Panoramic Corners of Waverly

 My ART 208 Photography I class is just getting more interesting. Day to day we got to learn different techniques in photography and also Photoshop. Starting from last week, we have exploring landscape photography which includes panoramic picture. Hello, we don't use the old panoramic camera anymore. But that is not a problem! Photoshop did a really good job of merging a sequence of pictures.

My job is just to take the photographs and Photoshop will do it all. All the places above are pretty panoramic, who believes that the hometown of my college, Waverly,  is pretty amazing!

Kiss and Love, 

Rut

Downtown Waverly always interest me.
 In Jakarta we don't quite have the sense of "downtown" of each town.
 I mean Jakarta is a city and in its own town. I know it's complicated....

Look how gorgeous the arch is!

I just want to name this photograph"Bridge over troubled-water"

The distortion of the building just reminds me of the Colosseum in Rome

Next Destination: Blue Indonesia

It seems quite funny for an Indonesian to say my next destination for traveling is Indonesia (her own country) , I mean most of the people rather to list another country than his/hers. But this actually tickles me that I haven't really been around anywhere here, only some of places like North Sumatera, some parts of Java Island (not even Karimunjawa Island!), North Sulawesi (Manado), and Nusa Tenggara: Bali only. You see, it's nothing compare to the places I have been to in Europe: Italy (Venice, Padova, Mantova, Bologna, Verona, Naples, Sardegna, Rome), Croatia, Barcelona, Germany (Frankfurt, Heidelberg), Switzerland (Zurich, Luzern), The Netherlands (Utrecht, Rotterdam, Amsterdam), Brussels, Paris, ok stop, basta..

Not to blame the geographical structure of Indonesia, an archipelago country and to praise Europe that it's such a very close continent that each country is connected, in the same land, it's just like one Kalimantan (Borneo) Island!

Another thing is that, I list traveling as my hobby when I started to live in Europe, which is two years ago. However, the kind of traveling you''ll enjoy in Europe is a complete different with what they offer in Indonesia. In Indonesia traveling is about nature, sea, tropical forest, gastronomy and the surrounding. Going to a super crowded traditional market, a bit smelly, things you can't find in Europe, but that's the part of your vacation, you can eat from a fine dinning restaurant or savor some snack from food seller who uses a kind of cart to stash all the food. Things like that, you can only find it in Indonesia!

Yesterday, my family has mentioned that we're going to do a road trip, while I am in Indonesia. As usual, my parents just simply put Pacitan a village in East Java as one of the places that we will visit. It a very innocent place, it's not as crowded as Bali, but they have two beaches that is as wonderful as Padang-Padang Beach or Tanah Lot. However, it's not so accessible that you need a car to reach those two beautiful blue lagoon.

I suggested my parents to try new places for a road trip such as Karimunjawa Island in Jepara, but you know most parents just don't want to step out from their comfort zone and they adventurous sense is not even closed to high anymore. Especially my mom, she is just not into taking a 5 hours trip to cross another island. She (and most Indonesian/Jakartan moms) says the weather is not always good, the wave is always high. This was also happened when my friends and I went to Tidung Island last month, our parents were actually worried that somehow we will sink.

You see now, this could be the problem for a young Indonesian to travel, parents. Most young adults 17-24 are still dependent to their family, it is nice to travel with them, but since they are the money maker, you should not complain, some things can be negotiated but not all of them. This is what happens to me sometime, lately I'd rather to go and taste new exotic places with a group of friends. I desperately need to find travelmate who share the same passion. Young people just match each other. For example, once we went to Srau Beach, one of the three most beautiful white sands beach in Pacitan, it was an hour drive, we arrived, and took a look, got some pictures for only 45 minutes and went back to the hotel, I mean if I were with my friends we would have definitely dipped our body into the water. You can't call it a holiday if you haven't dipped your body into water!

I was really fall in love with my own country when I went to Manado, North Sulewesi in 2008. Early in the morning, we sailed to Bunaken National Marine Park, we went (just) snorkeling not so far away from the shore and I was just amazed with the sea animals that they have, colorful starfish, corals, splendid! Bali always makes me fall in love, but everybody just love that island for so many reasons, so magical. But there are way just too many beautiful beaches, sunsets, sunrises, white sands you can find in Indonesia. And this is why, Indonesia is my next destination. Either I will travel Indonesia, when I have traveled the world or after I have graduated from the university, but I absolutely will explore its archipelago, above and under the sea!

Here are some places that I've "missed" out instead traveling Europe...

Klayar Beach, Pacitan, East Java
We are prolly dropping by next week during our road trip

Ocean View Residence is the best place to stay I've browsed so far...

You can swim with the sharks in a semi-natural pool

Karimunjawa Island, Jepara, West Java
I should definitely go there, not this summer tho.

Gili Trawangan
And the the other Gili Islands!! Must must must!

Pink Beach at Komodo Island
Heaven only knows!

Raja Ampat, Papua
Those old tourist just spoiled the beauty, eew!

ps: none of the pictures are mine, credit to photgraphers

Summer Updates 2011: Welcome to Tidung Island

My hoilday so far has been so good, despite the fact that I have been just staying at home these two days, I haven't really had a big going out after my last quite big vacation to Tidung Island, part of Jakarta's Thousand Islands.

From Thursday to Friday, this early weekend was packed.

High School Accomplished!

Hello I am posting this from home! I am back since two days ago. The trip went well with one huge and two medium suitcases. The suitcases have been accumulated, supposedly only carried two but the other one was a bonus from my Europe Vacation - if you know what I meant.

So after the gradution which was on May 24, the day I flew to Zurich, Switzerland, visiting my great aunt, Oma Lydia - continued to Paris and Amsterdam (it took me to many places to visit them).

The trip was a graduation gift kind of from my parents. After all, 4 years in high school, two years in SMA Santa Ursula and another two years in United World College of Adriatic - I graduated!

I can't wait to be in university! Wartburg College in Iowa!
Here are some pictures from graduation!

The Madrigal Choir opened the Closing Ceremony. Last time to sing all together with also Stefano, il maestro.

Our super patient and lovely and funny Mathematics teacher, Julius Krajnak (read: Yulius)

Chicas! Some of my favorite people in the college!

Me and my bestfriend. We finally spoke up (instead of made up, we never really broke up we just didn't talk for a while hahaha)

Mike Price's tutorial group, all second years: Marko, Rafaela, me and Alex Mair.

First of April

23:51 - nine minutes to April
Is it a yes?
April will move forward, it won't tolerate procrastination!
Thirty days, four days, the two years in a lifetime exam!
Be ready!

March is over. One of the most heart beating month, getting notifications from university. All of my university decisions are completed today. The result is: one acceptance, three waiting list and three rejections. Let's not talk about it. Whatever happens to me is the best decision, I believe everything happens for a reason, and there is always a lesson to learn. I'm still hoping for the best, through all the process and this fall: university life decision.

I am really happy today, I got an email that my article that was published in The Jakarta Post two weeks ago is going to be paid. The staff sent me a message asking my bank's account. This is the third salary in my life for the nineteen years. I remember the first one was from playing as a figuran in a movie Janji Joni, the second was the honor of working in The Central Bank of Indonesia and this one the third one is the highest of all - from writing. I really enjoyed writing and taking pictures.

I remember my first salary was only enough to buy a portion of noodle in Crystal Jade and the second one is two portions, very low. But this one, I think I can buy a new simple lense for my camera that has a better quality of noise removal and ISO. Woo-hoo!

Daddy told me "So keep on writing to earn your own money". I don't actually expect to be paid, the fact that I am a "newbie", and not even certificated from a journalism course or anything. But it is indeed a pleasure to be paid, obviously it will encourage me to write more and improve the quality of my writing.

The making of our photography page for yearbook.

My new lovely tiny cutey corner

Wardrobe

Studying corner. I finally managed to pet the birds flying all around my desk.

Venice Carnival 2011

Renate and his costumes

Kids and the fairytale

Face painters

Venetian Masks

Venetian Masks

Venice was becoming the fullest city in a world for a day. Yes, it was the Carnival 2011. Will soon upload the good quality pictures and stories (didn't know that my photo resolution was too small). See you soon, since I need to study, am having Italian trial tomorrow!

xx
Rut

Duino Skies

Remember once I posted an article about the Offenbach Skies, last summer. Now, I would like to share another beauty of the skies, this time is Duino Skies. Duino is a small village in - this what makes it hard, I don't know how to explain this. Duino-Aurisina is a small village in the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, under a city name Trieste. Duino itself is very beautiful. The fact that this village is surrounded by Adiratic Sea and Cernizza, a kind of rocky Forrest - makes Duino one of the most harmonic area in the world. You want the proof? Let me show you some.

Yesterday, we had a very intense photography classes leaded by Angelo Friolo, he used to teach photography in the college for 25 years. He taught many incredible features in Photoshop, it was in Italian - the good news is I understood every single word. One of the techniques that he taught us was how to change "un po interesante cielo" to "un interesante cielo". Cielo means sky. Also how to make our own "nuvola" which means "cloud". The class ended at 5.15, everybody clapped, we were amused how Photoshop would make one's image different.

That afternoon, I had my camera with me, when I went out from Ples B, I could see Porto at the north sight. I was just so impressed how beautiful the sky above Porto was. It was a mix of orange, red, yellow, blue, purple, gold and grey. Without no doubts, instead of going back to my resident I turned left, headed to Porto. When I arrived there I was amazed. The sky was immensely beautiful, it feels like an afternoon version of Van Gough's painting about that Starry Night. And I can't stop wondering how great God is and how everything has just been placed and put in order, and how the whole universe works. Call me crazy, but the sky that time had that power over me to dropped my jaw just to keep saying "Oh my God, this is beautiful".

These are the pictures I took from my camera. I did not edit them at all in order to be accurate, I need no Photoshop this time to make it wonderful. Duino Skies - I am gonna miss you next year when after I graduated.

In 3 minutes, the sun went down.

The trees and the sky from a higher level.

In thirty minutes


In maybe 45 minutes

In an hour

I met some of prime (first years, female, plural) asked them to take pictures of me.

.
Silhouette of Reina and Yiran

p.s: will be very soon share the pictures and story from my visit to the one and only Illy Coffee Factory in the world!xoxo

Day 1: Cilacap

The village is famous for its stones.

This is how it looks, when the fishermen's boats anchored

Nusa Kambangan Island lays there

Anticipated the boats of being sailed away by the wind

A fisherman that wanted me to take his picture

These are the pictures from our trip, first day. All located in Cilacap, Center Java. Nothing much, because the beach is typical kind of fishermen port, so it was not really touristic, the wave was calm rather than interesting. We thought it was a inclusive beach from google . From the beach side, you could see Nusa Kambangan Island, an Island where "The Alcatraz" belongs to, Indonesia's Alcatraz. In the colonial time, the island was used by the Dutch to prison the locals. And now, the GOI uses it to jail crime doers. Some Indonesia's number one crimes are there, and also the son of the former Indonesian's President, Soeharto. After Cilacap we went to a village Magelang and celebrated new year's s eve there. I just knew that every new years they hold a wayng performenace in Borobudur Temple. It was beautiful.