Making a Moment: Her Basuki Margono’s Decisive Moment

In our article series, Making a Moment, we’re asking photographers to share one of their favorite photos that they’ve taken. We want to know the story behind the final image and everything that went into making it.

In this edition Indonesian Lomographer Her Basuki Margono (Uki) tells us about a spontaneous snapshot he took last year. Uki started photography around 2000, using various film cameras, though he confesses that between 2014 –2023, he was “kind of lost with mobile photography.” He started shooting film again only last year, mostly using expired film as quickly regained his analogue instincts, and honed his old hobby. Read Uki’s words below!

Uki: This is one of my favorite photos because it’s unstaged. The right moment, the composition, the light and the grain of the photo was relatively debatable. But when you anticipate the split second that it’s going to be a good photo, the feeling of joy is undeniable.

I shot this in November 2023 with a Fed 5b and Ilford HP5 plus 400 (expired May 2014). My film was not stored properly and I set the ASA of this roll at 100 and pulled 2 stops.

We (me, my wife and daughter) gave a visit to my grandmother in Cilacap, Central Java. It was a Sunday afternoon. Neira, my daughter, wanted to play in water and took a bath. In front of the bathroom, there’s a wet area with a well. It was spontaneous. I saw a scene and then I walked into the house, from the dining room, I composed through the glass window and observed what Neira was doing. And then came a “decisive moment”. I saw her standing like a statue, her eyes were staring at the well, the soft light shined from her left side and made the perfect light and shadow of my previsualization, then I snapped.

The unexpected result was the white dots as if from glimmering light. I can’t explain whether this happened due to the expired film or whether the Fed 5b needed to be fixed.

I’d like to thank the Lomography community for appreciating my work and giving me a chance to be a part of Making a Moment. I hope I can keep shooting film and making great photos.

To see more of Uki's photography be sure to follow him at his LomoHome.

In this series of articles we're asking you to share the story behind your favorite photo. Interested in being featured? Email alex.gray@lomography.com with the subject line - Making a Moment.

written by alexgray on 2024-03-10 #people #making-a-moment #black-and-white #expired #experimental #indonesia #community #making-a-moment