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Humanity in Monochrome

I started taking pictures in year 2002 using an analog camera.  On the first years of photographing, human interest photography was my favorite subject. It was not an easy subject and I had plenty of failed pictures from many roll films. However I kept few photos. I had them printed and scanned them despite of their not so excellent quality. These few photos captured the humanity moment that I wish not to be forgotten and neglected.

International Workers’ Day of May Day, Jakarta 2003. Thousands workers from various trade unions were participating in a rally to celebrate May Day. This picture was taken during one of theatrical acts on modern slavery. On the same day, I met this lady and her son who begged for money on the street. Her husband just passed away and she thought to return to her hometown. Jakarta was not her city, she told me.

Jakarta’s Old Port, Sunda Kelapa, Jakarta 2003. Informal employment is very common in developing countries like Indonesia.  It is true that the informal economy has helped them to survive and not to fall into extreme poverty. However these type of employment are lacking of social protection, low-paid and unsafe working conditions. And Indonesia today is still facing large number of informal employment without proper social protection.

Humanity has no boundaries. It is about being human and how we treat each other regardless our differences.

52 Comments »

  1. There’s something to be said about the quality of 35mm film. There’s a certain texture to the film that sometimes escapes the digital medium. I think that the inherent flaws of film are actually a characteristic that photographers were able to use to their advantage. Like the soft focus glow in a film from the 40’s. Anyway, your photos are beautiful and capture the sadness of the past.

    • Thank you Rob. Totally agree with you. There are times that I miss taking pictures using analog camera, the excitement is different. But nowadays it is almost impossible to process a film 😦 in otherhand I am glad there is photoshop that helps me in processing images independently without having my own darkroom…

  2. A powerful post Indah. thank you!
    I nominate you for a Very Inspiring blog award. If you have no time for this, it is OK, no worries. I just want the other bloggers to know about your wonderful blog. Thank you for your great work! 🙂

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