During a family celebration in Batuan Village, Bali, and with our friend Wayan praying at the family temple, I took the time to try and engage with the family. I stumbled on this most beautiful of creatures sitting still and watching the goings on. No words were spoken as she radiated through the lens and into my imagination. Beauty is in everyone in this small painting village that I have been traveling to all month to visit artists.

After a day of computer work, we hop on the motorbike and head out to the painting village of Penastanan and onward to the hillside temple there to find man-sized Carp in the fish ponds there and a temple meeting place, at the moment, being used by kids on skateboards practising on their grind skills.

Family temple celebrations start at around 3:00am when the men get up early to begin roasting the suckling pig over an open flame. The women prepare dishes like Lawar and blood sausage. The temple is in the yard and the family gathers for prayer and offerings. Food comes next. After that, everyone hits exhaustion. Then we all get back on our motorbikes and head home.

Young 5 year old dancers apply their makeup by cell phone before the long process of adding a head dress and other details. The makeup gives them another-worldly appearance that is at once beautiful and terrifying.

The day after a family ceremony the kitchen is quiet over at Wayan’s place. His mother and father treat up to some treats and fruits. We have a funny conversation about how much tourists pay for food and make a loose plan to create a fruit empire, then burst into laughter.

Another cremation parade through Ubud ends at the Sacred Monkey Forest where the man and wife are burned ceremonially. Monkey’s from the jungle there sit amongst tombstones and pick away at the offerings left behind - small distilled water containers, crackers and fruit.

Ubud’s largest temple holds a quarterly celebration, as all temples in Bali must. It ends up being a variety show with a lot of religious oversight. The highlight was this very young dancer whom somehow defied an age with piercing eyes that dart from side to side as if electrified. Her trained fingers and toes create the mood while the gong music haunts the crowd and fools them into feelings of soft joy and attacking terror. We are looking at a star entertainer in the making. She leapt through the lens and somehow forced me to take dozens of pictures!