Interview with Alfonso Rahardja

Hi Alfonso! Tell us about yourself in two sentences - who are you?

I am a President Commissioner of a fast moving consumer goods company in Indonesia. For the past 4 years photography has been a serious hobby for me, especially macro photography, still life, and wildlife photography. By the way, I like painting and drawing too!

What's the weirdest situation you've found yourself in while taking a photograph?

The weirdest situation I faced was falling into a gutter when I took some shots at my company's anniversary party. It was an outdoor event. I was busy shooting one of the competitions taking place. I stepped back a couple of paces to get a better angle, but I did not notice an open gutter behind me, which was about 70cm wide and 1.50m deep. I suddenly stumbled into the gutter while still holding my camera. My back hit the ground first. My shirt was torn apart and my back was bruised badly. The bruises lasted for a couple of weeks.

QWhat do you shoot on? What's your favourite set up?

AI like to shoot macro, with insects and flowers as my subjects. I like to shoot with an F 2.8 to get a good bokeh. I also like to shoot animals in the zoo. I use either an Olympus Micro Four Thirds 75 mm 1.8 prime lens or 40-150 2.8 mm zoom lens.

QWhat's your number one tip for an aspiring photographer?

AMy tip is - do not stop practicing, trying new techniques and experimenting. Read lots of articles about photography and join the photography community to widen your knowledge and inspire your work.