Stuck In Customs » Indonesia

Turning a Blind Eye

tratcliff — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 04:35:00 +0000

I must have walked 10 miles in Jogjakarta that day. There were so many things to see… interesting people, clothes, etc etc. I saw this guy a few times, and I decided to take a shot on the third time. He regarded me with a cool one-eyed stare and didn’t give much reaction one way or the other. I’m pretty good at getting the vibe if someone does not want their photo taken… I got no vibe from him. Actually, I got no vibe at all.

The caged Buddhas look outward towards the sunrise

tratcliff — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:54:17 +0000

Each of these “bells” is really a stone cage that houses a seated Buddha statue, facing outwards. At this time in the morning, you can take little flashlights and peer inside the cages. It’s all very eerie and fun…

In the distance, you can see a few volcanoes poking through the mist.

The Lightning Temple

tratcliff — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 03:58:20 +0000

This was one scary place in a storm. I can’t overstate that. The whole place felt alien and ancient… there was hardly anyone at this remote temple, and then pretty much everyone left when the storm hit. Between squalls, I took some quick shots as the sun went down, using a rainsleeve over my camera to try to keep it as dry as possible.

As the light changes in Indonesia

tratcliff — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 04:48:13 +0000

I have been working on a new batch of shots from Indonesia which will be coming up soon, but in the meantime I was looking at how dramatically the light changed on one day I was there in particular. These two shots below are from different parts of the country… One was taken around 3 PM and the second was taken around 7 PM.

A Delicate Morning

tratcliff — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:34:55 +0000

The morning in Indonesia seemed to change every 5 minutes from blue to pink to purple then back to blue again. I could hardly figure out where to point… Framing these Buddhas in the bells at Borobudur was a fun exercise in composition and patterns.

Indonesian Girl with Hat

tratcliff — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 04:16:31 +0000

This girl had traveled from a remote part of Indonesia to visit Borobudur. She had never seen a white guy in person before… I told her that I might be kind of a disappointment since I am a fairly average white guy. She saw the freckles on my arm and asked if I had a disease…

The Homes by the river in Indonesia

tratcliff — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 02:49:12 +0000

The density of the homes was remarkable, everyone right on top of the next. We walked down through the little houses and got a hundred good shots… each one was brightly and individually painted and festooned.

This is Sujatmi

tratcliff — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 19:56:23 +0000

Sujatmi’s dream is that her grandkids grow up to be brave and smart.

She is currently sitting in a makeshift annex area in a bustling riverside community in Jogjakarta, Indonesia. Dozens of tiny thatched and improvised houses are cobbled together and brightly painted. There are kids running around and other adults running after them, trying to get them to sit still so they can begin school. I’ve accidentally interrupted the whole affair while getting confused in the tiny alleys, no wider than a set of shoulders. She’s thrilled by the excitement as she looks on, nodding at me and the kids.

If you are into this portrait series (not all readers are… I think most like the landscapes!), then you can see more by clicking here.

The Rolling Buddhist Morning Mist

tratcliff — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 05:02:57 +0000

Usually a fine layer of mist indicates as that one area is cooler than another area. In this case, even in the early morning light, that could not have been the cause of the mist since it was burning hot with every single step. There was some sort of steamy condensation, but most of it was wrapping itself around my sweaty body. A tiny bit of breeze might have been nice, but maybe that would have blown away the mist!

Volcanoes Poking Through

tratcliff — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 04:20:13 +0000

The light changed every few minutes through the morning. As the low clouds rolled across the jungle below Borobudur, you could see the nearby volcanoes poking through into the sunrise.

The Underwater Mosaic Near the Jungle Gates

tratcliff — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 09:09:40 +0000

Found in a placid pool in Indonesia… And believe it or not, I never got in! Looking at it now… I kind of regret it… I couldn’t have been THAT busy could I?

Borobudur at High Noon

tratcliff — Fri, 30 May 2008 02:59:05 +0000

All of these SE Asian temples are oriented against the poles of the earth and the solar system so you can often get these symmetric shots, although I normally don’t do that sort of thing. This was shot from the top of Borobudur when the sun was burning down at about 100 degrees of hot waves of humid heat. Scaling my way up there through the jungle gloom was tough enough without the added burning factor!

A Dip in the Glassy Pool

tratcliff — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 23:10:32 +0000

This is the hotel where I stayed (The Grand Mercure) in Indonesia when I went to visit Borobudur for the weekend. I never took a chance to sample the pool, except for my camera, which could not resist!

Buddha in the Jungle Highlands

tratcliff — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:26:09 +0000

This peaceful buddha looks out across the mist and fog on a relaxing morning…

Archway overlooking the foggy jungles of Indonesia

tratcliff — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:34:30 +0000

It was foggy… and it was jungly….

The Exposed Temple Hall and the Third Stage of Enlightenment

tratcliff — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 18:20:51 +0000

The Buddhist Temple of Borobudur has several concentric levels, each going higher and higher, each level a more significant plane of enlightenment. Monks are supposed to start at the bottom and spiral their way to the top, contemplating the countless reliefs and 500+ Buddha statues. I spent almost the entire weekend there and made the walk more times than most of the monks. Plus I was carrying a tripod and not wearing sweat-wisking robes… I don’t know if this means I am more enlightened or just more tired.

Caged Buddhas High in the Temple in Borobudur

tratcliff — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 13:10:01 +0000

The stupa is covered with Buddhas, most of which are encased in these bell-shaped cages. Early during the sunrise, I went around from cage to cage to peer inside with a flashlight. Every buddha is holding his hands in a slightly different arrangement. It was super dark and moody while I was there, and I was going to freak out if I peered in on one of them, and his pose was to block the flashlight from his eyes.

The Explosion of Kids in Indonesia

tratcliff — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 02:03:40 +0000

I was absolutely deluged by kids that had never seen a white person in person before.Â After the sunrise, when I was pretty much alone, a bus pulled up from a remote part of Java and tons of kinds poured out and started running all over the temple.Â All of them wanted their picture taken with me, as if I was some sort of goofy Baluga that had washed up on the temple steps.Â They were all very happy and fun, so I asked them to sit on the corner of Borobudur for a group shot.

The Lost Hindu Temple in the Jungle Mist

tratcliff — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 03:24:02 +0000

I took an afternoon hike in the remote area of Java just outside the town of Jogjakarta to explore this temple. It’s called Prambanan, and it was built around 850 CE.

The rain was pouring down, which left me and Will there pretty much alone, except for a few wild deer in the area. I waited through the rain because I knew if it cleared there would be a great sunset. I had a little baggy over my camera to keep it dry until everything passed…

While waiting on the rain to stop, I walked around and did more up close exploration of the temples of Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma, which were three of the largest in the complex. All the temple blocks were on the edge of collapse, after many centuries of Indonesian earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

The Hidden Buddhist Temple of Borobudur at Sunrise

tratcliff — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 06:44:50 +0000

This morning I got a wakeup call at 3:30 AM to head out on a distant trek to Borobudur to climb the temple before sunrise. I had a flashlight and a fully loaded iPod for the ascent. I stayed at the top and all around the temple for most of the morning, collecting shots here and there as misty clouds rolled in, through, around, and over the temple.

This temple laid abandoned and overgrown for about 800 years until it was rediscovered by the British.

You can see the distant volcano rumbing in the morning sunrise…