Seafood Restaurant

We stopped for seafood on the way back to medan from leuser national park. This is a picture of the servers at the restaurant as business wound down for the night. I couldn't help but to think about the park cafe in montana where I was working at the beginning of the summer to support my blackfeet youth project. Winding through the rocky mountain foothills on my way to St. Mary I was charged with excitement--about the freedom of summer, pursuing my own project and big sky country--but most of all because I had no idea what was in store for the coming months. What people would I meet/photograph? What experiences would I have and how would they effect me? The uncertainty of what would happen next--thats what had me going.

Three months later, and its funny to think just how little certainty I did have. I feel a lot like I've been living someone else's life for the last few months. Or due to the fragmented nature of our trip, more like I've been living many other people's lives. haha. 

The airport pictures and the road series that I've been working on have sort of been a way to express that feeling of being 'all over the place', but in no particular place. There's a sense of mutual anonymity I feel between myself and the people I'm photographing, since I'm decidedly an observer, rather than a participant in this culture.  

I don't really have any conclusions to draw or particular lessons I've learned, but for certain, this trip has changed me. I'm looking forward to returning to the states in a couple of days and I have a feeling that the US is going to look a lot different. 

I've posted two sumatra galleries on my website. So far, they are more like first drafts, so I'd love to hear suggestions. 

sergegiachetti.com

Banda Aceh to Medan

Aceh Coastal Road

Elephant Camp

Jakarta to Medan

Asleep, On a Fairy to Java

Indonesians possess the supernatural power to stretch out, make themselves comfortable, and go to sleep almost anywhere they choose. I deeply admire this. I imagine they must have some natural bodily antiseptic that Americans seem to lack, because surely otherwise they would be afraid of germs. No?

Jakarta Hotel

The day before yesterday we photographed the aftermath of this. So tragic. Yesterday we followed rangers who were busting illegal loggers and burning their camps down in the jungle. Today I'm quite satisfied to be fiddling around on the internet in a hotel room in Jakartawhile we wait for our visas to be extended.

Jambi Roads

Errands

River to Berbak

Medan Airport

I have absolutely no desire to see what my carbon footprint is right now.

Visitors

We spent an afternoon in this beautiful mountain village that had success with tiger proof enclosures for their cattle. Its humorous the crowds we draw who come to gawk and find out what we're up to with our big cameras and foreign faces. Without a shared language, we stare at one another, using our imaginations to connect the dots of our novel appearances.

Most of the children in the village would chatter to and about us in Indonesian, not really expecting to communicate, but for entertainment. But this child below approached me in this very deliberate manner, speaking slowly and looking right into my eyes. I felt on the cusp of comprehending his meaning without understanding his words. His presence was strong enough to express something on its own. Whats strange is that my co worker Gabe (videographer) had the same reaction to him. "He's speaking a different language then the other kids," he exclaimed. And I guess he was...

A Visit to the Village Head

This picture is from a meeting with the head of a village in his home to discuss recent tiger related conflict. His two daughters were eavesdropping on us from the kitchen.

Sumatran Road Trips

Been doing a whole lot of driving all over the island over the last couple of weeks following leads, so its given me a chance to continue shooting from the passenger window. I like being able to freeze these very transient moments that would normally pass by my window, and probably slip quickly from memory.

Forest Rangers

We spent a couple hours at the forestry police department before heading out to shoot pictures of loggers the other day. There was this hilariously modern moment where we were taking pictures of each other taking pictures of each other. So few (western) tourists visit this particular town, that we literally had people stopping us in the grocery store, to pose for a cell phone picture with us.

Still Not in the Jungle

But if all goes well, we'll be heading there tomorrow. Although we've gotten a couple of chances to photograph human/animal conflict related situations so far, we've yet to really get out into the tigers natural environment to do some work. So far we've gotten caught in one bureaucratic entanglement after another in order to get access to key tiger locations on the island. Steve keeps reminding me, this is why no one has done this story yet. I'm learning more and more that probably about %90 of this job (depending on the story) does not involve taking pictures. Its behind the scenes research and networking that allows you to take the pictures. Although certainly challenging, its all interesting and new to me, so I'm happy to be along for the ride, even if I had to spend three hours in the Medan police department today to walk out with a slip of paper, stamped and signed, that may or may not help us do work in a region somewhat autonomous from the rest of Sumatra.

Drive around Medan

Photographing from a moving car is not typically something that I find very effective or satisfying. I prefer to spend some time with my subjects or at least have some sort of brief interaction. But somehow driving through the chaotic and unfamiliar streets of Medan, this approach seems like a fitting way to express the sort of cultural distance inherent to traveling to a place like this. I can get physically closer to my subjects; I can talk with them and get a feel for who they are, but ultimately (at this point) what I have are my very limited observations as a foreigner of what this culture looks like. Here's an example of what I've got so far: Sumatrans crouch and sit back on their heels for long periods of time without showing discomfort. This ability I envy, as it allows one to sit nearly anywhere without having anything in particular to sit on. The universal unchair. I'll definitely have to pursue 'the crouch' as a photo investigation. I'll post my findings here...

Repose

Here are some of the WCS Medan workers that we are involved with for the story (including our new driver at the bottom left). Without furniture, this crew still knows how to relax in a way that seems uncommon in the states.

In and Out of Bangkok

Bangkok Traffic Cops with Face Masks

Since its clearly high time that someone did a project on bangkok traffic cops wearing facemasks, I decided to start my own. No, not really….but I suppose I could. But seriously, I must revisit this city and certainly this country. Really dug it.