Flood, A Beautiful Lake

Flood, a beautiful lake.

Fondle, Cuddle Me

Plant, Never Seen Before

Bridge

Clouds

Lovers Making Love

Lovers Making love.

Lovely Weed

Side view

Front view 

Another Joy To The Eyes

Musing About A Cottage

Musing About A Cottage

This cottage lies in a valley, surrounded by trees, fishponds, cool, peaceful in a village somewhere in Tajur Halang. How long will it last? The owner might sell this paradise one day for the joys of money, or is forced to give up for the building of a new large real estate, ...

Close Up View

These lotos’ are no more on lake Kemuning. They’re weeded out.

And I thought of the many paradises I’ve visited, as I travelled running or cycled into the country: Serpong, Jurang Mangu, MuaraKarang, ... sold and now gone forever. They’ve proudly changed them into Jakarta of today, of technology, to provide for the threatening population increase with new tall buildings, houses, toll roads, noise, traffic jams, pollution, stress, ...

This is a picture of a charming village, Cilenggang, as I picture it in words, for I hadn’t got a camera then:

The country road, so cool, so shady and winding. The village houses small, so welcome, not cold and proud as grand mansions, the gardens without borders, ...

Wow, how delightful it was to be welcomed by a girl with a branch of red colored “rambutan” just taken from the tree after being tired, running in Cilenggang, which I did not eat but took home to decorate the dining table.

Though there was no park, just by going down a path through a bamboo-wood, I got a captivating view of Eden’s garden in a valley below.

And as Adam, my eyes, delighted, enjoyed to see a verdant earth, a waterfall on the hills far away and the rice fields near below. My feet tripped, danced along a winding path, following a brook with rich vegetation bordering the sides and lovely, laughing, washing, bathing nymphs and women. My ears feasted on sounds of falling water in the rice fields and fishponds. I deeply breathed the pure fresh air, I bought me cendol (gelatin drops in iced sweet coconut milk) of a vendor, sitting somewhere lingering on a trunk, my heart so grateful, rapturously singing, though it was just inCilenggang, not in Bali, the island of the Gods.

And that was but some twenty years ago – perhaps some of you are not yet born - and now they’re no more. Who would miss them?

September 2012

That's Her Gratitude

That’s Her Gratitude

 

How lovely this wild grass grow so tall, though on barren earth, bordering the wall. That’s her gratitude, my reward for just regularly watering it.

September 2012

 

Never Too Old To Be Young

 

Never Too Old To Be Young

 

 

I wish I could picture, the moment he stepped out of the train, walking fast with his empty pikulan (a pole with two hanging baskets on each end). Too difficult to shoot in an overcrowded train.  So said Opa Johan to his wife. 


This is a photo I shot in the train. Imagine the impossibility to meet him three times in a same compartment.

He is over 90 and what’s so special is that he still teases playfully  a young woman vendor in the train and she equally teases him in return when she’s passing by. The worst thing for a man is when a woman regards him as not a man, you know? When I asked him whether he still has his wife, he said, sure. She’s just 30. I don’t remember how many wives I’ve got, while it’s a pity, I’ve only got just the first one, that’s you, you little fool?


And I thought of Liz who won a young husband for the 8th time in her sixties, but he won himself a young wife when he is over 90 years. That’s more than winning an Olympic gold medal. Ha. Ha.
 

September 2012

Country Road

Beautiful Trees

Village Path Kemuning Lake

Fish Pond

Village Fish Pond In Bojong Gede

Pantai Mutiara

Joy for My Eyes

Campus UI

Beautiful Roots

Cassava

Lamp Light

Gosong Sekati Island

A member of Thousand Island

Just Guess, What Is This?

Tiny Blimbing Blossoms

Lake Tonjong

Country Road

Country Road on my bike tavel

Picture In Words

The Gardener

Opa (grandpa) Johan told his girlfriend – a lovely woman - about a beautiful garden.

“What a lovely garden. How did you manage it?” So I asked The Gardener.

“God granted me a little plot of earth. The rain came, the sun shone and the wind carried seeds. Then the soil became a seedbed, tiny plants were germinating. I dug a well to water them and they changed into ferns, chevelures, plants with beautiful flowers and some even into big trees. I haven’t expensive, special roses, only wild roses, wild flowers and wild plants. Sometimes I took back home seeds of plants which I liked to have in my garden. Sure, you could plant any plant you like if your plot of earth has sufficient space to support, you diligently water and care for it. 

I made a little pond, connected it with a ditch with running water. Water plants – I planted a wild water-lily, a lotus, a willow -, fish, freshwater shrimps, crabs, frogs, a little turtle, dragon-, damselflies settled there. Butterflies, bees, crickets, cicada’s, lizards, a squirrel and in the evening, bats, fireflies visited while birds were nesting in my garden. I have built myself a little cottage, - my nest - and am so grateful, my little plot of land changed into a paradise.” So said The Gardener. 

“Well, how able you are, though you look like a scarecrow” I said, “though you haven’t got a proper education, never  studied gardening or bought expensive flowering plants, yet you managed to create a paradise.”

Do you want to make his acquaintance and see his garden?” Opa Johan asked her.

“ . . . . . . . . . “

“I’m myself that gardener. Ha, ha.

So am I congratulating myself? Don’t you think I’m very courageous saying it?  I deserve a    kiss.”

What The Digital Camera Brought Me 2

Fantasy

As I wanted to straighten an unsuccesful, poor picture, I tried to edit it with the Microsoft Office Picture Manager just by rotating the picture by degrees and crop.  I succeeded to turn out a picture very challenging to the imagination, as just a patch of grass before, would look like a beautiful forest.

Close up views

    

Editing with the ZoomBrowser EX, I got these close up pictures of the tiny colorful flowers.

Windows Life Movie Maker, makes these still pictures moving. (See You Tube; chewginhoa, Still pictures moving)

Original picture

Imagine that all was created out this one picture, of my poor, not succesful shooting with my pocket PowerShot A 490 digital camera.

You couldn’t learn, find it in books. Just try, experiment and a sea of possibilities open up. What a happy find. That’s my precious reward. How rich I am.

May 2012

A Kiss Of Farewell

A Kiss Of Farewell

Gretl was so listless as she vomited, discharged blood on her way to the doctor. The second time si Upik visited, her doctor said:

“There’s almost no hope she would recover.”

Then she wept silently, watching the doctor giving, providing the last, best possible treatment. On her way home she stopped to see the last moments of Gretl, her convulsive movements of nearing death. She drove the car while one hand was gently stroking her body, held her convulsive paws, trying to soothe her. Gretl still breathed back home. Si Upik didn’t cry anymore. She pressed a silent kiss so long to Gretl’s face as though to say farewell, as though she wished to retrieve her back to life. Twice did she succeed to save her.

And I thought of Princess Diana who was so loved by the whole world. But there’s no one so close, so loved as Gretl - just a former unwanted doggy - by si Upik.

September 2009

Ducks Swimming

What The Digital Camera Brought Me

I was a bit disappointed with my digital pocket camera Canon Powershot A490 before, though I was glad that I easily could take it with me on my travels. I thought that it was just for shooting pictures. But as I read the manual did I know that it could also make recordings. I was so happy when I knew this. I could record my choir, my dogs, birds twitter, crickets, cicadas singing and I thought to record butterflies, birds in flight, fireflies, water spiders, rising smoke from a joss stick, a flame, glowing embers, running, gurgling, rushing, splashing water, live fish, sailing clouds, ... 

Imagine what the digital camera brought me. Even shooting pictures became fascinating, edit them with Movie Maker and make me a movie. What a joy it was as I learned by trial and error. How wonderful, superb is the camera, ZoomBrowser EX, the Movie Maker, Windows Live Photo Gallery, the Picture Manager. I could make me still pictures out of recordings, make these still pictures gently moving, I could color, crop, resize them, make them like pencil drawings, silhouet pictures and there’s a lot more I don’t know. 

As I aimed at the swimming ducks, I only captured a vague picture of them, yet I can darken it to be more visible. I cut away a lot which is superfluous, mute it and paste the parts worth it, together. The tall weeds look like beautiful trees outlined against the sky and I got a lovely marsh  besides to make me a nice video for You Tube (See You Tube: chewginhoa, Ducks Swimming) and my videos blog. I made snapshots of the recording and again I got  a nice picture and a pencil drawing for my pictures blog. Great.

And whenever I turn out a poor picture, video, I myself  am to blame.

Picture Drawing

A Lovely Weed

A Lovely Weed

When we were little children, we “travelled” along the road-side and picked the brown ripe pods of this weed and wet it with our spittle, then she suddenly burst open.

Here she is with a flower, so simply dressed and her still green pods, a lovely weed among the weeds. But as it is not a very good picture, I’m myself to blame. Yet am I happy, lucky to find her on a lonely road. You almost don’t  see this weed in Jakarta today. And I mused, is she really so ordinary?

"See heaven in a wild flower", says William Blake.

Saungs Far Away

Saungs - Bamboo Shelters

I would have discarded this picture before as my pocket camera couln't get it sharp. It is too far away. But owing to my ZoomBrowser EX have I succeeded to still make me a nice photo.

What's Its Name Plant

Close up View

Waving Plumes

This is a still picture

On my travels into the country, I fortunately saw far away, plumes beautifully waving. A picture could never capture her graceful dance. But as I neared to record, the wind subsides. You never could command the wind to blow, you know? I had to wait before I could capture them waving again but they were not so lovely waving as before. Yet am I grateful as I took it home, make me a video, though not perfect for You Tube to be preserved for ever.

Bonsai

Seeing a tree, trees from far away I see, imagine a “bonsai” (dwarfed trees). Picture them and I  take  them home then show them in my blog and I also have a "bonsai" to see, enjoy for life, which I needn’t buy, needn’t a pot, nurse, water. Ha, Ha.

Statue Of A Nude

Statue Of A Nude

Our late president Soekarno had a statue of a strong, bold, valiant, hero warrior aiming his arrow, in front of his palace in Jakarta. But may be, the society was uncomfortable seeing him naked, perhaps, for descency reasons it was removed.

He also has a statue of a lovely woman almost unnoticed, sitting on a stone near a pond in his presidential park in Bogor.

Here she is.

Honor to the artists who created them.

Imagine Adam so handsome, Eve so fair in Eden.

Bamboo Grove

Lonely Flowering Tree

What's Its Name Red Flower

.

I saw a wonderful plant radiant with red tiny flowers and took it home, yet as I carefully searched it in my computer, I still found a more beautiful slender branch of it which I didn’t notice before. My digital camera did it.  

.