Last Saturday night we were having fun in Ichank's place... celebrating what's supposed to be our victory in the last Gala Architecture, the campus' annual sport event between each year's class. The funny thing was... nobody actually recalled that we *did* win. The event was pretty much forgotten when it came to a sudden break after Jogja was hit by that disastrous earthquake last May, and no winner was ever announced. But a few weeks ago suddenly it's decided that our class won, and so we were eligible for the grand prize.... a goat. Just don't ask. Anyway, there was a little trouble regarding what we're gonna do with the goat... it would seem that there was miscommunication and the goat was sold without us knowing. In the end we got the money, organized this little party and invited everyone from the class. No one asked further questions... hey, when you get free meal, it's all good. ;p

The snacks:


The people:


Almost all who know me nowadays are already used to seeing me with camera on my hands, so they don't really find it strange to see me pointing my camera at them. But I guess sometimes I still caught some of them off guard:


Hehe.

The night's getting late and so we went outside to prepare some surprise for everyone: fireworks. It's out of the budget though so we had to collect some fund earlier that day to buy them. Some expensive stuff, considering they would only last for a few minutes... it's okay for once in a while, I guess. It's all fun.


Like how these two were also having their own fun... we're weird like that. ;p



So finally, everyone was outside, and the show began! These shots are each 3 second exposure... *handheld*. So please pardon me if they're all curly and fuzzy.


One thing about those fireworks though... they're fucking LOUD. I mean, you usually see them during big celebrations, in large open public places with crowdy audience. In those places, the sound never seems that loud. But having fireworks in a quiet residential area... I think it's safe to say that we pissed off the whole neighborhood that night. Not our fault, mate. We did ask for permission first. But honestly, we didn't expect it to be THAT loud either. ;)

After all was finished, everyone went home... except, of course, our gang, which stayed around until midnight. Talking about pointless stuff like usual.

These next shots are ISO 1600, f/3.5, 1 second... pretty dark out there.


We're planning to have some fireworks again on the next new year's eve. Probably with a bigger ones. In another unlikely places. ;)

Been more than a week since my last post. You see, I've been reaaaaaaally busy....... Nah, it's a lie. The truth is I'm just lazy to make an update. But this week I've been shooting a lot with digital -even in RAWs- so let's review a bit.

Last Wednesday was my 21st birthday. Yay. Must have been the most boring birthday I've ever had... there was practically nothing happening, save for some birthday messages and wishes from a few friends. I'm well aware I've never been a popular guy on the first place, but it would seem to me that the number of people who know my birthday is steadily decreasing every year... heh. Right, let's stop there, before this turns into an emo post. ;)

Anyway, getting into the photos: first set of photos, coming from my first CityPlus assignment... shooting nightlife in 4 different spots around Jogja, of which I just did 3 of them. Gonna shoot in the last spot in near future, since deadline is near. These ones are from around the city center known as 0 KM area:


These ones are from Alun-Alun Kidul, the southern city square:


I really like the above shot. 1/4th second, gotta be one of my most steady shot at that speed.


And these are from Pakualaman:


I realize they're not exactly the best I can give. I have little experience shooting at night, moreover with the mediocre kit lens which really limits me... I tried shooting with the 50/1.8 which is more forgiving by giving a faster shutter speed, but the angle of view is simply not wide enough to give me something I want. So in the end I had to rely on the wide end of my kit lens, which at the maximum aperture of f/3.5 gives me shutter speeds of around 1/15th to half a second at ISO 1600. I am rather surprised myself that I could still give some considerably steady shots at such low speeds...

Last Sunday I was also given the opportunity to do some behind the scene shooting of a model session which is gonna be used as the magz cover. The session was done by a photo studio, and later on I just heard that it's pretty rare for a photo studio to let other people take picture inside the studio while they're doing their job, even when it's only for documentation purpose. Guess we were lucky.

While waiting for the model to come, did some random shooting:


Finally the model came, and then she's being prepared for the session, make-ups and stuff...


The session.


Did you notice I love mirrors? Or any other reflective surfaces, for that matter. For some reason they're always potential for some interesting composition.


In the next few days I will also be covering an interview for an article in the same magz. Currently waiting for the phone call....

Wish me luck, peeps.

This one will be a quick post. Some printscans of shots from the Neopan roll of which the contact print I have posted earlier.


One of the glasses sellers you can find along the street corridor in Malioboro. When I saw the mirror position on this particular stall, I just know I had to take his picture. :)


That one's a hipshot... kinda shaky, though it was only around 1/15th second, I think. But I like their gestures. Taken in a souvenir shop.

These next three were from around Bringharjo market:


And these two were from Kotagede market. I went there for the first time with a friend of mine, Dinto. Another nice market that I should visit again later. :)


I just noticed that I often make a weird cropping on the lower portion of my frame while I'm compositioning through the viewfinder, making some portion of the objects I photograph missing. I only realized this after seeing my negs... gotta pay more attention for that in my next session.

For the last few days I've been staying over at the architecture campus, a lot. Got nothing special to do in particular, just felt like it. Here's some basic idea of how the nightlife in my old campus looks like...

Hungry? Well let's head to a 24 hour food stall. There's like, a dozen of them nearby. A bowl of noodles, everyone's favorite! Not exactly the best way to fulfill your daily nutrition, but it'll do to survive the night.


With of course... another healthy activity we all dig.


Sometimes we'd go out from the den, and hang out somewhere else... like in our friend's cafe.


Some trippy shot taken while on the ride.


Aaand... here's the shitload of anything else from that night in the campus.


That's quite a lot. :o

But hey, here's another two for today. Some panning actions! 1/8th second for the last pic. Slow speed rocks your socks.


Some other notable things... Sasha told me that next Friday some japanese event is going to take places for a few days in... uh, some place I have yet to know its whereabout. :s There will be bands, cosplays, and the likes. Basically some sort of convention for japanophiles... Might go there with her if possible, there should be some interesting actions to shoot.

Oh, and two days ago a friend of mine offered me to make photos for some articles in a magazine that he manages with his gangs. The magz itself isn't published yet; the initial edition is hopefully coming out in December. For now everything is still blurry, I don't know the future prospect of the magazine yadda yadda yadda but... I guess this could be a good start for some publication opportunity. Wish me luck. :)

Btw, I think I catch a cold. : |