And Then China Came Closer

During my not-so-usual busy schedule and the rush hour of this week, I found something to be really exciting in my inbox few days ago: an email from Humanity Photo Award 2011. Suddenly my mind flew to few months back when I read the annoucement of this photo contest somewhere over the web. Just to make it short, this competition all participants need to submit two photo stories. So I decided to register and give it a try. Later on, I searched for a possibilites in my harddrive. I put two series into it and it was done.  I never looked back into the website even once. For sure, I really hope to achieve something. But by seeing the winners from 2009's comptition, I thought it will be hard enough for me. And the best thing to do was to forget it.

And the good news popped up inside my email. One of my photo story about The Mentawai (as published in The Jakarta Globe) people won a nomination award. While another, my story about Pacu Jawi, a bull's racing festival in West Sumatra, Indonesia,  now is entering the final evaluation to compete for the grand prize award.

Although I'm totally happy, getting the nomination award in this competition is not that extraordinary by the measure of prize. I will only get an award certificate and a catalogue from all of nominated participants. But by entering the final evaluation, I will be invited to be in China next September for attending the awarding ceremony. And that's really something.

Actually, I have planned to be in China, but not sure about the timing. Last week I also met a fellow photojournalist and tried to set a plan to land somewhere in China next year. And in all of a sudden, It came closer by itself. It's like my travel addiction always find itself a way. Nothing to complain. Perfect.

HPA Nomination

So I'm starting to sort everything out again. I have to dig more about China. Where can I go after Beijing? (the awarding ceremony is seemed to be there) and for how long? and what to do or what to photographs then? Going to China for only for waiting the final result will not be enough for me. What If I will not win the grand prize? So I have to plan my self a better prize: exploring China for a while.

Here I attached two photographs from each story.

The Mentawai

Pacu Jawi

:)

That's a little update for this week.

Reminiscence of the Wall

Two days ago, I just finished my travel through small part of Europe, Germany & Poland. I arrived home safely, tired, and jet lagged. But somehow I feel like that it's time to update the blog. As some of you might know, I haven't updated the blog since more than a month. It's pretty long for you to forget this blog. So, now, it's a real update. Give me a try to keep up. And yet, I've chose Berlin for the first post about my European journey. Berlin, so there I was. One of the most memorable city during my recent travel. Its rich history, its colorful life scene, its accessibility, and even its cheap food left me stunned. Now, while writing this post, I still can recall my walks with a perfect clarity.

Captivated by its nowadays intensity, I probably could easily forget that before the 90s, Berlin has experienced a hard time. But I couldn't help myself. I kept lured by my curiosity to the trace of this painful Berliner memory. One of the most obvious things that still scattered around the city is the reminiscence of the infamous Berlin Wall.

Berliner Mauer (The Berlin Wall) was stood since 13 August 1961 until its fall on 9 November 1989. Complete info are available in wikipedia :)

The Berlin Wall today is a tourist attraction by large. No tours in Berlin can be completed without at least wandering around at any remaining walls. The longest part of the wall that still remains are in Mühlenstraße of Kreuzberg. In this part of Berlin, the wall still stands for more than a kilometer. Graffiti from many anonymous artists are painted on the east side of the wall, which formerly only existed in west side before the fall of the wall. This longest open air gallery in the world called East Side Gallery. Other section of the wall also can be found in Potsdamer Platz and Bernauer Strasse.

Interestingly enough, while I was there, I noticed the reminiscence of the Berliner Mauer extends not only to the wall itself. But also in the small things at it surroundings. Through posters, t-shirt, souvenirs, or simply by some people attempt of making a business by acting as the former border guard to simply attract the curious tourists.

Ali Topan: Revival

It's time for a little update.  My days in Jakarta are just fine. The job are just perfect for now; taking portraits, do some level of post-processing, captioning, and everything is done. My last assignment for TEMPO was to photograph the preparation of the musical theatre of Ali Topan. If you're an Indonesian at the age of 25 or more and don't know who/what Ali Topan is, then you're simply ou of league :). For any Indonesian below 25 you can ask your parents. Your father should know him, or even struggled to become another Ali Topan in his past. :)

O.k, so now you've known him; the iconic character of Indonesian past scene which marks the late 70s timeline. Although most of you might recognize hime from the mid 90s TV series, the story is based on the novel written by Teguh Esha, a bright star in the world of Indonesian journalism at that time. Some people assume the story is actually based on facts and Teguh Esha personal account. He, which we also paid a visit and interviewed, didn't deny it.

Now, in the form of musical theatre, both Ari Tulang, the famous Indonesian choreographer, and Dian HP, a musician, brought Ali Topan back into view. The key role on the stage is played by Dendy (Mike's Apartment vocalist) as Ali Topan and Kikan (ex-Cokelat vocalist) as Anna, Ali's pair. The performance lasted from 11th to 17th of April 2011 in Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta.

My focus for the assignment was about everything behind the scene so I didn't photograph the performance. I travel to Teguh Esha house twice and wait for both Dendy & Kikan in some boring hours just for 3 minute shooting chance. At the end, the photographs are just as good as I imagined. :)

A Brand New Day

The last few weeks have seen me contemplating for a decision; moving to a big city.  O.k let's make it clear. Big cities? I was never a big fan of them. Just to be honest, I never really lived in a big city before, the thing that probably made me never love it. My case now is about Jakarta, the Indonesian capital that jam-packed by millions people, cars, and skyscraper brick walls. I've visited it a lot in the past, but never really get myself into it. However, time passed and opportunity offered. After think about it for a while, I finally decided to move and give it a try. So what am I doing in Jakarta? Shooting pictures for sure. I cannot think of doing something else. For the last few years I've been doing what I like to do and I don't think it's time to give it up, or at least not yet. But there's a slight difference between what I have done before and the thing I am doing now. Commissioned for Tempo, an Indonesian leading news magazine, it's no longer about travel pictures, but more to portrait and photojournalism. I will still shoot travel pictures though, but for now I will try to tackle and do the best to this new challenge. I just feel that there are a lot to learn from this.

Andi Mallarangeng, TEMPO.

Above is my first photo session and publication for Tempo. It's a portrait of Andi Mallarangeng, Indonesian Minister for Sport and Youth Affair. I did it for this week Interview pages which discuss about the conflict between Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) and Indonesian Government. The interview are published both in Indonesian and English edition. The latter will be available in the newsstands as far as Europe within few days.

Final words, it's a brand new day and there's always first time for everything. I eagerly will look forward for more :)

Eyewitness: Life Among the Mentawai

Last week, one of my photo story was published in The Jakarta Globe, an English language-based Indonesian daily. Those pictures was taken May 2010 on my trip to Siberut Island, the last stronghold of the Mentawai society. I love how the editor chose the pictures. The first (and the biggest) photograph depict Bajak Toikot, a Mentawai Shaman, who are getting back from the jungle. He is holding the hunting spear, in movement to the Uma (Mentawai traditional jungle hut), but with an empty basket. The other pictures complete the whole stroy as an insight into the Mentawai life.

The Mentawai are an egalitarian society living inside the jungle of Siberut Island. They used to live in other islands too on the island group of Mentawai. But modernization affected the others while left the jungle of Siberut as the only last place to meet them nowadays. The Mentawai of Siberut live in both traditional and natural way like their ancestors. They still practice hunting and cultivating the sago palm in order to feed the family. They also tattooed all over their body as an identity. They can distinguish people from different village just by looking at the tattoo. More about the Mentawai later.

Actually, I am not the one who documented the Mentawai. There are few others photographers who do so. Some of the best are Joey Lawrence and Diego Verges. However my favorite was taken by Sebastiao Salgado. There are also some more photographers who went here and out with magnificent work. I still remember when I read Smithsonian magazine somtime around last year in edition which covers about tattoo culture. Unfortunately I forgot the photographer's name.

Welcome!!!

Hello All... I finally be able to write my first post to this blog. Ummm actually it's not the first, but the first serious one. I registered this blog a while ago, 2009 I recall. But I haven't got the time ever since. I posted once and suddenly forgot this blog along the way. Now I am back and hopefully will post regularly.

In the last few years, I have been playing a lot with photography. So this blog (as the title suggest) will be much about the world of photography; my personal thought, latest work, story behind the pictures, and probably will do some review if possible.

I hope this blog will be useful and interesting. Feel free to leave any comment and sorry for my bad English.

Here is my first picture posted :)

The Mentawai Shaman