a journal of a man with words, camera and his heart

My Photo scholarship 2011 entry

Indonesia | Tuesday, November 8, 2011 | 5 photos

Borneo is the world's third largest island. Many endemic species and other rich biodiversity live there. Charles Darwin described Borneo as 'one great wild untidy luxuriant hothouse made by nature for herself'. If so, personally I describe Borneo as 'a mother who sacrifice herself for her son'. We - who live in this world - are her sons.

In 2010 and 2011, I went to an area that so called 'Heart of Borneo'. This is an upriver area where many rivers in Borneo start their flow. Like a heart, this is an area where the heartbeat of Borneo always pumped. Paradoxically, this is an area where the natural degradation was happened massively for decades (i.e: illegal logging and illegal hunting of wildlife). Fortunately, in 2004, illegal logging and wildlife hunting was banned. Now, people make peace with nature. In my trip, I record these 'love-hate' relationship.

For me, photography doesn't always talk about aesthetic matter. It also talks about its potential to make a positive change to society. I have inspired by many achievement of great photographer. Besides lift the aesthetic debate, their work could lure the society to aware about problems that have been recorded. For example, I have been inspired by Nick Nichols’s photographs of 'Megatransect project' that inspired the President of Gabon to create 13 new national parks.

Thus, the photograph could be the potential tool to make a positive change in society. In this scholarship, I hope to learn how to behave as a photographer who put the respect and humanity in every photographic assignment. Not just take a beautiful photos, also to make a strong picture that inspire people to make a change. NatGeoSociety have done it. So, I need to learn it from one of their photographer.