Rarindra prakarsa blog talk

  • Rarindra Prakarsa has described himself




    • I am from Jakarta, Indonesia. A country with million place and object to photograph. A beautiful country indeed. Now, I am a semi-pro photographer, enjoying my job/hobby & selling my stock-photo. Photographing since 1995.

    As many of you already know, I am NOT a fan of sentimental tripe photography-wise. I find the legions of drama-queen landscape/nature photographers, who spew out endless reams of images of a world made up of never-ending golden light vistas, to be a particulary unimaginative and contemptible lot of eco-pornographers. My issue with them is not with their style of photography per se, but rather with what I (and many others) believe to be the detrimentaleffect that their photography has on conservation and the evironmental cause - "...picture-book nature, scenic and sublime, praiseworthy but not battle-worthy. Tarted up into perfectly circumscribed simulations of the wild, these props of mainstream environmentalism serve as surrogates for real engagement with wilderness, the way porn models serve as surrogates for real women. They are placebos substituting for triage." - Lydia Millet, High Country News(the eco-pornographer link goes to the complete article).

    But, back to Rarindra Prakarsa's photographs. When I first encountered these photographs in his portfolio on photo.net, I got all flustered and flummoxed. I'm not suppose to like this stuff - altered and romanticized landscapes littered with incessantly picture-book perfect children. Yikes!! How many cliches can you cram in a single photograph?

    But, so help me, like the proverbial car wreck scene, I couldn't stop looking. And looking. And looking.

    So, I emailed Rarindra and asked, ...what is your artistic intent with these photographs? The response - "Thank you for enjoying my pictures. You should visit my beautiful country someday." - really didn't answer the question other than to reinforce the initial impression created by his photographs that his country is beauti

    RARINDRA PRAKARSA'S INDONESIAN PHOTOGRAPHS ARE CAPTIVATING. HE REVEALS HIS APPROACH TO PHOTOGRAPHY, WORKING WITH BEAUTIFUL LIGHT AND THE TECHNIQUES BEHIND WHATS BEEN DUBBED BY ADMIRING PHOTOGRAPHERS AS THE 'RARINDRA EFFECT'

         EVERY MONTH I try to take two weekend trips out of Jakarta to one of Indonesia's 15 main islands to take photographs that can be used to promote tourism. Most of the time I end up in West Java or East Java Province as they're near to Jakarta, where I live, but once a year I go further afield for a week-long photo expedition, most recently to Bali and Lombok.


     Indonesia has about 14,000 islands, each home to different cultures, people and environments - there's a lot I'm yet to see and shoot. An increasing number of photographers are seeing the potential in Indonesia for photography, too, which is why I also run trips for amateurs. 'Most of these images here were taken during my last commercial photography trip in West Sumatra, in February. Along with Malaysian professional photographer Steve Chong, I took 24 professional photographers from five countries, so the word is definitely spreading.

    Many people assume that the beautiful rays of light in this picture were 'Photoshopped'- but they're real. This location has lots of morning mist and when the sun rises over the hill, it creates large rays of light.  It was a coincidence that the farmer and boy were passing across the paddy field at the time."

         West Sumatra is one of the most beautiful places in Indonesia; its natural beauty and culture are incredibly diverse and distinct. Photographers are drawn to it for many reasons, but most notably the Minangkabau and Mentawai people - made famous by the photographer Joey Lawrence. Three or four times a year they also hold Pacu Jawi; a festival of cow/ox races. The jockey leads two cows through a muddy paddy field for about 50 metres, and the one who runs the fastest and straight

  • Professional Photographer Profile. RARINDRA

    • Rarindra Prakarsa – Indonesia

    The 44-year old husband and father of two first took up photography as a graphic arts major attending Polytechnic University Indonesia. After graduation he went to work for a Jakarta newspaper as a graphic designer, and in time became a professional photographer doing both jobs! A passionate traveler, “RP” now works around the world as a full time photographer and instructor.

    Rarindra Prakarsa images have appeared in numerous publications across the globe, including the United States, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, China, UEA, Netherland, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore, France, India and Indonesia. Magazines include Popular Photography, Digital Photo, Exposure, Advanced Images, Indonesian Photography, Snap!, Amateur Photographer, RAW, Aperture, Digital Photographer, Digital SLR, and an in depth profile & photo spread in Men’s Health. His international workshops have packed houses in Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Russia, Thailand, Qatar, India, Philippines and the United Arab Emirates.

    Rarindra worked alongside David Lazar on the first edition of Luminous Bali, and was instrumental in making it such a popular success. His personal workshop schedule has grown a lot since then, and so these days he’s available on a private basis only for LJ. Please see his one day photo tours in Jakarta , and when time allows, longer trips to his favorite spots in Indonesia and beyond. You can also check out his publicly offered workshops here.



    Lighting a subject correctly can be a hard task. Too much light and your images will be over exposed, too little and you will end up with the opposite problem. But if you manage to get the balance just right then you can create a perfect and sometimes magical photograph. A photographer who knows a thing or two about lighting is Rarindra, a photographer from Indonesia who because of his unique approach to lighting has gained recognition across the globe.

    "The light is real, it's natural and can be found in my country," said Rarindra.

    Born in Jakarta where he now lives with his wife and two children, Rarindra thanks his home for giving him the inspiration and opportunities to take images of romanticised places and perfect children.

    "My country is unique, its very diverse. There are over 13,000 islands to explore each with a unique landscape, culture and language."

    Many locations are yet to be explored and each time Rarindra ventures out he always finds a new place or object to photograph every time. However, he does have his favourite places and these are the areas that have got so many people talking about his work. Serpong and Banten are two places many of his magical images were taken in and they are locations that have caused somewhat of a controversy. Many photographers and people living there claim the grand rays of light featured in Rarindra's work actually come from and around the great trees.

    "You have to get up early to see and feel the light. Beautiful light is my obsession, I always search for this as I feel the objects I photograph will look more special if the light does too."

    Every time Rarindra has been asked to give up his secrets to creating light and imagery the way he does his advice for photographers is to visit his beautiful country and take pictures in the places he does.

    "People judge and ask for proof to show the rays of light are not fake, I say come visit. There isn't any more proof than that."

    He trained at a Polytech