …

It was John who planted the seed, the idea of this book – long before I thought it was a possibility. Hence this project – and my vision to share this with a larger audience, my desire to honour these women.

Pre-order

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/carolynmckay/all-she-is-encounters-with-women-of-bali

Originally from Australia, and now in Sri Lanka, I have also spent time living in Jakarta, London and New York, with many travels in between. Through my years as an educator, and later managing small hotels, photography was a constant.

My travels, living in different communities and working with a rich cross-section of humanity, enables me to engage naturally and respectfully with people across cultural and language barriers. These opportunities and experiences continue to humble me, have cultivated a heart for justice, and a need to acknowledge those I meet.

I recognise how this shapes me into the photographer I am today, and will continue to influence the artist I am becoming – as my eye is honed, and my passion is fuelled.

This passion continues to evolve as I seek to bear witness through visual storytelling – honouring those I meet with stories about connection, and about the humanity in us all.

These are not posed, stylised or studio portraits. My work is about honouring and bearing witness; respecting each individual, and pictorially saying – I see you.

I am a photographer. I believe in the power of photography as storytelling.

All images & text © Carolyn McKay