Bandung Streets [Photography]

walk it street

2011-08-28T15:31:00.000+07:00

A woman with a baby in her bosom walking in the middle of a busy street at Pasar Baru in a broad daylight.

passangers #03

2011-08-21T05:59:00.000+07:00

passangers #02

2011-08-18T16:02:00.000+07:00

passangers #01

2011-08-14T01:22:00.000+07:00

getting on and off the train (the hazards)

2011-08-02T12:14:00.000+07:00

[En] Getting on and off the train can be a lethal hazard in smaller railway stations with no elevated platforms.

[Id] Di stasiun-stasiun kecil yang tidak memiliki peron yang ditinggikan, naik turun kereta bisa menjadi kegiatan yang mengancam keselamatan jiwa penumpang.

petit customer

2011-07-29T03:50:00.002+07:00

jaywalking skills

2011-05-23T01:53:00.002+07:00

live music taxi

2011-03-15T01:23:00.000+07:00

what's up there?

2011-01-24T21:33:00.000+07:00

leisure time

2011-01-21T03:10:00.001+07:00

What do you have in mind?

carting game

2011-01-18T22:10:00.000+07:00

Children playing with a cart at Ciroyom.

what safety?

2011-01-12T23:36:00.000+07:00

commuter train musicians

2011-01-09T01:38:00.000+07:00

The KRD (Kereta Rel Disel), Bandung's commuter trains, is a lively place. It's virtually a market where everything from snacks and beverages to stationery and toiletries are sold. It even has musicians to entertain you - for a small tip - in your otherwise crowded and unpleasant trips.

pedicab maintenance

2011-01-06T16:03:00.000+07:00

infants playing on the street

2011-01-03T12:47:00.002+07:00

Football Fever

2011-01-01T23:19:00.000+07:00

Football (American English: soccer) has always been a popular sport here. But in the past few weeks, following Indonesia's national team successes at AFF Suzuki Cup 2010, it's more than just popular; it's become a contagious fever.

options

2010-10-29T03:33:00.000+07:00

we

2010-10-24T18:34:00.000+07:00

We too are part of the traffic.

reading zeal

2010-10-03T00:32:00.000+07:00

Reading zeal?

street crash

2010-09-28T23:14:00.000+07:00

Well, it sometimes happens.

teaching children to jaywalk

2010-09-22T22:21:00.002+07:00

[Speaking in irony]: When jaywalking is part of the culture, it is the parents' responsibility to teach them how to do it properly.

cultivating ignorance

2010-09-20T00:41:00.003+07:00

The T-shirt reads: "Ignorance is cultivated, poverty is increased, unemployment is multiplied."

Worn by a street vendor "invading" the sidewalks, I think it's a voice against the invasion of the capitalist big players who leave no room but the streets to the small players like them.

betel nut chewing

2010-09-16T21:12:00.001+07:00

phone it away

2010-09-14T12:32:00.001+07:00

hello...!

2010-09-12T11:15:00.001+07:00

action ready

2010-09-11T10:16:00.001+07:00

tahu isi

2010-09-06T23:05:00.002+07:00

Tahu isi = Tofu stuffed with vegetables and spices, fried.

sleeping peanuts

2010-09-04T23:23:00.001+07:00

platformless

2010-08-28T19:30:00.005+07:00

Location: Padalarang, west of Bandung.

imagined beauty

2010-08-25T23:14:00.002+07:00

At a construction site, beauty probably can only be imagined. A visual may help though.

ice cream time!

2010-08-24T21:34:00.001+07:00

Ice cream is good when it's hot and sunny. With friends, it's even better!

who's odd?

2010-08-23T21:58:00.002+07:00

A Ganiati brother and a photographer have different views about the stage. Don't ask who's odd though. They are just different.

sorry folks, it's reserved!

2010-08-21T13:11:00.003+07:00

Sorry folks, this part of the sidewalk is reserved! By me, of course (and those billboard poles, if you happen to notice). I'm a tire patcher. I work to help those motorists who have flat tire. But right now, I'm busy with my cell phone. So, please don't distrub me. And yeah, you may walk on the street so that you can get hit by the car. That's none of my business, though. ^_^

ganiater

2010-08-18T23:05:00.002+07:00

For a Ganiater, madness is art because it is freeing and lets one explore the limits of imaginations to the fullest. I think.

traffic light music

2010-08-16T23:16:00.001+07:00

When the traffic stops at the traffic light, the music is on. For a small fee.

"tahu bulat" (round tofu)

2010-08-14T18:45:00.002+07:00

Tofu doesn't always have to be cubes, they can also be round, which is a new variety of tofu on the street. Fried.

baby on a motorbike

2010-08-11T23:16:00.004+07:00

It's not "Beware A Baby on Board" like the warning sticker you often see at the back of a car; it's a baby on a motorbike. And there's no warning about it.

a recycling man

2010-08-09T15:12:00.002+07:00

With a huge bag and a hook, he walks the streets and collects recycleable materials, mostly plastic cups and bottles, to be sold to a collector who then sell them to a plastic recycling company.

Recycling is a labor-intesive, private interprise in this city.

infants' conversation

2010-08-07T01:53:00.002+07:00

Combining the words infants and conversation is somewhat oxymoronic. Should you not know, the word infant is derived from the Latin word infans, which means "unable to speak or speechless". Thus, how can somebody who is unable to speak have a conversation with an interlocutor who is similarly speechless? Yet, babies do talk with one another. Their language may not be as verbal as that of the adults, but it is nonetheless communicative, perhaps even more communicative than that of the adults. See the picture?

andir

2010-08-06T00:50:00.003+07:00

This is Andir, a small railway station in the western part of the city of Bandung, from the open doors of a commuter train.

little feet

2010-08-03T04:02:00.001+07:00

mother motorist

2010-08-02T00:59:00.001+07:00

soft drink boy

2010-07-29T01:07:00.001+07:00

A boy selling soft drinks on the pavement of Asia Afrika Street.

going international

2010-07-27T23:54:00.002+07:00

This road-side shop on Ranggagading Street calls itself "Warung Internasional" (International Kiosk).

What does it mean to be or go international though?

o' child

2010-07-25T22:39:00.003+07:00

On Children
Kahlil Gibran

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

thanks cell phone!

2010-07-24T22:47:00.003+07:00

Waiting for the KRD commuter train can be a tedious thing to do.

Location: Gado Bangkong, a suburban railway station in the west of Bandung.

dynamo repair

2010-07-16T20:09:00.004+07:00

All sorts of small, road-side, and mobile repair stations are available in this city. This one is a dynamo repair station at Jalan Banceuy.

motherly care

2010-07-14T20:16:00.002+07:00

Location: Stasiun Bandung (Bandung Railway Station).

autoparts

2010-07-13T01:16:00.002+07:00

An autopart mall is currently being built at Banceuy. Who's going to be in and out and sidelined?

a street painter

2010-07-10T22:35:00.002+07:00

He doesn't paint the street, but he makes the street (life) more colorful.

iron [man]

2010-07-09T22:55:00.005+07:00

Since antiquity, the symbol for iron has been the symbol of Mars, which now is also used as the symbol for man.

motherly comfort

2010-07-06T20:24:00.002+07:00

hurry up, mother!

2010-07-02T21:03:00.004+07:00

"Hurry up, mother! I don't want us to miss the train."

The excitement of the train ride belongs to children. We, adults, often take it only as a matter of necessity.

Location: Bandung Railway Station.
Camera: Canon PowerShot A490.

no title - june 20, 2010

2010-06-26T11:36:00.006+07:00

I'm terrified at supplying words for this photograph. Words can do a lot of things. They can change realities, define and limit them, perform things - great and small, wicked or benevolent. So, I'll humbly let you form your own words for this image.

perception of danger

2010-06-15T18:18:00.005+07:00

Anything can happen on the street. Risk may only be a matter of perception.

destitute

2010-06-12T13:11:00.002+07:00

Things most of us don't want to see. But they exist and beg that we pay attention.

"tahu-tahu"

2010-06-10T00:35:00.004+07:00

A language help: In Indonesian, tahu is tofu (noun) or know (verb). When repeated ("tahu-tahu"), it means suddenly.

"tukang baso tahu"

2010-05-29T18:33:00.002+07:00

"Tukang baso tahu" (baso tahu vendor) walking the streets with his cart.

As I told you in the previous post, I lost two of my digital cameras some time ago. I have not been able to buy a new one. So this photo is not exactly new. I took it sometime in March this year. I found it when I was trying to rake through my files and see if there was anything still worth posting. I hope this one is and consistent enough with the theme of this project and blog.

phasing out

2010-05-07T11:01:00.005+07:00

Continuing this project at the pace I had imagined has not been as easy as I had thought. There were time and opportunity constraints as I had to devote more time and attention to my [primary] job and did not have much time to roam the streets and pick up stories from them. Then there was also an accident in which I accidentally deleted all the photo files that I had set aside for this project. And last week's was the most terrible of all: I had two of my cameras stolen at an Angkot (Bandung's minibus and primary means of public transportation).

Anyway, I'm not going to phase out this project because of these things. It may have to take longer than expected to complete it, but this project is continuing. "Phasing out" - the title of this post and photo - is not about this project. It's about the kind of business that the man in the photo is doing: rubber-stamp making, engraving, etc. Business is getting quiter for him and people like him. The bold and quick march of the digital technologies are phasing them out fast - as fast as the nap this man's taking in his cart on a very quiet afternoon.

the UN (united nations) spectator

2010-04-07T12:30:00.000+07:00

peeking out

2010-04-06T00:45:00.001+07:00

let it fly

2010-04-05T20:53:00.001+07:00

curious

2010-04-04T13:37:00.002+07:00

They are born with it.

treasure hunter

2010-04-03T13:19:00.000+07:00

the "doger monyet"

2010-04-02T12:40:00.001+07:00

The animal master, the monkey, and the musicians of the "doger monyet".

distant cousin's chase

2010-04-01T21:06:00.001+07:00

Another "doger monyet" photograph.

meeting a distant cousin

2010-03-31T01:41:00.002+07:00

A child's encounter with a "doger monyet".

immersed

2010-03-30T01:22:00.003+07:00

Children immersed in their own imagination, world.

forever

2010-03-29T17:15:00.000+07:00

street comrades

2010-03-28T22:04:00.002+07:00

jack it up

2010-03-27T10:13:00.005+07:00

The construction of an autoparts supermarket may jack up the city's economy. But will it accomodate people like him? Will he be forced onto the street and out of business by the capital giants?

wrong message

2010-03-26T11:18:00.002+07:00

Organic waste, non-organic waste, paper waste. The idea is good. But without consistency and enforcement, things like this can be sending the wrong message.

nostalgic walk

2010-03-25T10:58:00.003+07:00

For every generation, it carries a different set of memories, meanings. They will be coming back, trying to find what they used to have in the chaos of today.

ipin

2010-03-24T08:45:00.006+07:00

Ipin is Upin's twin brother. They are Malaysian animation movie characters.

a long playground

2010-03-23T23:02:00.000+07:00

school ride

2010-03-22T18:55:00.006+07:00

Braving the chaotic traffic and hazardous pollution, a mother is taking her children to school on a motorbike. School bus is non-existent in this city, neither is a working mass transportation system.

we used to call ourselves, freaks

2010-03-21T15:02:00.012+07:00

Somewhere in this picture, it's written: "We used to call ourselves, freaks." And the name is Unforgiven.

glasses and caps

2010-03-20T23:16:00.001+07:00

Glasses and caps side by side at Jalan Dalem Kaum in the city center.

gotcha!

2010-03-19T23:12:00.001+07:00

A bit of playful acts may ease the boredom of waiting. A sister is teasing his brother while waiting for the commuter train at Stasiun Hall (Bandung's main railway station).

smoking the boredom away

2010-03-18T23:10:00.000+07:00

father's son

2010-03-17T23:04:00.000+07:00

Father and son selling bubble liquid at alun-alun Bandung (the city square).

digital generation

2010-03-16T01:48:00.000+07:00

street swing

2010-03-15T08:54:00.003+07:00

Fun? You bet it is. What children don't like swing?

Dangerous? They, their parents, and the city's government don't think much of it. There aren't many free open spaces, parks, and playgrounds left where children can play safely in this city. The government is busy facilitating and having more fun building shopping malls, hotels, and gated/limited access paying playgrounds.

unmathematical

2010-03-14T22:22:00.001+07:00

Just like the streets, street photography is unmathematical. Yes there are numbers, but they don't add up to a formulaic certainty.

showing off

2010-03-13T22:01:00.002+07:00

At Jalan Cihampelas, a popular commercial street without any functioning sidewalks.

patroling

2010-03-12T23:53:00.003+07:00

A police patrol car and a pedestrian walking his dog at Jalan Pajagalan.

mother's corner

2010-03-11T12:38:00.000+07:00

fishy square

2010-03-10T10:44:00.002+07:00

The alun-alun (Bandung's city square) is a fishy place. It's dirty and chaotic like a fish market, smells like fish, and has a fishy reputation. One can even go fishing there - even without the pond or fish. And the mayor - whose official residence is just to the south of it - apparently loves it as it is.

Despite all this, it's a wonderful people observatory and a great place to do street photography.

strapped and stared

2010-03-09T12:27:00.000+07:00

Another look at life in one of the dirtiest and messiest places in the city.

digital lovers

2010-03-08T15:03:00.003+07:00

watery race

2010-03-07T10:36:00.003+07:00

There is nothing fun about flood. But you can make it look fun.

guttery window

2010-03-06T11:48:00.001+07:00

Don't ask me how it got there.

cat transaction

2010-03-05T23:01:00.003+07:00

Road-side pet vendors at Jalan Dr. Otten.

locksmith

2010-03-04T22:01:00.002+07:00

The writing on his cart says: repair, sell and buy different kinds of locks.

wartel

2010-03-03T17:36:00.003+07:00

Wartel or Warung Telekomunikasi (telecommunication kiosk) was created in in the early 1980s to provide the public with easier access to various telecommunication services such as local, long distance, and international telephone calls, facsimili, telegrams, etc. at an era when access to telecommunication services was very limited.

Before the advent of mobile or cellular telephones in the late 1990s, wartel was a lucrative business. Now that nearly everybody has a cell phone, it has mostly become a relic of the past.

bubbly game

2010-03-02T10:18:00.001+07:00

Another bubbly game at Alun-alun Bandung.

bubbly bubble

2010-03-01T14:59:00.003+07:00

Bubbly is a show of good spirits; a descriptor of a lively or effusive character. Bubble, its noun counterpart, is a hollow and light globule; a small body of gas contained within a liquid; and, figuratively, something delusive and unsubstantiated.

This is another picture in my alun-alun series.

"penguin dance"

2010-02-28T11:25:00.007+07:00

Penguin dance is part of the alun-alun series. (You can identify it from the tag.)

Alun-alun is a park at the heart of the city. Despite the title, it actually looks more like a market than a park. It's lively but like many traditional markets, it's also dirty and messy. Shamefully, it all happens right in front of the grand mosque (located adjecent to it in the west) and under the mayor's eyes and nose whose official residence is located just to the southern edge of it.

misplaced

2010-02-27T11:10:00.002+07:00

In a system, one misplaced thing leads to another and another.

all is quiet

2010-02-26T16:10:00.003+07:00

It's raining. And up there, everything's quiet. Empty. Cold.