Updating The Updates
Hi all,
I’ll keep this post short and sweet, as I am working on a longer post that will be posted by Thursday (really! I promise!).
As I mentioned before, I redesigned my photography portfolio site, BeyondExposures.com, with a new logo! What do you think of it? I’m curious for opinions.
Today, I’ve uploaded color (yes, color!) images of The Mekong Delta and of Cambodia. The goals of these galleries are to give viewers a real-life view of these places beyond the typical cliche views you often will see. For example: you will see thousands of images of the temples of Angkor Wat, yet how many photos do you see of handmade rice noodles being processed? Ok, maybe some will say “we don’t care about rice noodles, Rod!” Well I do! So I shot it! 
Just click the photo to see the new galleries. I apologize in advance that the images are not as vibrantly colored as on my monitor (the color space for web pages is limited: on monitors, there are almost 2x the number of available colors). But, I think most will be happy with what they see. If want to see the “real” colors, let me know and I will send u a small file u can display on your monitor. 
*Ok, I’m rambling…I can feel it…*
I had a great Chinese New Year! I spent it with Christine’s wonderful family. I am still full from all the food, and I’m still working my way through all the cakes I brought home DD
*~Special Thanks, Again, Christine ~*
In addition to the yummy munchies Christine’s Mom (Momstine? hahaha), My friend from Singapore is here visiting her family for Chinese New Year, giving us a great opportunity to hang out as often as we can this week! So, I’m a happy Rodney at the moment. :):)
Ok, I’ve got to get back to work! I will post again within two days. Do take care!
Unseen Photos and Great News…
Hiii,
Ok, I know I’ve been away for a while (nothing new about this, yes? hahaha). There’s lots to tell and lots of great news:
- I got the job. I’m the Head Director of Information Technology for company XYZ (Did you really think I will say the company’s name? hahaha). They flew me to Singapore (Executive class, heck ya!) for the weekend. Unfortunately, I had to return with another tourist visa, because the HR did not have enough time to finish the formal paper work. This means I get another FREE trip to Singapore early August, flying executive class hehehe.
- Since my last post, I’ve received an amazing amount of email from total strangers showing concern for my almost-depression, as well as questions in general. I’ve decided to try to answer these in the next few days.
- For every person who comments here, there are maybe 12 or 13 more who email, yet not comment. AND, for every person who comment or email, there are about 8 who only read (based on the website statistics for # of unique visitors per post). This means I have a much larger number of people reading my posts, and thus I must be considerate to readers, and keep this blog updated. I promise to post at least every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday (Mon-Wed-Fri is simply too cliche haha).
Ok, I’ll answer Fan Mails:
Letter #1:
Rita wrote “I love your blog posts, and really love your photography. You are very funny and sensitive guy. You posted some nice photos of Cambodian kids, but none of Angkor Wat! And I want Color!”
Here you go, Rita! Here are 3 unseen photos of Angkor Wat, and in color hahaha.
Angkor Wat Temple
Minor Temple outside of the main Angkor compound
(with my tour guide walking through my shot, grrr, but he gives the photo scale)
Angkor’s Outer Wall. People tend to associate the main iconic structures (in first photo) as the temple. Actually there are many buildings surrounded by a huge wall system surrounded by forest and jungle.
Letter #2:
Vanessa (a former 13yo student of mine) writes: “Rodneyyyy, Come back to EF because we miss you haha! Ok you will not, I know. I like the fotos of the kids in Cambodia. Can I see more foto please?”
Ok Vanessa, Here are some unseen kid “photos” (English! Practice Your English *smile*)
Cabin Boy on a Tourist Boat
Cambodian Girl
On the road to the Mekong Delta, there is rows of run dow, make-shift homes where people live. The majority of them work for the fishing boats or tourist boats. You cannot see it from this photo, but it was shot from a moving car, about 10m from above, thus she is in low-ground, and her home actually is on stilts. During their rainy season, 10m of water will fill the spot she is standing (thus the boat). Remember what I said about the two types of poverty? She is considered ‘well off’ compared to most of her neighbors.
Ok, more letters next time about Indonesian Women, and Religion *~ Shudder ~* Also more unseen (color) photos of “Real” Dayak Tribes of Kalimantan.
Take Care!
Good News, Buddhist Monks, and Cambodian Kiddies…
Hello, everyone. I’ve a lot to share!
Good News:
I have some interesting news to share! It seems I will be a participant in a 3 day photography gallery from May 9-11. The competition I entered focus on the development goals within Indonesia (fighting poverty, empowering women, etc). I entered 8 (or is it 10) photographs into the competition’s 8 categories. The field has been narrowed to 96 photos, including my own. The public will have 3 days to view and vote on the best photo. Now, that is the bad news part: public always goes for the bright shinny vibrant color stuff, not the dim, murky Black and White photography. So I am sure I won’t win, but still, good to be in the gallery showing.
If you are in Jakarta between May 9 – 11, and want to visit the gallery, the address is:
Museum Bank Mandiri
Art Center Lantai 2 (lantai=floor)
Jl. Lapangan Stasiun No. 1
Jakarta, 11110
10 AM – 8 PM
Please do attend if you can, and please vote for me (if you feel my images are worth the votes).
Another great news is a photography organization I previously contacted has asked for more samples of my work. I will send that off when I return to Jakarta. I would have sent the portfolios this weekend, had it not been for the HORRIFIC discovery of my gamma 1.8 issue (See the Mac vs. PC portion of the previous blog for details).
I feel pretty confident I’ve solved the gamma issues. Tell me if you feel this blog’s photographs seem “ok” to you. I’m now running on Gamma 2.2, with Daylight setting of 6500K. If you do not know what this means, just assume it is a good thing. I am curious though: If you are a Mac user, and a photographer, what settings do you use for your Monitor calibration?
Buddhist Monks:
I can say I learned a great deal about Angkor Wat, and the neighboring temples. One thing I learned was very few of the monks famous for being at Angkor Wat actually live there! the great majority live in the surrounding areas, or travel from further away to make the once-in-a-life-time journey to see Angkor Wat. So, a lot of photos of those monks are photos of visitors who do love to be photographed! It’s fun to see, because the monks have modern cell phones, and are also shooting photos of the temples, right along with the other tourists.
But I do love how the monks will sit and pose for people. Well, not really pose: they are just sitting and being themselves. When people (such as me) ask for photo, they just nod their head, and give you the “thousand-mile-stare.” If u do the proper bow beforehand, they may even give u a partial hint of a smile! Oh, and if you are allowed to capture their image, please do take a moment to thank them properly. So many tourist would just snap a photo, then run off. Some tourist even would stand over top of the guy below (who gave that partial hint of a smile) and get photos made by their friends, and not even as much as a “thanks!”
Cambodian Kiddies (a.k.a. Naked Toddlers and above):
Ok, some of you have emailed asking to see the naked babies. So, here are a couple of images I hope are tastefully photographed, while not showing their little private parts (afterall, how many of you want your naked baby pictures shown on the Internet?)
*~ Kyaaa, Sorry I chopped your foot off, kid! ~*
Little kids would cry when they see my camera pointing at them. The little girl, above, was the only naked baby to not cry, although she did make a scared face when she heard the “click click click!” of the shutter. The girl below could not hold back her fright, which won over her curiosity and her mom tried to comfort her.
Still, there were many other kids, besides naked babies, to be seen. It seems to me the older they get, the more clothing they wear, but always are topless at young ages. Then again, it’s hard to tell boys from girls at very young ages, except for the long hair, so I guess it is ok… I guess. *~ Perplexed ~*
Still, I do not want to show half naked little girls! My mom would raise from the grave and smack me! So, out of ethical consideration, the girls are either fully clothed, or you can’t see anything.
Still, there are many boys too. The kids, even though they are from different families, are very close to each other. It seems to me the Cambodian communities (I visited) live the motto “it takes a village to raise a kid”
Reminds me of my friend Edward and me at their age. We were super close growing up, but strangely we not stay in contact much after a few years out of high school. I hope these guys remain friends after becomes adult
I should mention something about the above image. The baby is not a natural blond, but suffering partly from malnutrition. The hair turns light color from lack of proper nutrients. But on a lighter (no blond pun intended) note, I noticed kids love those big-wheel rabbit tricycles!
OK enough photos for now! Please take care, and I hope these look ok (but I notice flickr–who houses the photos–dulls the colors, yuck).
Tomorrow morning I fly back to Jakarta.
Take care
Naked Babies, Mac vs. PC, and Gator-ade(less)…
HiHi,
I’m still in Cambodia. I can say while I highly dislike Saigon, Vietnam, I LOVE Cambodia! I love every aspect of this place so far. The people are beautiful and friendly, even to me (who can be scary to little Asians, at first sight, given my Sumo-build and dark skin hahaha). Remember what I said about my theory on there being different types of “poor?” Well Cambodia is definitely in the Indonesia category. A lot of these wonderful people are seriously poor. But, one thing stands out, and I find it quite alarming, yet humorous:
Naked Babies:
OMG, there are so many naked toddlers running around! I am fully aware it is very hot and humid here. Still, I can only think “oh dear, her baby-soft skin will turn to sun-dried leather without a good SPF sunscreen!” Everywhere there are naked babies.
- Running around on the row boats with their banana-selling moms: Naked Babies
- At the street vendor stands selling drinks, running around playing: Naked Babies
- Next to the way-too-innocent 12 year old girls begging you to buy their postcards: Naked Babies
- In the kampung villiage areas, in the streets, grass, and chasing dogs: Naked Babies
Everywhere are Naked Babies laughing, giggling, staring (at me), pointing (at me again) and smiling and waving “Hello!”– Naked Babies!
*~ Can’t their parents at least let them wear underwear? ~*
Mac vs. PC:
I have so many photos of Cambodia, but I noticed on the PCs at the Internet Cafe my recent pics are very dark! I then looked back at older posts to see the black and white images also are very dark! *~ Kyaaa! ~*
Why do my pictures show up too dark and/or over-saturated with color on PCs, yet look wonderful on Mac? My god, I wanted to scream when I saw my color photos on PC. My first thought was ”omg, people are seeing these photos?”
I did some google searches and found out why! Gamma! Macs use Gamma 1.8 and PCs use 2.2. This means, everything on mac will show up darker on PC. So I need to reset my Gamma to 2.2 (to match most of the free world…maybe…i’m google searching still)? Strange strange strange. I just had a thought: does this mean photos processed on PC will appear too light/undersaturated color on Mac? Let me check.
Checking… nothing. I forgot, I’m on a pc right now at Internet Cafe grrrr. Will check tomorrow when back in Vietnam….
I made photos for portfolios! I made photos for contests! So what happens if they view on PC? Hmm…
So, I wont post more pics this day, until I find out more. Maybe tuesday I will post, as I want them to seem great to you! But I can say I have some amazing finds to share with you all.
Gator-ade(less):
Today, my buddy, Janet, and I agreed we all needed Gator-ade before heading to the mountains, to help us perform better on the long trek ahead. I pointed out one place that had Gator-ade (the place across the street) but the driver went past it, then said “oh, I know anther place” NO Gator-ade, but some sports-aid stuff.
There is no replacement for Gator-ade: That sports-ade gave me heartburn all day! *~ Cry ~*
*~ Breaking News ~*
I’ve heard back from an organization I find to be very interesting and produce wonderful photographic work. They’ve requested to see my portfolios!
*~ Doing the Happy Snoopy Dance ~*
BUT, see above about Mac vs. PC! Now, 90% of the Photographic (and artistic world) use Mac (as the rest of the world should) but I can’t risk sending portfolios to them without knowing they really do use Mac or PC! I have to reply and ask them (safest thing to do I think).
Anyway, I’m going back to my room. Tonight was not fun at all actually. I will work on my photos some more, and am curious what will happen if I chage the Gamma to 2.2 (will every photos I’ve worked on need to be reprocessed, OMG…)
*~ P.S. ~*
I’ve found the answer. I need to change my Gamma to 2.2 grrr. And Apple even recommends it Here. Now. why did they ship the bloody machine with 1.8 when they recommend to update it to 2.2 for artisitc work? Grrr. Ok. Fine. I at least know Mac machines are smart enough to auto-switch (I hope) between the two gamma settings, as I sent my portfolio via DHL International Express (at the cost of 1/2 a month’s rent!) with 1.8 gamma images to “The-Photo-Gods” (who happen to use Mac systems…thank god). I praying the images I sent will appear properly! *~ pls Lord pls ~*
Ok, I’m going back to my room (again, for real!) to update my Gamma and see what happens (scared my other photos will change…)
Take care!
Pondering Poverty, TelkomHell, & Cambodia Coming Up…
Pondering Poverty:
I’m still processing images recently taken in south Vietnam along the Mekong Delta. I must say I only shot a handfull of images during my two day tour of the Mekong Delta, with some scenes standing out more than others. Life along the river a mixture of harsh and simple life: meaning, while making a living along the river may be difficult, people still content with each other, their environment, and thus with daily life.
I’ve mentioned in past blog posts Indonesia is a country of maximum extremes. While Jakarta is quite modern, it still has scattered pockets of gritty poverty. Furthermore, Indonesia’s poverty levels becomes more acute as one goes further away from a major city. I’ve also mentioned Vietnam also have a similar social structure, but not to the extreme of Indonesia: in other words, Vietnam’s HCMC is not nearly as modern as Jakarta, and its poor regions are not as inflicted with poverty as deeply as Indonesia.
I am beginning to think there are different categories of “poor.” Vietnam poor is more along the lines of “country living” poor (as Americans would say, living in the Boondocks); they have very little money, but they also need little money as they try to live off the land as much as possible, and their homes are buildings that are simply decaying, but maybe once were built to a certain cultural standard.
Indonesia’s poor are not only monetary poor, but poor in nearly every way relative to the essentials of living; they tend to live in makeshift homes of disgarded wood, plastic wrap and scraps of sheet metal, and often are wearing scraps of old cloth as clothing (in the poorest areas I’ve seen so far). I have seen families living on cardboard between railroad tracks in Jakarta. It is safe to say Indonesia has the “country living” poor, plus the stark, gritty poverty of having virtually nothing at all.
Along the Mekong Delta, may earn a living selling fresh fruits and vegetables from out of their rowboats. In the early hours one can find dozens of type of fruits and fresh seafood. There are even vendor boats, where the person sells bottled water, canned sodas and snacks! Speaking of snacks, you should try the mini pineapples! The seller will cut up the pineapple in a way the stem can be used as a handle and then you eat the pineapple as if it was a turkey drumstick! YUMMY!
As it should be obvious by now, living on the Mekong Delta means spending a lot of time in and around the water. Whether you are washing (yourself, child, pet, cloting or veggies, all next to each other), traveling, earning a living or shopping, odds are you will use the river. And life on a river means having a boat. Every age, men and women are in boats.
TelkomHell:
I use a mobile phone service called Telkomsel. They are (supposedly) the best in Indonesia. But, my personal experience with them lately has been nothing but pure Hell on Earth! I signed up for international roaming, mobile banking, etc. Does ANY of it work? NO!
Not only do I find it hard to believe they are the best service, but the service is almost none-existent in central Jakarta! (Meaning, I must stand next to a window to get a measly two bars on my mobile phone, and I am in a standard 1st floor building, not a conctrete-laced skyscraper! Don’t even let me get started about their Telkom Flash Internet service (I’m already planning to switch back to Indosat for Internet upon returning to Jakarta)!
The standard line from customer service is “Please wait 3 days” I’ve waited 3 days now for over a week. They have no idea what they are doing. They’re simply stalling, and getting rid of customers, so when they call back, maybe another tech will have to deal with the issue. They should rename their service to TelkomHell!
So, if you have tried to call me, SMS me, or MMS (in reference to you, x-tine hahaha) me, please wait until I return to Jakarta.
Cambodia Coming Up:
EARLY tomorrow morning, I’ll be heading to Cambodia! I’m very excited and looking forward to this part of the Journey. I can’t wait to see the temples as well as the villiages. While there, I’m not certain how much internet access I will have. I will try my best to say hello when I can.
Cheers!
A Working Holiday…
Intro
I’m writing this blog post very fast, as I am less than a few hours from deadline for submitting a portfolio (see below). I’m currently in Vietnam. I can say HCMC reminds me a lot of Banjarmasin, Kalimantan or Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in terms of the types of buildings they have, but with maybe 50% of the Jakarta’s traffic: most of HCMC’s traffic seems to be motorbikes. I can say the traffic is more organized than Jakarta’s, yet still harder for a pedestrian to cross the roads, as motorbikes are just a non-stop torrent, thus people almost cannot walk across roads. I’ve seen so many skinny people standing sideways balancing as if on a log, to avoid the motorcycles from hitting them as they pass just inches away in front and behind them! If I did that, I’d be a dead man!
*~ Yes, I know, lots of paradoxes today ~*
Traffic Example: It seems there is an HCMC unwritten rule on the main roads motorbikes will drive in the right lane, and cars in the left lane, crossing each other only when needed or turning (which is a horror to witness: turns!). Still, Jakarta has HCMC beat for overall traffic, but at least Jakartans can cross the road (albiet still dangerous to do so).
In Jakarta, the traffic is massive, swarming mass of cars and motorbikes, constantly weaving in and out of lanes (what lanes? they will drive 5 cars side by side on a 3 lane road!) while honking their horns for almost no reason (maybe it is a Jakartan Hobby?). In HCMC, the car horns are used much less, but when they do use them they honk Honk HONK even after passing what they were honking at!
Police are almost unseen in HCMC, while in Jakarta, they are everywhere and constantly pulling people over to elicit ‘fines’ from people. My friends say the fines happen most often around lunch time, as the police tend to pocket the money, and thus can use it to buy lunch hahaha. Also I noticed Lebaran holiday (when many go back to their home towns) is another time when Police are out in mass force to get every dime (or Rupiah) they can.
Now, turns, both Jakarta and HCMC are horrible with turns and circles! My God, why do people love circles sooooo much in S.E. Asia??? (well, I did not see that many in Thailand….) I must say circles are so dangerous a place. It’s impossible to walk, and forces all the cars and bikes (who are already driving illegally in and out of lanes in Jakarta especially) to be a big mass of 20 cars side by side. Jakarta has these huge circles, while HCMC have tiny ones, but still have this effect of 3 lanes of cars turning at the same time into 3 lanes of cars coming from the opposite direction, Add to this that not all cars are making a U-turn, but making an upside down L shaped left turn which now “croses” the onslaught of 3 lanses of cars coming from the opposite direction. *~ my god, headache thinking of it! ~*
Buildings here are not a modern as Jakarta. There are some very modern places, certainly, but I think HCMC is still behind Jakarta. If you’ve visited Jakarta, you know it is a mix of poverty and very modern. Here, the poverty is not as deep (I think) and the modern is not as modern hahaha.
The people are very very tiny! They find me to be amazing (given my chubby body). I visited my friend’s factory, where over 1000 people work. I felt like either a walking zoo exhibit, or a rock star, given the constant stares. I even was asked a few times to take pictures with them (maybe as proof they met a giant fat man). The people are quite friendly actually
I’ll post pictures next time, as I’m just too busy at this moment because of…
Work
So far I’ve seen some interesting places on my first day here, but the last 3 days have been spent doing the following:
- Updating my Photo Catalog in Adobe Lightroom
- Finalizing the prints and photo information for a photography contest that focuses on MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) in Indonesia
- Preparing (by 2 PM today, and it’s 11:00 AM already!) a portfolio of 60 photos to be submitted to VII Photo Agency (home of my Photography Gods). They have given a deadline of April 30 for my portfolio to be received in their New York office.
*~ Kyaaa, I must get the CD to Janet’s office staff so they can give to DHL! ~*
Holiday
Later this week, I’ll meet up with my buddy, Andrew, to take a quick 2-day tour of the Mekong Delta. He’s still finalizing the plan for it. This weekend, I am dragging Janet for shooting! She purchased the Canon 5D that I wanted weeks ago, but have yet to use it! OMG! How can she resist using it???? She says she must “read the manual first” *~ Shock~* hahahah
We’ll be heading to Cambodia for a week on April 30, where I plan to do the great majority of my shooting this holiday. I can’t wait for that. I’m doing a great deal of personal research for this part of the holiday. It will be a great time and effort.
Bahasa Indonesia Lesson for Today:
Vietnam: Vietnam (hahaha)
Cambodia: Kamboja
Take care!