Becoming a photographer: profit vs passion

I’ve been delving deeper into the depths of photography lately in preparation for my photo exhibition, but I’m coming up for air for a moment to reflect on some points. There is a great difference between taking photos and marketing and selling those images. That seems like quite a basic and obvious statement, but until you run into the difficulties of promoting your work, it seems to slip from importance. If you wish to begin selling your work, be veryRead more

Love it when people cut in line… (expat complaining)

Indonesian friends, how often have you seen this scene played out? This happened to me last night, but seems to be a weekly occurrence. Last night I walk into Indomart (equivalent to 7-11) to buy a box of bottled water. The lady in front of me was taking her time adding items to her checkout, one by one from all corners of the store. I patiently waited over 5 minutes. Soon there were six other customers lined up behind me, allRead more

The Twitter Post

A phenomenon has swept across the internet. Twitter. No, it’s not new, in fact it was developed in March 2006 according to Wikipedia. I personally started using it in March of 2007, after reading Kottke proclaim: “Twitter is the first thing on the web that I’ve been excited about in ages. Like years. The last thing was probably Flickr.” I used it consistently since first joining, updating at a steady rate of about 1 ‘tweet’ per day. I approached itRead more

10 Things you may not know about me

I very rarely agree to this type of post, which is exactly why I accepted the invitation from Chibi Alfa. They’re a bit long winded compared to most. I almost never existed. Let me clarify – my family is full of pilots and a love for aviation. My grandparents were both in the Navy; flight instructor. The day after their wedding, they were flying to their honeymoon, when the fuel tank malfunctioned. They almost died that day, and I neverRead more

Quietly freaking out about what the future may hold

It’s October, so it must be that time of year when I freak out about the future, to stay in Indonesia or not, to seek another career option, or simply maintain what I’ve been doing for so long now. It doesn’t help that the American economy has been thrown in the canal, nor that the Indonesian economy is now heading towards possible turmoil as well. It doesn’t help ease my mind to hear from expat friends and ex-coworkers who areRead more

Expat experiences: making new friends, approaching foreigners

The other day at the gym, a Chinese/Indonesian woman I know comes up to me and says, “Why don’t you ever talk to anyone at the gym?”, “And you always wear headphones, so no one can talk to you. And when you workout you don’t smile.” Those of you reading this from the States or similar countries will agree with me that this isn’t exactly something a gym-friend would normally ask you in America. (gym-friend is a term I coinedRead more