Cock Fighting is a tradition that has existed in Bali for centuries. Its current status is that it's 'illegal' other than when it takes place as part of a religious ceremony when the number of fights is restricted to three.

Illicit fights still take place across the island. Here there is no restriction on the number of fights. The cocks are matched carefully to ensure an even contest after which a razor sharp spur is attached to the cock's leg. A feverish round of betting then takes place after which the birds are brought together for the start of the fight.

Each fight lasts two or three minutes and ends when one of the cocks is unable or unwilling to fight. If both birds are reluctant to carry on, a large wicker basket is put over them to force them together so that they continue to fight. The losing bird is butchered, plucked and given to the winning owner together with his winnings from betting.

Pretty powerful stuff. Thanks for sharing.

very cool serie, love the colors and energy.

This is a very good series, it captures the tradition, intensity and cruelty of it all. Earlier this year I did a series at a bullfight, which shares the same elements. Beyond the photographs the question in my mind is: how do you preserve the traditions and improve animal welfare? I think it is possible but it will require a lot of education and convincing key individuals to move things along.

For what it's worth here is the link to the series I am referring to. Link

Thanks for the comments.

I'm not so sure there's an animal friendly way to stage a cock fight. The very nature of the event is brutal although you could argue that the combatants are at least evenly matched in a cock-fight which is not always the case in bull-fighting.

I should add that I dislike any form of animal cruelty, 'sports' included.

captured very nicely..great set!

I saw one of these when I was in Bali and I think you've captured the essence well. On my monitor there's a fairly strong green cast on most of them. Was that intentional? Or is my monitor on its last legs?

Maybe both our monitors are dying. But, I assume it was a stylistic decision on Sync's part. Just my opinion, but I think they'd potentially be more powerful in a more balanced tone and WB and a little less vignetting. The compositions and content are excellent though.

EXIF data indicates these were taken with an iPad 2G. Maybe that explains the color cast.

Cuong

If I remember right Sync doesn't take the shots on the iPad. That's just where he stages them before uploading.

Thanks for responding on my behalf. These were taken with an OMD EM5 and edited on my iPad which seems to remove the EXIF data from the image.

There was clearly an issue with the white balance which the editing app on the iPad doesn't deal with adequately, hence the more stylised processing. These need some work once when I get back to base but I wanted to share the content with you.

the greenish hue works for me in this instance