Mr. & Mrs. Aurum

Ha! We’re married!
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Looking back a bit is necessary

Here I am again, two years after I wrote my last retrospection on this blog. Many things have happened since then, good and bad, and I have been fortunate enough to have more of the good ones.

So here are some of my (sometimes not-important) thoughts about many things in our creative industry and about myself:

1. 2011 has been the most exciting year in photography. Thanks to Instagram, which was chosen as the application of the year by Apple, more and more people are so into photography these days.

2. Number of professionals in commercial photography in Indonesia remain pretty much the same as many years ago. Many have come and go, and they usually stayed in the business not more than two years. Why? I guess the business side is not what many people expect to be a pro.
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Senjata perang sejak 1992. Apik tersimpa, bebas jamur, bebas debu.

‘Kamera saya berjamur, kemana dong benerinnya?’ Ketimbang kamera atau lensa jamuran, yang mana sama menyebalkan dengan jamur di kaki, mendingan dihindari.
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Laser for beauty wouldn't hurt

I’ve been shooting beauty since the very early days of my photography life. Why? Because it is a true wonderful thing about this career. Surrounded by gorgeous women, being able to tell them to do this and that, and also getting paid of doing so. Ain’t that called a great job that makes many people envious?
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Costroversy

Booooom! It’s a photo shoot with an explosion, thanks to Avolution.

It was a fine day in early-mid of 2011. Bates, one of HM Sampoerna’s advertising agencies, called me to come to their office to have a brief of new Avolution campaign. Avolution is a slim clove cigarette from Sampoerna, whose target audience is mainly young people in big cities. It always has a bold, innovative, edgy and out-of-the-box personality. Let’s say, a kind of brand that fits me so well .
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Biro iklan jangan membuat masa depan fotografer kelabu

Saya sudah bekerja dengan puluhan, kalau bukan ratusan, biro iklan di Indonesia maupun di negara lain. Sebagian besar adalah biro-biro iklan yang dimotori oleh orang-orang hebat yang tiada henti menginspirasi isi otak saya dengan ide-ide brilian, kepekaan visual yang patut diacungi jempol, ataupun hasil pengolahan riset yang berbuah solusi mencengangkan untuk para klien. Sebagian besar dari orang-orang hebat biro iklan ini hingga sekarang menjadi klien setia, teman nongkrong, dan beberapa menjadi teman baik saya selama bertahun-tahun.

Tentu saja kisah kasih antara fotografer dengan biro iklan diwarnai banyak bumbu, yang rasanya manis-asin menyegarkan, maupun yang asam-kecut menyebalkan. Berikut ini beberapa pandangan, sikap atau perilaku yang masih suka tersisa di beberapa (INGAT, beberapa looh!)  biro iklan di Nusantara ini, yang saya pandang salah dan usang, namun masih terpelihara:
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Adventure, anyone?

It was my second time shooting for Panasonic Lumix this year. Different to Panasonic Lumix GF2 print ads, this time I worked with Panasonic’s new advertising agency, Dentsu. The concept was to introduce three new exciting Lumix pocket cameras, which had different characteristics (some of you must have seen the print ads and billboards. Pretty awesome huh?).
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Motret makanan memang selalu menyelerakan!

Saya sedang menikmati sayur asam kesukaan di rumah ketika salah satu agensi iklan Unilever, Lowe Indonesia, menelepon untuk meminta untuk ikutan pitch pemotretan iklan Royco yang baru. Kebetulan, saya pikir, sudah beberapa waktu tidak memotret produk makanan-minuman.
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Care to buy one, anyone?

It seems that Micro Four Third system cameras, introduced by Panasonic several years back, is getting mature very fast, faster than any of the camera makers ever thought.

As many of you have known, the system offers interchangable lenses, lighter and smaller camera bodies compared to most of the DSLRs, fast auto focus and less mechanical components, which make the cameras cheaper to produce. By the first quarter of 2011, 30% of the camera users in Japan already converted to this new system.
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Bila ada yang harus (sangat) disyukuri menjadi seorang fotografer, adalah kesempatan menikmati jalan-jalan (dan makan-makan) gratis. Tepatnya, dibayari malah. Jadi pada saat Lowe, advertising agency Dji Sam Soe, menawarkan pemotretan mengasyikkan ini di Komodo, saya langsung jawab, “Berangkat!” Kebetulan saya sudah beberapa kali memotret di Flores. Dan sudah beberapa kali mengelus-elus kepala komodo (yang ini bohong).
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