Pieces of Me

Imlek, Chinese New Year in Indonesia

2011-01-18T22:54:00.000-08:00

Chinese New Year date in 2011 will be on February 3. Chinese New Year is is celebrated in countries and territories with significant Chinese populations and usually it is proclaimed as a public holiday. Indonesia has only about 4% Chinese in its population, but Chinese New Year is considered a major holiday. Chinese New Year's celebrations in Indonesia, known locally as Imlek, incorporate customs, beliefs and practices brought to Indonesia by Chinese immigrants who still follow the practices handed down from their parents.

The series of activities to welcome the Chinese New Year celebration begins with a prayer cap year from morning to night. Events praying own New Year, begins before midnight until tomorrow morning.
Here are several pictures from a temple where some Indonesia chineses who live in Jakarta praying to the gods (Photos taken at Vihara on Jalan Petak Sembilan, Glodok Area, Jakarta). On Chinese New Year candles burn in the temples, as adherents believe that candlelight symbolizes a bright future.

All images contained are not allowed to use for any purposes without permission.

(All the images taken with Canon EOS 20D. For more stories about Chinese New Year in Indonesia, click this link)

Beauty of the Hajj

2011-01-16T23:02:00.000-08:00

Hajj is the obligation of every Muslim who can afford. Hajj is a pillar of Islam and is the fifth pillar after the shahada, salat, zakat and fasting. Perform the pilgrimage is a form of an annual ritual performed Muslims worldwide who are able (material, physical, and scientific) to visit and carry out several activities in several places in Saudi Arabia at one time known as the hajj season (month of Dhu al-Hijjah). This is different to worship Umrah can be performed at any time.

Millions of Muslims from around the world come to the holy land of Mecca to perform hajj rituals mandatory. Millions of people from various colors and nationalities come from various countries, united in Islam to do the same activity to meet the pillars of Hajj. Malcolm X, an American human rights activist, describes the sociological atmosphere he experienced at Hajj as follows:
"There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world. They were of all colors, from blue-eyed blondes to black-skinned Africans. But we were all participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist...You may be shocked by these words coming from me. But on this pilgrimage, what I have seen, and experienced, has forced me to rearrange much of my thought patterns previously held."
Many people really want to go on a hajj as yet have cost to leave for hajj, but many also are still reluctant though they can afford. The various reasons put forward other than to feel not ready to go hajj but also there is the worry will be punished in the holy land of the bad deeds they have done. Indeed, hajj is a beautiful journey. Travel of hajj is a form of a summit of faith of a Muslim. A Muslim who would go on a hajj not only he has to bear substantial cost but also has to leave all matters of his world, including leaving his family. The beauty of hajj is surrendering everything to the AlMighty, the beauty of a journey that million of Muslim want to do it every year , the beauty of a journey that the person himself/herself can feel ... A journey to be closer to his Lord

Here are some pictures of a journey of hajj (taken during hajj season of 1429H/2008):

All the images were taken with Canon EOS 20D with a standard lens

(The principal activity of the pilgrimage itself starts on the 8th of Dhu al-Hijjah when Muslims spend the night in Mina, Standing (silent) in Padang Arafah on the 9th of Dhu al-Hijjah, and ends after throwing jumrah on the 10th of Dhu al-Hijjah. )

Sony Photo Contest

2009-04-29T21:52:00.000-07:00

Sony just launched a photo contest. As one of the official FIFA Partners of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, Sony invites photographers around the world to send their best soccer images. The theme of this photo contest is Soccer!. And the choice of subject and location is up to the photographers. The best part is the prizes, Sony will pick 2 Grand prize winners who will each have a chance of winning the highly sought after tickets to the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ finals. What's more, Grand Prize winners will also walk away with a Sony DSLR camera package.

Grab you camera now.. ! For more info click this link http://soccergraphy.sony-asia.com/

Beautiful Lake Toba

2009-04-27T07:16:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been to Indonesia? Usually if you ask someone about Indonesia, his quick answer is Bali. Yes I agree Bali is a beautiful island with many tourism sites. But Bali is just a little part of Indonesia. There are many other tourism sites besides Bali in Indonesia, one of them is Lake Toba, which is located in the province of North Sumatra.
Lake Toba is a volcanic lake and it has 100 kilometers long and 30 kilometers wide, and 505 meters (1,666 ft) at its deepest point and considered as the largest lake in the southeast Asia. It has a very astonishing location as it is surrounded by tall mountains and with the large island of Samosir in the middle. I was very fortunate that I had an opportunity to see, enjoy the lake and capturing beautiful scenery there. Here are some of them.

What camera I should buy?

2009-04-22T19:40:00.000-07:00

If someone asked me what camera I should buy, I will not answer it right away. That is a very common question from someone who is about to purchase his first camera. Well, usually I will ask him back to know what of his motivation and what he is going to do with his camera. Then I will ask him his budget. I need to know if his budget will cover what he is going to do with his camera.
There are many ways of what you can use with your camera. Just for taking family pictures, remembering great holidays, capturing your daily activity, hobby or learning photography in more serious way. If you will use your camera for taking your family holidays, for sure I will not suggest you to buy a new DSLR from Canon. Instead, I will suggest a compact digital camera which handy and easy to use.
How about the budget? They are variety of camera available in the market now with variety of prices. Your budget then will lead you to what camera you are going to buy. Today I can say you may have a good camera with less than USD 500 if you only need it for taking pictures of your children. But if you are about to be serious with photography, I have to say that you will need more.
Well, basically if you asked me what camera I should buy, it’s really up to what do you do with the camera and how much budget you allocate for it. In digital photography world currently, I can say that quality comes with the price.

Digital Photography – Tips for Beginner

2009-03-18T21:46:00.000-07:00

If you just started to have experience with digital camera, you might found that that digital cameraa don't necessarily user friendly. But you don’t need to be worry. Here are some tips that can help you in taking pictures with a digital camera.
Enhance the color tones of your picture
There are times when you think that your shots have a cold or clammy aura. This is because digital cameras have default settings for white balance at auto. This is ok for most shots but if you want to increase the reds and the yellows of your shots, adjust the auto setting to cloudy. This makes your pictures appear warmer as well as richer. Or If you have a software like Photoshop you may adjust your pictures using adjustment menu.

Macro Mode
Activating the close up mode on your camera, usually called the macro mode, will make your shots have sharper details. This is very easy to use in digital cameras unlike in the conventional ones. To use your camera's macro mode, look for the icon that depicts the macro mode or "close up". Normally, the icon is that of a flower. Go as close to the object as your camera will allow. It is important to remember that you have a rather shallow field depth, thus it is important to focus on the subject's part that you consider to be the most significant.
Invest on file storage
Having a memory card that is capable of storing a large amount of picture files is important. This gives you the freedom to take more pictures. The higher the resolution of your camera which normally ranges from 2 mega pixels to up to 6 or more mega pixels, the higher the memory size of your card should be. With an ample sized memory card, you don't have to pass the opportunity to take a shot. No more worries of having a full memory card whenever that perfect shot appears.
Always use high resolution
Your digital camera has many resolution settings. Always take pictures using the highest possible setting. Although higher resolution means more memory used up, it isn't a problem if you have already acquired a good sized memory card. You will never know when the best shot you'll ever take in your whole life may pop up, why take it in poor resolution?
These tips will help you with your new digital camera. Never hesitate to take as many pictures as you can! Remember you have enough memory, why worry?

Basics of Photography

2009-03-18T21:40:00.000-07:00

Are you starting to learn photography? If you are relatively new to photography, below are some basics knowledge you have to know and will help you learn about photography.
The camera
You should understand that whatever camera you use, it won't necessarily affect the final image. There are certain factors that will affect your final product regardless of camera brand. They are:
- the quality of the expected final image.
- will the image be magnified before being viewed?
- will the subject carry the whole focus of the shot?
- the time alloted to take the picture
It is also important to keep in mind that cameras work at varying speeds. This will prove to be crucial depending on the subject that you will be shooting. When taking a picture of your son or daughter while they are playing, you may opt to use an automatic camera to avoid all the fuss of making adjustments with regards to aperture, focus, lighting, etc. But if you are going to take a picture of a mountain view, then you have all the time to use a manual camera.

Lighting conditions
Taking portraits under the sun may present some problems. Because of the sunlight's hardness, dark shadows will may appear in the shot. To solve this problem, you can move the subject to a position under the shade to be able to use skylight instead of sunlight. Skylight is less concentrated than sunlight. Another thing that can be done is for you to take the picture during the last few minutes during sunrise or sunset. Sunlight is mouch more mellow during these times. If you have the equipment such as diffusers as well as reflectors, they will do a good job to make the shot more vibrant. The use of artificial lighting or a flash is also ideal if you know the proper way and time to use them. Avoid using the flash during sunrise and sunset since the resulting picture will look rather clammy or cold.
Exposure
There are no such things as correct exposure. It is really up to you and your artistic preferences how your picture will turn out. The environment contains many tones which can't be fully represented using film. Some of the details might get lost depending on the picture as well as the film used.
These are some of the things that you should remember while taking pictures. As you take more and more pictures, your skills will become sharper and you will be able to use more of your creativity.

Paid for Photos

2009-02-15T22:58:00.000-08:00

You can earn money from your photos. Here are several sites that offer you opportunities to sell your photo collections.

123RF
Sell your photos on 123 Royalty Free and earn 50% of net proceeds from each photo downloaded. Earn 15% of revenue when someone you refer buys credits or subscribes to 123rf. Refer photographers and earn 10% of theÂ priceÂ of each of their photo downloaded, as well as a free complimentary credit.

SPYMAC
Spymac.com is a media-sharing network that pays for original pictures, short films and audio files. They run daily and monthly jackpots and share revenue among contributors who upload the best content.
The system depends on ratings, total comments, total views and total revenue of each upload to determine who gets a share of the jackpots. Members also receive a share of their referrals’ winnings at the end of the month. Spymac pays by check when a minimum of $25 has been earned.

SHAREAPIC
Shareapic.net allows members to share unlimited pictures and earn money. They pay $0.22 per 1000 image impressions or views. Members can also make money from Google ads displayed in their picture galleries. Shareapic.net paysÂ via Paypal within 7 days of request if earnings are over $20.

ZOOM And GO
Earn points for sharing your photos, videos, hotel reviews and for performing various other tasks (such as booking a hotel through the site). Redeem points for cash and/or prizes.

LANDSCAPING IDEAS
LandscapingIdeasOnline is looking for gardening/landscaping articles that are between 600 - 1500 words in length. Pay may be per article or on a profit-sharing basis. They are also hiring Photographers and Sales Associates.

BREAK
Break.com accepts original flash games, videos, and pictures. Receive up to $2000 if your video makes it to the frontpage and up to $25 if your picture is placed in a gallery. They pay by PayPal within a week.

IGO UGO
IgoUgo is a travel site that pays members for participating. Members earn GO points for registering, filling out a personal profile, uploading photos, and writing travel reviews. GO Points can then be redeemed for frequent-flier miles, gift cards from retailers like amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Target. IgoUgo also offers country-specific rewards for international members.

ISTOCKPHOTO
Photographers earn 20% of royalties or up to 40% if eligible for exclusivity. To apply and upload photos at iStockphoto, photographers are required to upload a piece of government issued identification. Photographers also have to submit 3 sample images for review. iStockphoto will send a notification of their decision via email. Free Membership.

FOTOLIA
Photographers set the price of their photos (based on photographer ranking, chosen license and exclusivity of the image). Commission ranges from 33% to 80%. Free Membership.

FOTOLIBRA
Trial fotoLibra Members can upload ten images for free, but these canâ€™t be changed until they upgrade to a paid membership. Full Members can upload up to 4 GB of images and Platinum Members have unlimited storage. fotoLibra takes 50% commission and pays by check.

source: http://www.pcmoneymaker.net

Mosque "Baitul Ihsan" Photo Contest

2009-02-02T17:15:00.000-08:00

This contest was held in 2004, and it was internal photo contest. Why was it internal? It was Masjid Baitul Ihsan, Bank Indonesia’s mosque located in Jakarta Indonesia, needed some pictures that would be used for its publications. The contest was intended to find pictures suitable with it need and the participants were limited to Bank Indonesia employees only.

At the time the contest was announced I had no idea what kind of pictures that might be suitable. So, in one weekend before the contest deadline, I went to Baitul Ihsan along with my wife and daughters trying to figure out. I walked around the mosque, inside and outside and somehow the ideas about the pictures and the theme flowed like water.
These pictures I put here were among selected pictures by the Juries. Well, although it was just an internal photo contests with limited participants, still, I could be proud of. (one of these pictures later on was accepted in Salon Foto Indonesia, a national class photo competition).

"Learning to Recite Al Qur'an"

"Love of a Mother"

"Get Ready for Praying"

"the Reflection"

Images of Budapest

2009-02-01T18:03:00.000-08:00

Our visit to Budapest was also in 2003. Budapest is the old city in central Europe and the largest city in Hungary. Danube river flows in the middle of the city, bisected city into two, which Buda is on the right bank and Pest on the left (east) bank. These both cities were unified to become known as Budapest now on 17 November 1873.

I had not had a digital SLR camera at that time so I still captured the images of Budapest with a Canon EOS 3 and using negative films. I digitalized the pictures using a negative scanner.
I did have much time to travel around Hungary, so the pictures taken were merely in Budapest.

Danube River

St. Itsvan Basilica Church

Left from Communist Era

Budapest Young Couple

Images of Croatia

2009-01-29T18:06:00.000-08:00

I had an opportunity to visit Zagreb, Croatia in 2003. Just happenend to have a friend live in Zagreb, his name is Jurica Brajkovic. Thanks to him, because of his kindness we were able to drive around the country.
What I can say about Zagreb:
Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, is situated in the heart of Europe. It is both old and youthful, wreathed with an abundance of green parks. Along narrow spaces of pedestrian walkways there are many cultural and art institutions, a fine blend of the modern and traditional. Zagreb is also Europe’s biggest outdoor café, always hospitable and open-hearted! BTW, Jura's father is the owner of "Argentina Cafe", one of the famous cafes in Zagreb.
The trip itself was taken several years ago, some images were also already share to some friends and several of these pictures had chance to participate in photography contests or exhibitions. All images were taken with Canon EOS 3, using negative films then scanned to digitalize.
Below are several of the images of Zagreb:

The Secret of Having Great Photos

2009-01-13T18:46:00.000-08:00

by Alex Don

With traditional photography and photo processing the idea of customizing your pictures after taking them seemed really far-fetched. You were basically stuck with the photo you took with your camera and there was almost nothing to do to change it. Even professional photographers often takes faulty pictures. For us amateurs especially if we don't have ultra-performant camera, most pictures are far from perfect.Fortunately, digital photography and photo storage available online for free come in handy as they allow you to change a photo as much as you want, even until it has nothing to do with the original. If you would like to get more out of your photos, this article can help you do that. However, in order to follow this technique, you need to have a photo editing application installed on your computer. There are many free applications you can download online or you can purchase a higher-end one.
1. Basic editing If you don't want anything sophisticated, you can easily learn to use some basic functions of your photo editing application to make some small changes to your photos. These include cropping, resizing or rotating the picture until you get what you want. They can be done in a few minutes and can help you be more satisfied with the image.
2. Add some special effects If you want to go a little further, your photo editor has a lot of functions that add special effects to your photo, such as a windy background and a bunch of other interesting stuff. Each application has a different way of doing this so there are no standard steps to follow, but you can find many tutorials online for any particular software. It only takes a few minutes and can help you change the original image at a great extent.
3. Apply filters Your image may look more interesting after applying a filter. Filters are generally add-ons that can be downloaded for free for any photo editing software. Just to give you an idea, you can use a certain filter to make your photo look like it's been oil painted. Again, each application has its own filters, but you can find step-by-step tutorials for any of them. This also takes no more than a few minutes if you have the right tools.
4. Play with colors Some tools allow you to change the color of your photo. You can make it lighter or darker or even change a certain part of it to a different color. For example, you can customize a portrait to make the eyes of the person green. Playing with colors can help you express more with a common picture and even make some changes to improve an original that is really bad.
5. Put borders and clip-arts If you want to make your picture more interesting or funnier you can add some fun clip-arts or borders. There tons of such elements available online. Make some experiments on an image to see what it looks like. About the AuthorAlex Don is an expert on photography methods with http://reshade.com/ . The firm specializes in picture enlargement programs and offers a free online image resizing service. As a plus it offers an image resizer program . Give it a try !

Digital Photography: Digitally Touched!

2008-03-21T03:41:00.000-07:00

This picture was "created" from 2 pictures (digitally made with Photoshop).

Actually pictures were taken with analog camera from 2 different places. Picture as the background was taken in Carita beach, Banten during a very beautiful sunset moment, meanwhile the horse rider was taken in Parangkusumo beach, Yogyakarta.

Tittle: End of a Journey

Taken with: Canon EOS 3,

Lens: Canon 50 mm MKII,

Storage: Fuji Film (negative film)

My Favourite Picture!

2008-03-21T02:07:00.000-07:00

This picture was one of my pictures accepted in Salon Foto Indonesia 2004. SFI was a photo competition for Indonesian amateurs photographers.

This picture shows a mother teaching his daughter how to recite Qur'an correctly. This is always be my favourite one, cause in this image I want to show the important role of a mother in child early spiritual education

Taken with:

- Canon EOS 3

- Canon EF 50mm MK II F 1.8

Picture That Inspires Me!

2008-03-21T01:53:00.000-07:00

Mid of 2003, I just finished a basic photography course when there was a photo contest announced in our office. The contest was purposed to obtain images that would be used to decorate Bank Indonesia's 2004 official calender.
I threw my dice by submitting a few pictures. As someone who still just learned basic photography
and still need guidance even in how to hold camera properly, I didn't expect much. But yeah .. the dice showed my number .. It was my luck I believe. My 2 pictures were elected by the Juries. These are the pictures:

It Was taken with Canon Rebel G (analog camera), Tamron 70-200, Fuji (Slide).