Yudisium

It finally came around, I am officially a Sarjana Teknik. Thank you, ARS 2012 for the unforgettable four years!  Special thanks to konco-koncoku Athirah Riani, Diptya Nidikara, Dewanti Ratnasarira, Faridah Zakiyah, Andhyni Umra, Kirana Zerlinda and Nadia Diannisa for sticking by me 'till the very end. 

Jawa

An epic end of year family road trip in Java. 

We took the plane from Jakarta - Yogyakarta and wander 

around Central Java a bit, before we hit the road and made it to Surabaya. 

Twenty-Two

I guess it has been a habit of mine to document my birthday week. I can't deny that birthdays mean a lot to me. It's one day in the entire year that I have the rights to feel special and somehow self-centred (in a positive way, I guess). Last year, for my 21st birthday I spent it in a tea plantation village, far far away from the city (you can see the photo diary here). 

This year, it was once again nothing big. One of my dearest friend since middle school just finished her studies in Brisbane. So I invited her over to Bandung and show her some of my favourite places. Indeed we had a great time and plenty of food, of course. Click Read More to see the full set!

One of my favourite places to chill and have a good meal. 

Iga Dullers at Dago Asri. They have the best (and affordable) 

Iga Bakar Madu and Susu Coklat.

Indisposable

Last summer I was privileged to spend a month and a half in Singapore. On weekdays I work as an intern in Suying Design, an architecture and interior design firm, and on weekends I spend my time with my favourite Singaporeans - gigs after gigs, photo hunting, birthdays, grad shows, and infinite sleepovers. It was a fun experience and not to mention memorable; to have a taste of what it's like to live and work in Singapore. And so here's a sum up of my time there. Half of these photos were taken by Angelo Tan (the ones with me on it), with a disposable camera - hence the title 'Indisposable', and the rest were taken by yours truly. (Click here to see the full photo set)

Fong

Meet Tasmin Fong. She is an ever endearing rebel and most probably the Singaporean and fashion student version of me. Last summer, during my internship in Singapore, she was kind enough to host me in her place. We were room-mates for one whole month. I don't know if you still consider the term 'room-mate' when I sleep on her bedroom floor with her short-tempered poodle. It didn't matter though, what matters most was the 1 AM talks and being her personal Indomie chef for supper. 

One blazing hot Saturday, we decided to stroll around town to shoot. We came across this hidden staircase by accident. I was inspecting the facade of the building and decided to peeked inside. I went hysterical when I saw how the facade casted shadows onto the room. So there we were, taking endless selfies after I took a good amount of photos of Tas. (Click Read More for the full editorial)

Ekspedisi Timor

Every year, Aristektur Hijau goes on an expedition to study in depth a particular traditional/vernacular architecture in different parts of Indonesia. This year, 2015, we went to two very remote village: Kamanasa and Uarau, in Pulau Timor, Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT). 

We spent 3 days in each village and the experience was priceless. We stayed in the traditional houses together with the Ama (Father) and Ina (Mother) there. They were all extremely friendly and kind, not as how I expected. And I was too amazed by how they live their lives. They still stay true to their ancestors traditions and belief, despite of globalisation. Their life was so simple but they were happy. It's the simplicity that brings them happiness. 

They basically have everything that they need. Food comes from the nearby farm, fruits come from the nearby trees, wood for fire comes from the nearby forest, water comes from the nearby well. When they need a new basket, they weave their own. When they need a new traditional dress for the annual cultural ceremony, they weave their own (tenun). 

I was so blessed to have the opportunity to not only interact with the people of Timor, but to be able to be a part of their day to day life. To be able to understand their view about life. And lastly to be able to learn that no matter how far we've gone, to never forget where we came from. 

Click 'Read More' to see the photo set and the short video of the trip. 

Kontra

 K  O  N  T  R  A

A   P h o t o   E d i t o r i a l 

We are an anomaly; we try to see the dissonance between what is familiar to our eyes and what is not. As we embrace them bit-by-bit, we capture moments, pictures, experiences, and thoughts that are not as what they seem to be. We see things beyond the norm; we recede away from the tide of certainty as we try to dive into a rhythm amid the surrounding clamors. We counter against all those because the beauty of it does not lie on the things within the comfort of our sight, or our feelings, but they lie as we see past against all those things. That maybe something beautiful in a world full of contraries, opposites, and imperfections are we able to see that mundaneness is far from what we try to attain in life.

Twenty-One

On January 2015, I had the chance to spend my birthday week in the wilderness. Away from the hustle bustle of the city, with limited electricity and signal. It was a peaceful week surrounded by green hills and tea plantations. All I did every day was finding the perfect route to the woods and being drenched in rain. 

For more photos click 'Read More!'

005

Turquoise

Inspired by the colour of my sister's hair and the entire colour scheme of the place - a pop of turquoise in the middle of white rocky mess - this shoot was done at Kawah Putih, one of Bandung's own treasure. It is a crater lake that make up Mount Patuha, located in Ciwidey, Bandung. It's been a tourist spot for such a long time but its beauty is timeless. 

Nippon

The Pink Cap Project: Japan

Last August, in the midst of the summer heat, I went on a family vacation to Japan. Of course, I wouldn't want to miss the chance to do another Pink Cap Project at the land of the rising sun. In total, we went to 6 cities in 12 days. It was quite intense, hustling in between cities with trains. It wouldn't be possible without the help of all kinds of friendly Japanese that we bumped into. Enjoy!

Click read more to see more photos!

Summer in Romania

A few months ago, I had the privilege to spend five weeks in a country I have never heard before in my life, for an exchange program with AIESEC. To be honest, I had no idea that a country named Romania exists in Europe. When I told my friends and family, their response would be “Where is Romania?” or even worse, “Why Romania? There is nothing to see there!” In fact, it lowered down my expectation for the perfect summer trip in Europe. 

But I was wrong. Turns out that traveling to a country that’s not a main tourist destination and a few people know about has its own beauty. The moment I stepped my feet on Romanian soil I was soaking in everything. The fact that I had no single clue about their culture, their history, their language, their food, and their custom, pushed my adventurous self to the limit. 

Through this trip, I learnt to love where I come from more - that is my Tanah Air, Indonesia. Whenever a Romanian ask me where I come from, they would be puzzled and clueless about where is Indonesia in the map - the same way how I responded when I heard 'Romania' the first time. Then they would start asking me tons of questions about Indonesia and for the record, 10 out of 10 of them would be amazed by every single thing I told them about my beloved country. It makes me realise that I come from a very special place and I should be forever grateful for that. 

To conclude, I had the time of my life there. And to me, Romania - especially Brasov - will have a special place in my heart forever.

Click 'Read more' to view the entire photo set! 

Scroll to the end of the post to read my personal travel guide.

Lima

A week ago, my faculty (Faculty of Engineering) just celebrated its 54th birthday. In accordance to that, a photography competition was held. And these are the photos that I submit for the competition. All about the infamous "Gedung 5" that soon will be - I hope not - demolished. Thankfully I won 2nd place! Such an exciting news for me in the midst of all the madness in campus. 

Cheers to that!

Alisha

Meet Alisha Kania. I have been a fan of her through a mutual friend. So when she contacted me to do a shoot, I couldn't say no. She wanted to do a shoot in the wild, inspired by the nature photos that I have been posting on Instagram. So without further hesitation I took her to a secret place (that's not so secret anymore). For the longest time we were shooting at the edge of a cliff - we possibly could have died. But thank goodness we didn't.

Enjoy!