Category: Photography
Bandung Part I
The Art of Illusion
When I saw my friend`s post on the trick art gallery I knew in an instant that I had to go visit this exhibition. I did a little bit of research, and impressed by the optical illusion art. It was held inside a mall in Jakarta. When we arrived the place was packed of people who wanted to get the tickets. It was an hour wait. While we`re lining up, we read all the post-its on the wall filled with testimonials from the visitors.
After a long wait, we finally got to get in. It`s even more crowded on the inside. People were waiting for their turn to get some shots with and of the art. They`re scattered all over the place, on the wall and some even rendered on the floor. Some pieces were obvious with their three dimensions but some were rather hard to get. They`re more apparent when being captured in the photographs. Here are some shots I`ve got.
For the not-so-clear piece of work, there`s a photographer and a person who would assist you to do the poses.
Flood in 2013
Jakarta was hit by flood about a week ago. It was such a shock and it really caught us off guard. We didn’t anticipate it even though it`s been raining heavily nonstop for days. The cars were stuck in the middle of the street. People abandoned their homes to evacuate to a safer place/shelters, offices were shut down temporarily.
Even though by today the flood waters have receded but we can still see and feel the aftermath. It really hit us that disasters don`t choose the victims, they don`t care for the rich, the poor, your status, your skin colors, etc. So live gratefully, and be kind to one another.
It was pretty chaotic.
For more or less 2 bucks one could get on the “water-taxi”. I really don`t have any appropriate name for this. Some people used rubber boats and canoes, but this one clearly was really interesting.
This person had his phone wrapped in plastic. I was a little scared that my camera would accidentally fall as well.
My Christmas This Year
Pictures that Make Me Feel Good
Life back at home
It`s been months since I last posted something here. Life back home is so different from what I was used to in the states but this isn`t bad at all. It doesn`t mean I don`t miss San Francisco, because I do. I really miss my friends, and even to my surprise I miss the steep hills that I had to climb to get to the apartment. I miss the Muni, I miss being in the heart of the city hearing all those crazy noises, the firetrucks` sirens that woke me up in the middle of the night, the flicker weather, I miss my apartment. I know that someday I`ll visit again.
Jakarta is my home now, and the traffic is just my everyday scenery. Sometimes I don`t mind it but some other day I think I am getting older just by sitting in the car. Anyway, I met someone 
I think that`s why I can endure all the cultural shock that would bother me in the first place. I finally learned how to drive. Driving here ain`t like anything else, and I got my first scratch on the car. Luckily I got a used car so I don`t feel so bad.
I don`t take that much pictures anymore, but when I go out I always make sure I have my camera in the bag so I don`t miss out anything. Here are some shots I got when I went to Kawah Putih (White Crater). The place is gorgeous. But it was quite hard to get there with the small steep road and sharp curves. The temperature dropped and rose in an uncommon pace. We were warned not to step on to the water. The interesting part is that the water changed its colors from blue to white-ish, and to green. Make sure you visit this place if you ever come to Indonesia.
View from Stone Arch Bridge
Summer in Minnesota
I had an unplanned trip to Minnesota last Sunday. I am so glad that I decided to go despite of all the things I have to take care of before I leave for home. It was a short trip so I made sure that I got the best of it. Last time I was there it wasn`t much of an adventure because of the gruesome winter weather and I was there for a whole month (December 2008–January 2009). I never saw snow before so I was overjoy to step and play with snow for the first time. It wasn`t at all like what I imagined because I ended up staying at home for almost the whole time. The snow was pretty but I really couldn`t stand the cold weather. My friends were trying to scare me off by saying I might get frostbite hahaha… And also I kept hearing about the awesome lakes but they`re all frozen. So this time I did my homework, researching about the lakes that were located in Minneapolis.
Minnesota is really different in summer. The weather is extremely hot. It hit 100 degrees when I was there. I wasn`t really prepared for it, since San Francisco pretty much has the coolest summer. But I got to visit many places this time. Even though I didn`t stop for many lakes as I hoped for, I did pass many of them within 3 days. I should say I love Lake Harriet! I was staying at the fishing dock and it was a really peaceful moment. People were so friendly there. There`s always an exchange of “hello” from strangers everywhere I went. It made my stay in Minnesota very pleasant. It was indeed a perfect getaway before returning to Indonesia.
{Some pictures were taken with my Canon T2i and some with La Sardina}
Three Saturdays
T
Trial, Error, and Happy Accident
I`ve had my Holga for two years and it`s been in the original box for quite a while. My first roll of film was a total failure, none of them came out sharp or anything that I could even recognize. It was a series of blurry photos. Developing the pictures aren`t cheap either, yet the camera itself costs less than $50. Last week when I was doing some cleaning I found the camera and decided to give it another go. I bought 120mm film x-pro 20o. Holga is well-known for it`s square size format, but it means that I can just have 12 pictures out of one roll. I didn`t know how they`re going to turn out but I held down the shutter anyway. Randomly. Then I took it to the lomography store to get it developed. I was anxious because the process itself was going to take 5-6 days. I didn`t have my hopes high but I didn`t want to be disappointed at the same time. Yesterday when I picked up the pictures, I was quite surprised with how the pictures turned out. I really like the vignette look of the photos. Some pictures are completely dark and that`s (partly my fault) because I took the pictures indoor. But the ones outside turned out to be pretty decent. Here are some pictures from the 120mm. Don`t mind the speckle on the pictures, it`s my scanner 
My first attempt on double exposure. I like it, but I had a hart time remembering the position of the first picture and how it would overlap with the second one.
This is what I am talking about. Holga doesn`t do well in the dark, even though it had enough lighting. Or probably next time I`ll try the higher ISO.
All the pictures in the roll were supposed to have this tone of color. Yet there were only 2 or 3 that had the yellow tint to it.
I took the challenge of trying out the 35mm in my 120 Holga. I bought the extra adapter, too bad they didn`t have the one with sprocket holes to it (I love the look). Trust me, don`t try and print your pictures at the drug stores even though they promise it`s going to take an hour to print. I learned my lesson.
My first time at Alamo Square. Love the Painted Ladies.
A friend took this picture of me. It was a mistake that he clicked it twice but I like the result. Happy accident.
I am on the fourth roll of the film. Can`t wait to see how the pictures turn out!
