TRANQUILLITY

Photos: My Scholarship entry - Gunungkidul, The Tale of Water in Deserted Place

tranquillity — Mon, 24 Nov 2014 02:02:00 GMT

It has never been easy to create a dream comes true: earn a living by doing what we love. I find my self torn apart between my daily routine as a lecturer and my real passion: travel and documentary photography. Although I am teaching in a university on my discipline, visual media and culture, my daily routine has been filled by more administrative works rather than field photography activities. I have learnt and enhanced my photography knowledge and skill during my study in Australia. I am actually an outdoor person. I love any kind of field experiences and I love to use photography as my instrument as well as my “epistemology” to understand the world we live in with all its essences. I believe photography is one of the best ways to encounter the diversity of nature, understand the ways of life, the variety of culture, and the mixture of ideas spread throughout the world. These are my drive to take a better shot in every photograph I make because I also believe that sharing is as meaningful as creating. Winning this travel photography scholarship will be my key to unlock the “new gate” in professional photography, so I will be able to connect the worlds by the pictures I create.

Celebrating Local Values in "5 Mountains Festival"

tranquillity — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 18:56:34 GMT

The video we submit here is another collaborative project between me (Zaki Habibi) and M Iskandar Tri Gunawan who have been collaborating since 2010. Gunawan is very enthusiastic about filmmaking, while I am passionate about photography, writing, and recently presenting as well. Both of us also share a common passion: travelling. We care about our destination and the people we met, we also love to share our experiences to others using film. This is not only for the sake of our own fun or as narcissistic medium, but this is our way to share the journey, the emotions, and to engage others in our experience. We are now live in all-connected world and sharing experience and knowledge is the key feature to make a better life. We believe that, as wise men said, “[now] the new source of power is not money in the hand of a few, but information [also knowledge and experience] in the hand of many”. We are not a duo of excellent travel filmmaker and presenter yet, but we have relentless passion on both travelling and filmmaking. This makes us a perfect choice for the Scholarship, so we could explore the world and filming the variety of nature, ethnic group, and culture. Our knowledge and skill would be enhanced too, not only in terms of travel film production techniques, but also the essence of travelling itself in a more professional standard. For us, travelling is a journey to build dialogue with others, and making travel film is a medium to share this dialogue to broader people.

A 'place' I have visited

tranquillity — Fri, 5 Jul 2013 02:04:36 GMT

If I may resume myself in three keywords, these would be: visual, photography, and adventure. These could describe the way I choose not only my education backgrounds, bachelor of communications and master in media and cultural studies, but also my social life. I have lived in eight different cities, seven in Indonesia and one in Australia. It is not only the passion of travel that lead me to this semi-nomad lifestyle, yet cosmopolitan encounters with other people, different cultures, and various natural environment that I enjoy the most. I have learnt from other people stories, fears, and hopes. I have also been enriched by the variety and cross-experience of cultures, as well as by the different scent, the vision, or even the heat of diverse environment. The most significant “tool” for me to gain these kind of learning process is by visual media, mainly photography. I learned the technique during my university life, but I discover the very perspective of this media in my social and cultural encounters. This is the way I understand photography as my very best friend to understand the world, the relations among its elements, and also myself.

Photos: My Photo scholarship 2011 entry (The Aftermath of the Mount Merapi’s Eruption)

tranquillity — Tue, 1 Nov 2011 14:09:00 GMT

A year ago Mount Merapi, an active volcano in Java, Indonesia, erupted and caused massive devastations. During the endless eruption from October to November 2010, I had to leave my home and witnessed the day-to-day occurrence of the eruption and also its impact to the villages nearby Mount Merapi. When I joined the volunteer team to deliver humanitarian aids, I realised I can do more for the people of Merapi. Then, I chose to join the information centre team and—equipped with my camera and basic knowledge in photography and journalism—I captured the aftermath of this natural disaster. At the time we were disappointed with the national mainstream mass media co-opted by the market-driven journalism that covered this event based on sensationalism only. As a volunteer I had a very close access to the location as well as to the villagers. I saw many complex issues—such as debate on relocation, unfair aid distribution, mismanagement of post-disaster response, etc.—that never be covered by mainstream journalists. This became my strongest motivation in my photographs: to tell a story from the perspective of the most affected people. It leads me to a bigger concept of all my photographs. I always put my self as ”close” as possible to the subjects whether they are place or person subjects, not only in terms of distance but also perspective. Photography for me is an effort for “giving voice to the voiceless”. But, I realise I need to learn more. My current study at the Edith Cowan University, Perth, will improve my understanding. However, I believe to gain the optimum result in learning we need to do dynamic and multilayer processes. By joining the World Nomads 2011 Travel Photography Scholarship mentored by Jason Edwards, I will enhance my capacity in a greater level.

Documentary Scholarship 2011 entry

tranquillity — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:17:04 GMT

I was inspired by my subject's story as a multiple-roles-woman. She is a mother and a university student, and also an Asian and a moslem woman. These latter attributions lead her to receive several discriminative experiences in the city where she lives now: Perth.

From a daily human story that embrace a deep emotional feeling, I start my "journey" as a storyteller through documentary. I am studying at School of Communication and Arts, Edith Cowan University, Perth now. I would like to start my long journey with this small step to tell human stories and engage people with the film I make.

I see a best opportunity to boost my journey through this scholarship, especially the project will be in Australia too. This is not just a coincidence - I am studying in Perth and the scholarship's project is in Northern Territory. This is the path that I should take part in because, as we know, "the chance will not knock your door twice".

KARIMUNJAWA 59455 [My Travel Writing Scholarship 2011 entry - My Big Adventure]

tranquillity — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 07:36:00 GMT

By Zaki Habibi

It was a bright noon in a weekday, but it was so quiet. This silence sent me to another dimension then it pulled me away from my consciousness to an unstoppable ecstasy in the underwater.

“Fuuuh…hahhh… fuuuh…hahhh…” My breath created a dynamic rhythm to balance the quietness when I snorkelled near Cilik island, a part of the Karimunjawa Islands in Indonesia, South East Asia. I travelled there on May when the friendly weather and calm waves occurred. The Karimunjawa, consists of 27 islands, is only a district of Jepara, the nearest city located in Java. The mark for all the islands is very simple. It is just a combination of number, 59455, which is the ZIP code. The reality within the islands, however, is more complex than just this simple mark.

The Karimunjawa is quite isolated. This has a huge dependency on raw materials from Java or other islands. But, Karimunjawa has a wonderful treasure, the sea! This is a home for various coral reefs and their magnificent inhabitant. No wonder if fishery and tourism are the most important things here. The islands did not only offer crystal clear waters and white sandy beaches as usually advertise in a typical brochure about tropical islands. Karimunjawa has a bunch of other interesting menus, from an astonishing colour-gradation of the sea, the honourable people, to underwater experience including swimming with tame sharks. Here I was, plunging my self into the sea.

The view, indeed, was a part of the fascinating show where displayed amazing corals and colourful fish. But, I felt a different experience of this so-called underwater event. Actually, I did not watch them as the objects, because I was the main show for them. They watched me, investigated me, even some of them tried to make a chat, and obviously, they welcomed me. This feeling in fact made me more comfortable to continue this submerged journey.

It was not only the fish that shared their hospitality, but also, the Karimunjawa people. When I met an old couple in another small island, the friendly welcome emerged as a true reality. This Bugis-ethnic couple is the-one-and-only people in the island, originally came from Sulawesi (Celebes). Having spent more than 10 years living in the island without neighbours, nor the electricity or other sophisticated equipment, did not make them losing their generosity to others. I could not understand all the things they said, because they spoke in a Bugis dialect. But, I did not feel alienated there. I felt belong to them once we were sitting together, while eating coconuts and grilled fish.

Then, the shocking news smacked me hard: the last day has taken place. My six hours travel with Muria boat to go back to Java was felt so long. The number, 59455, remained in my mind. But, this no longer referred to a ZIP code from that day on. For me, it has a new meaning that call my impression about the underwater tranquillity and pleasant experience back.