>> "BALADA KERA" | DECEMBER 2006
>> picture taken on: december 25, 2005 >> photographer: sLesTa >> event: visiting dufan>> place: dunia fantasi, ancol - north jakarta if europe has eurodisney, america has disneyland, thailand has dream world, jakarta has.. dufan! dufan stands for dunia fantasi (fantasy world). it is located in ancol marine park complex in north jakarta. during the holiday season in the month of december every year, dufan offers a discount to its visitors. as a result it's usually packed with many kids from all over jakarta, sometimes even from outside of jakarta. i took the picture above last year. it is from the water fountain in the balada kera area within the dufan complex. balada kera is a caricatural operette of 23 animatronic monkey toys. all technology was said to be made in indonesia. though i don't recall my visit there.. as it is probably only amuse little children, the water fountain in front of the building is quite interesting. it has the shapes of hundreds of monkeys in different expressions. just had to take the shot! :) Labels: 2006
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>> "THE TEMPLE OF DAWN" | NOVEMBER 2006
>> picture taken on: july 2006 >> photographer: sLesTa >> event: bangkok trip>> place: chao praya river, bangkok located on the west bank of the chao praya river, this temple can be reached either by arun amarin road or by boat from tha thien pier. the 79-meter high pagoda is decorated with ceramic tiles and fragments of multicolored porcelain. the temple surely is beautiful. though, i heard that it is most beautiful when seen during the sunset, i visited the temple in the afternoon, and it was indeed beautiful. it may not be as grand as the grand palace, but it is no doubt, a must-visit place when you are ever in bangkok. Labels: 2006
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>> "WAITING" | NOVEMBER 2006
>> picture taken on: june 24, 2006 >> photographer: sLesTa >> event: "save our turtle" adventure>> place: ujung genteng, java i love taking picture of the sunset. this one's taken in ujung genteng beach on my recent trip there. one of the best sunsets i've seen and hoped that i've captured it well too. Labels: 2006
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>> "REFLECTION OF KL" | OCTOBER 2006
>> picture taken on: june 16, 2006 >> photographer: sLesTa >> event: family trip>> place: kualalumpur, malaysia continuing the series of pictures i took in kualalumpur (there are only a small few worth to share.. really!), this is a picture i took from my hotel room in bukit bintang area. the building skyline was reflected through this mirrored building in front of our hotel. since no direct view toward this skyline, i took the picture of the reflection. just another way to share the experience, i guess. :) Labels: 2006
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>> "PETRONAS TOWERS" | SEPTEMBER 2006
>> picture taken on: june 16, 2006 >> photographer: sLesTa >> event: family trip>> place: kualalumpur, malaysia on my recent family trip, i didn't find myself taking many pictures that was worth to share. although my main destination to go to KL was to take pictures of petronas towers for my photography collection, i arrived at not such a good time of the day. the fact that i was there with my family also blows any chance i want to take on spending more time on my photography. so, though i wasn't satisfied with the results of the pictures i took, there are few that i think, worth to share, including this one. let me know what you think... Labels: 2006
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>> "RINJANI SILHOUETTE" | SEPTEMBER 2006
>> picture taken on: may 2006
>> photographer: sLesTa
>> event: lombok trip
>> place: gili trawangan
it was early in the morning. me and my 2 other girls, my companions for the trip, woke up real early to watch the sunrise. it was a beautiful morning, and indeed, a beautiful sunrise.
taken from the island of gili trawangan, we stayed in a hotel that overlooked lombok, where mount rinjani is located. the mountain is definitely a beauty. and the silhouette during sunrise just signifies the grandness of its beauty. breathtaking! i hope i captured it perfectly in the above picture.
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>> "METRO MINI" | AUGUST 2006
>> picture taken on: july 2004
>> photographer: sLesTa
>> event: jakarta city hunting
>> place: blok m bus terminal
in jakarta, "metro mini" bus is the most common transport of the masses. spotted throughout the streets of jakarta, "metro mini" has a bright orange, yellow and blue color. sometimes it has the "wayang" (leather puppet) brushed in its body like above.
although most of them are not well-maintained, they are pretty effective in getting you from point A to point B, just as long as you are willing to rub shoulders and backs with other passangers. plus, they are so well-known for their excellent customer service, as they will stop anytime, anywhere, at your request, disregarding the other drivers who got stuck behind them... for which of course, they've become every driver's enemy on the road.
the above picture may not show how the bus looks like. well, it's a bus! and you know how it looks like. this is just the picture of the side body, which i thought was very interesting.
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>> "THE DA VINCI TOWER" | AUGUST 2006
>> picture taken on: november 2005
>> photographer: sLesTa
>> event: on work-related request
>> place: setia budi busway stop, sudirman
this is the view of the da vinci tower. located in the heart of business district in sudirman area, the building stood out from the rest of the buildings along the street. it has more ornamentation than borobudur temple and at night, it gives a new meaning to the greek tragedy (from the jakarta post).
there seems to be a need for wealthy indonesians to build bulky, colonial-style houses with gigantic pillars and over-the-top ornamentation that does not necessarily blend in with its surroundings. da vinci tower is one of them. the tower is actually a 34-story apartment buildings, a luxury apartment building, that is. the unit price is so high, but i guess it's already figured just by the grand of it from the interior of the building. many are not quite sure why they have such a contrast building in the middle of the business district, though it does give a bit of color to it. although i'm not so sure if we really do need these kinds of apartments, considering that right behind it, there are still people who lives under the bridges and in poverty.
well, it has its controversy, i guess. but if i didn't tell you that this was taken in indonesia, would you have guessed? plus, it was a beautiful day when i took it, hence, the blue sky as a backdrop, which is rarely to be found in jakarta in any given day.
update: i will be posting my pictures in jakarta daily photo for most of this week. do visit for more pictures of jakarta!
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>> "BUTTONS" | AUGUST 2006
>> picture taken on: 2004
>> photographer: sLesTa
>> event: city hunting
>> place: pasar mayestic, jakarta
jakarta has succeeded in becoming a prime shopping heaven for purchasing almost anything. we see buildings are being constructed left and right, ranging from the mega malls to the major traditional markets. and they do offer a wide variety of items.
i've always loved going to traditional markets, especially to take the pictures. the traditional markets provide a lively glimpse into the city's grassroots life. the above picture is one of the interesting thing i found inside the alleys of the traditional markets. it is a picture of variety of buttons sold in one of the stores inside pasar mayestik, one of the major traditional markets in jakarta.
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>> "LONELY" | JULY 2006
>> picture taken on: may 26, 2006 >> photographer: sLesTa >> event: lombok-gili vacation>> place: gili trawangan there are two objects that i always eager to take picture of everytime i'm on a hunting trip. hydrants & lonely trees. i'm not so sure how i get into this obsession, but i know i have tons of collections of different hydrants in different cities (and countries). it's actually quite amazing how different each city and country design their hydrants. or how many (or little) they locate them on the streets. as for the trees, i've always wanted to find a perfect-picture tree, standing alone in a dessert with great drop of sky behind it. i want to get a great shot of it and turn it into a black & white picture. but unfortunately, finding my perfect tree is not as easy as imagined. even when i had my 10-day road trip across USA, through the deserts and all, i couldn't find one, at least none that satisfies me. even the one above, although it's pretty close to what i would imagine. it's alone, looks lonely, and great in black & white. the only thing is.. it's not in the desert, but near the beach. what do you think? does it look lonely to you? Labels: 2006
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>> "LOTUS IN A POND" | JULY 2006
>> picture taken on: december 2004
>> photographer: sLesTa
>> event: visiting yogyakarta
>> place: a monestary near "candi mendut" in yogyakarta
the lotus or the purple water lilly gives out a very soft soothing and lingering fragrance. it represents people who live in and endure the travails of this world and still give out the fragrance of inner wisdom, beauty and love to everyone around.
like many of the pictures i have posted here, the picture and the wording above was part of the official 2006 calendar of my former employment.
the picture above is actually one of my favorites. it looks simple, yet it gives a calming feel. over the years, i've grown interest in taking reflection photography. i sometimes capture nice ones for its reflections in the water. this one included and i'm still learning. the lotus flower was inside the small pond inside the monestary near "candi mendut". this was during my last visit to yogyakarta and i truly had a wonderful experience there.
yogyakarta still remains one of my favorite cities, and the news of the earthquake that shatters the city was really saddening. that was almost 2 months ago. and just yesterday we heard another news of an area in the west of java, precisely "pangandaran" where it has just been shaken by another earthquake (even felt in jakarta) and tsunami wave. it's just terrible to keep hearing these news from different places in indonesia.
my heart goes out to the victims and my condolences to the family. may they be given strength to face this terrible tragedy.
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>> "SLEEPY CAT" | JULY 2006
>> picture taken on: june 24, 2006 >> photographer: sLesTa >> event: adventure trip to ujung genteng >> place: ujung genteng fish market on my recent trip to ujung genteng, we stopped by the fish market on the earliest of day to catch the sunrise. the morning was cold but the fishermen had started the day. as we were waiting around till the sunset shows its beautiful self, i found a bunch of kitties playing around the table feet, in front of the closed store. it was just a regular scene, nothing extraordinary, really. but as the sun starts peeking and the kitties disappear to god-knows where, i found one kitty sleeping on top of the table. it was sleeping in a cute pose, looked as if it was cold with its hair standing up all over its body. slowly, i approched it and took a picture of the sleeping cat. as soon as i had my first shot, it started to open its eyes, looked straight at me and went back to sleep. and i took every single action it took as i have my camera on its face the whole time. it's just too cute too miss!! :)
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>> "THE MERLION" | JUNE 2006
>> picture taken on: april 15, 2006
>> photographer: sLesTa
>> event: visiting singapore
>> place: merlion park, singapore
the merlion was first designed as an emblem for the singapore tourism board in 1964. designed by fraser brunner, a curator of the van kleef aquarium, the lion head represents the lion spotted by prince sang nila utama when he re-discovered singapore in 11 AD. the fish tail of the merlion symbolises the ancient city of temasek by which singapore was known before the prince named it "singapura" (meaning "lion" (singa) "city" (pura) in sanskrit).
although i have visited the country for several times, i haven't really taken the time to take pictures of the city. on my first trip there this year, i came with determination that i have got to see other places of singapore, not just the malls. so i did. i walked around and found new places. and i'm glad i was able to take a nice shot of the merlion, even though it was taken only with my pocket digicam.
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>> "FARMER OF TEGALALANG" | JUNE 2006
>> picture taken on: january 2005
>> photographer: sLesTa
>> event: vacation trip to bali
>> place: tegalalang, bali
bali has been described as "one big sculpture". every earthen step is manicured and polished, every field and niche is carved by hand. rice fields are exquisitely carved out of hills and valleys, sparkling with water or brightly green. these picturesque terrace rice-fields are carved along the village of tegalalang where you would be greeted with friendly farmers with a big smile.
this picture is part of the series of pictures featured in the official 2006 calendar for the previous company i worked for. the series, of course, meant to capture different parts of indonesia. since i tried to visit more and more cities in indonesia, i have collected hundreds of pictures from the trips. it's good to know that they actually find their way to be published and shared, all for the 12 months in the calendar.
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>> "THE ROUNDABOUT AT NIGHT" | JUNE 2006
>> picture taken on: july 2004
>> photographer: sLesTa
>> event: hunting of jakarta
>> place: HI roundabout
taken from the rooftop of deutche bank building, this is a picture of the famous roundabout at night. the roundabout is a midpoint of two protocol streets, sudirman & thamrin. the building right in front of it is the hyatt hotel with a big mall plaza indonesia behind it. the roundabout is quite a busy area, especially during rush hours.. but some other time, this is where the demonstrations usually hold place.
i took this picture without a tripod, depending solely on the firmness of my hand to hold the camera with no movement during the slow shutter. so apologize if it does not come out perfect. it's the best i took of the series. others are just a total blur :)
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>> "PRAMBANAN RELIEF" | JUNE 2006
>> picture taken on: december 2004
>> photographer: sLesTa
>> event: visiting yogyakarta
>> place: prambanan temple
built in the 10th century, prambanan temple is the largest temple compound dedicated to shiva in indonesia. rising above the center of the last of these concentric squares are the three temples decorated with reliefs illustrating the epic of "ramayana", dedicated to the three great hindu divinities (shiva, vishnu, and brahma) and three temples dedicated to the animals who serve them.
perhaps one of the most majestic temples in the south-east asia, prambanan attracts many admirers each year from abroad. situated about 15 kilometers from yogyakarta, the top of the main shrine is visible from a great distance and rises high above the scattered ruins of the former temples.
[info is taken from many sources]
in remembering YOGYAKARTA and the rich culture it has. in remembering the city and it surrounding area that have been shaken of the 6 richter-scale on may 27, 2006. my deepest condolonces to the victims and the family.
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>> "FLIP FLOPS" | MAY 2006
>> picture taken on: sometime in 2004
>> photographer: sLesTa
>> event: picture hunting
>> place: pasar mayestik
this may be a simple picture, but there could be many explanations just to describe them.
if you are an indonesian who lives in indonesia for your entire life, you'll know that this is merely just a flip flop, or as we usually call it "sendal jepit". for you there's no extraordinary thing about these sandals. it's just cheap sandals that you would buy from the market or street vendors (warung) to support your feet. the price is very very cheap yet sometimes you'll wear it everywhere until it's all broken before you get a new one. for you, it's common to see it around and just a pair of sandal.
if you are an indonesian who've been or is currently living abroad, you'll miss this thing, especially during summer. on my 10 years abroad, i always bring them so i can wear them at home, or to walk around on a summer afternoon. they're comfortable, cute, yet quite stylish since they're available in variety of colors to support your outfit. heheh...
if you are a non-indonesian, well, you'll know them as flip flops. unlike the regular flip flops you'll see in the market near you, this is very rubbery and yet quite comfortable. recent trends show more people are wearing them and more stores sell them in variety of colors, yet in better package resulting a higher value. well, despite all that, it's still cheap, but the original one above is wayyyy cheaper than that..
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>> "THE ROUNDABOUT" | MAY 2006
>> picture taken on: sometime in 2004
>> photographer: sLesTa
>> event: picture hunting
>> place: hotel indonesia roundabout
if you tune in to your (indonesian) tv lately, we've been seeing a lot of demonstrations held in the so-called "bundaran HI" or the hotel indonesia roundabout. it is located in the middle of busy business district, connecting two major streets, sudirman & thamrin. so you can imagine how bad the traffic it would create everytime a demonstration is being held in the area. it sure is effecting the rest of the major roads and hell of a mess situation for commuters.
as for the picture above... well, nothing extraordinary, i must say. but if you live in jakarta, you'd know that the roundabout is pretty busy everyday. so how can i take the picture of an empty roundabout? well, that's a photographer's secret. :P
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>> "MOUSE OR MOUSSE?" | MAY 2006
>> picture taken on: march 4, 2006
>> photographer: sLesTa
>> event: java jazz festival 2006
>> place: jhcc jakarta
taken using my handphone camera (hence, it's kinda blurry!), i just can't help to take this picture when i was on line to pick up my food during the recent java jazz festival 2006. a close friend of mine told me that i should not be so anal about mis-spelling everytime i see one. it's sooo common to see them in jakarta, i should just let it go. and yes, i sometimes do let it go. but yes, i'm too anal when it comes to spelling, though i'm not perfect either. lotsa times i do mispell my words, forgive me.
but when i see that an international event like this one to have a mis-spelling in its food presentation, i had to yap about it. and took the picture just to prove that it was indeed an incorrect spelling.. (ya kali aja gue salah liat!).
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>> "INDIAN LADY" | MAY 2006
>> picture taken on: april 15, 2006
>> photographer: sLesTa
>> event: singapore trip
>> place: little india, singapore
another series of my recent trip to singapore. though i only carried a pocket camera, i did indeed take many interesting pictures. this one was taken in front of one of the biggest temple in little india. at first, i didn't expect anything from my visit to this country, especially when i stepped foot in little india area. i don't really remember what this place has to offer, since the last time i came for a visit was over 10 years ago. i thought it was just gonna be a bunch of indian hawkers, restaurants and stuff. but apparently the area offers a little more than that. with a brochure in my hand, i chose which places i would want to go for a longer visit. but i was already amazed by the colorful area, with the markers that spread across with the most colorful and vibrant ethnic zone.
colorful temples co-exist side by side with churches and mosques. if my previous picture snapped the beautiful architectured mosque, i then visited one of the most colorful temple i've seen in the area. too bad i don't remember the name of the temple. but all i know the temple is quite big with the gods & goddesses carved in beautiful details and colors. while i was there taking pictures, apparently they were celebrating a festival as i was watching many indians wearing their best traditional clothes and chatting away with friends. this lady was sitting in front of the temple with 2 other friends and chatting away. i just can't help not to take their pictures. the vibrant color of their clothes against the color of the temple was just a good combination for a good shot.
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>> "MASJID ABDUL GAFOOR" | APRIL 2006
>> picture taken on: april 15, 2006
>> photographer: sLesTa
>> event: singapore trip
>> place: little india, singapore
on a recent trip to singapore -- though not carrying my "real" camera -- i managed to find some nice photography objects. with a very poor camera set-up (whaddaya expect from a pocket camera, really?), i tried to capture the beauty of this mosque. just like many of my trips, i always tried to find an interesting object of the place where sometimes, locals don't even realize that it exists. upon walking around in little india, i decided that i had to visit this place after i saw its magnificent picture in the brochure.
it is a picture of masjid abdul gafoor. it's no doubt that this masjid is a result of a beautiful architecture, i was just in awe when i saw it. it's very clean, very well-maintained, and it's just magnificent. at the entrance of this masjid is a sundial. it is actually the only one in the islamic world, its design of sunburst with 25 rays decorated with arabic calligraphy denotes the names of the chosen 25 prophets. according to the brochure, the masjid was completed in 1907. it boasts a unique blend of moorish-islamic and south indian architectural styles.
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>> "TOY BOATS" | APRIL 2006
>> picture taken on: july 2004
>> photographer: sLesTa
>> event: traditional market-series
>> place: pasar anyar, bogor
Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world. Surrounded by water, Indonesians are familiar with the maritime style of living. Toy boats are a common toys for kids, sold throughout the traditional markets. The above picture was taken in one of the street vendors along the Pasar Anyar in Bogor, West Java.
the above picture is selected as part of the series in the official 2006 calendar of "bank of tokyo-mitsubishi ufj, ltd" - my first place of employment since i got back from the states. they selected 13 indonesian-themed pictures from my collection to be printed in the calendar. i also involved in the writing, as shown above, to describe the picture as a whole. it was a fun project. and it's definitely a good experience for me.. and even though i no longer work there, they would still remember me, at least untill the end of this year, since they will be looking at my pictures everytime they flip back those calendar ;)
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