on the way back, we passed the kampong aer. rows of wooden houses built above the water. people were about to get ready to face a new day.

the panorama was different than the island i am so used to visit.

being in a new place -- it gave me a new experience.

pasar terapung - the floating market. you can find them in thailand, cambodia, vietnam, sumatra and kalimantan as the rivers are the main source of their lifes.

our boat was already in between the sampans as one of ibu-ibu called our guide to come near. what she sold were just basic things like tangerines, bananas, and some of vegetables that lied onto the floor of her sampan. we were just couldn't resist the offer of buying some tangerines from her. it wasn't expensive at all and the tangerines were all so sweet as we ate one by one along the journey.

just another style of having breakfast in the middle of bouncing waters.

then it was daybreak. the starting of a new day when people need to do their businesses.

the mood was different than the first thirty minutes we started the journey. more and more sampans carrying what they can sell to the others.

the chit chats grew louder as we stopped our engine and sailed closer to them. the air was thick as we could hear some of the conversations in the local language mixed with the bahasa.

it was business as usual. everyday. every morning.

as the sound of motor tempel buzzing around the ears, we passed many boat houses with dimly lights inside. it was still dawn, but people were starting to get alive. you can see the interactive of life of human and water along the river. bathing, brushing, doing what they need to do.

the kids were just simply jumping into the river, from afar sounds of people were heard -- kids laughter were like inuendo to the continuity of the buzzing motor.

one small sampan passed. then another one simply brushing the way to the one just passed.

the more we went, the more sampans we saw.

the lights creeped slowly through the thick clouds. it was enough to give us a different panoramas then we used to see.

it wasn't bali anymore. it was just different.

a different perspective of life.

the day hasn't been broken yet. the light of the sun has no where to be found. and, the mood was already somber by the thick clouds above when the small boat slowly departed to a destination we were about to go.
it wasn't bali and this area gave me another perspective of life.

sebuah kehidupan di atas air -- di pulau kalimantan.

nothing in the world is more sacred than tears of love and joy.

dunno why, but somehow i like macro photography.
just trying to test my lens to the maximum it can do for a macro photography.

saya selalu iseng dalam memotret. apapun yang saya anggap bagus untuk di capture akan saya potret. saya mencoba untuk memotret dari sudut-sudut yang tidak umum sekalipun.

di pagi hari di suatu hari, saat tim majalah makan pagi di discovery mal, ada hal yang menarik yang saya perhatikan. tangan editor saya yang sedang memilah-milah roti yang hendak dimakannya.

tanpa ragu, saya duduk di karpet dan mulai memotret tangan-tangan editor saya tanpa ia ketahui.

hasilnya adalah seperti yang diatas setelah diedit dengan soft focus.

just a contemporer shot for fun.

simply, one of my dreams.

a simple wedding cake to complement an intimate wedding dinner.
an outdoor gathering made beautiful by its surroundings.

for me, any place can be romantic. any place with someone you love and in love with you, can be as well a romantic place.

but this place is different. it lies at the end of a pier into the sea where you can together viewing a magical sunset hand in hand.

this place brings a romantic aura to you to complement your love.

it is the most romantic places imaginable.

moment like this that i thank God who gives me a hobby i love so much.

photography.

misery arises because we don't allow change to happen. we cling, we want thingst to be static.
if you love a woman you want her to be yours tomorrow, the same as she is today. that how misery arises. nobody can be certain about the next moment.

what to say about tomorrow?

life is constantly changing. life is change. only one thing is permanent, and that is change itself.

cold bottle of aqua, anybody? in Bali, you surely need one of them.

i used to work in the kitchen as a line cook. a hard work, but i enjoyed it so much.
when i saw this line cook doing what he was doing -- puting some garnishes onto the dinner plate to make it more appetizing -- i remembered what i was doing back then four years ago.

somehow, i miss doing things in the back of a kitchen.

when was the last time i really cook? i haven't cook any single meal let alone a gourmet one i used to prepare back then.

seeing is believing. waiting is not a fun thing to do.

satu hari, seorang bijak berkata bahwa kesabaran seseorang dinilai dari bagaimana cara dia menunggu dan bagaimana dia menghadapi detik-detik penungguan itu sendiri.

pertanyaannya adalah bagaimanakah kita menjalani detik-detik yang mengharuskan kita untuk menunggu?

it's three o'clock in the afternoon when i shot this picture. the wind lightly swept warm breezes from the sea. the lighting was harsh and the shadows showed it.

but for whatever reason, breaking a paradigm of photography of not shooting on a daylight when the sun is high, i love this picture.

the tree's green leaves and the blue sky.

those are the reasons.

for so many time, i have to be in bali. and, seeing this picture gives me a reason why i am so in love with this island.

pretty honest, i'm getting bored. i wanted to discover a new area. a new island. a new region.

but, bali always charms me with its aura as if i fell under its spell.

it hypnotizes me with its beauty, its colors and its nature.

i just need to gaze at this picture and close my eyes and let my mind takes me to the relaxing moment i always felt when i was in Bali.

the reason

the reason i haven't been blogging for awhile is because of these tubes that stuck into my mother's chest for almost a month. her pale arms were too frail for the transfusion needles to be stuck into, the doctor had to do a small incision on her upper chest instead.

for more than a month, i have to go back and forth between home, office and the hospital every day. it exhausted me to be honest, but you just cannot feel exhausted when your mother was lying in the hospital battling her illness.

my father is a cancer survivor, but i cried when i saw him having his chemotherapy three years ago. not along ago, i broke my heart when i saw my mother's hair fell out layer every layer until it reached its baldness and she's getting completely bald.

but, at least, she's home and recuperating.

father and i are taking care of her with the good faith that my mother will be alright and everything will be okay again soon.

amen.