READY FEBRIAN

Ready Febrian is a humble photographer with an extensive and inspiring portfolio. On top of his impressive work he also offers information and tutorials, such as his ‘How to Quickly Develop Black and White Film‘ and ‘How to Make Your Own Parodinal’. Working mainly with black and white film, Ready is an individual who has raised the bar in respects to being “just a hobbyist”, as he claims, and a quick glance at his website will have you reaching for your own camera and running out the door.

Aweh: Who are you, where are you from, and what do you do?

Ready: My name is Ready, I’m from Jakarta, Indonesia. I am just an ordinary man who has a lot of hobbies. One of my hobbies is photography and more often than not I’m taking photographs. I am not really serious about photography, but I am doing it because I want to express the messages I want to deliver.

I am not really very good at writing down what is on my mind, but with a photo I can explain the messages that I want to share, just as some people write out what they think and feel. Some people , like me, pour their imagination into media or whatever work they choose to give their time to. Through photography I get a lot of insight, not only from the scope of photography itself, but from the objects that I photograph.

Aweh: What does your average day consist of?

Ready: These days I`m doing a lot of gigs in my town with my band, while continuing to collect photographs, which I show on my blog.

Aweh: From looking at your extensive portfolio it’s evident that you have been shooting for a long time, but how did it all begin? When did you pick up your first camera, and how did you get to where you are today?

Ready: I have known about photography since I was in high school. I was interested in trying the cameras that my grandfather had, and he taught me a little about photography as a hobby. Then he gave me an SLR camera that he had used before — a Canon FTB — and I started taking pictures of the environment around me. Later I received a more formal education about the basics of photography, and I started to learn about the photography Internet forums in Jakarta. I learned more from friends in these discussion forums and began practicing photography; not only focusing on one forum or genre of photography, because I preferred going to the meetings of different forums, discussing, and trying to absorb what they imposed on each of the genres they were interested in.

From there I started to follow some small exhibitions and photography competitions on the forums, and several were held at my college. Now I have an addiction to photography.

Aweh: What continues to draw you to photography?

Ready: I always want to deliver something or a message; that’s what drew me into photography initially. I do not know how to convey a message through other mediums, hence I love photography!

Aweh: Would you consider yourself an artist rather than a photographer?

Ready: I never considered myself as an artist or photographer. I can only explain it as me doing what I like to do.

Aweh: When did you start blogging?

Ready: I have actually had photography blogs since 2007, but I don’t really take very good care of them, so I’m always creating new ones. Up until now I`ve changed blogs approximately eight times.

Aweh: Why do you blog?

Ready: I don’t think of myself as a professional photographer who requires a personal web portfolio. Blogs are more fun for me, where we don’t just post work but can also communicate with other bloggers who have similar interests (on the same site); exchange information, discuss ideas, comment on each other’s work, and always be updated with the work of other bloggers. In my opinion it’s not too different from a personal website.

Aweh: You often provide tutorials and further information about photography on your blog. When and what prompted you to start doing this?

Ready: Everyone is always in need of new information, or indeed old information that needs to be brought up again. I think started when someone on my blog asked about developing black and white film, about street photography and so forth. They always wanted me to inform them about something in the area of photography and I’m always learning from others, so I think there is no harm in sharing things that I am studying. I often post articles from my friends in the forum of friends’ blogs, so I can keep learning and keep in touch with others, although we may not actually know each other or have ever met.

Aweh: What’s the biggest lesson you have learnt whilst practicing photography?

Ready: The patience to get something we want, although the results may not be like other peoples’. When we learn to appreciate our own of photography we can learn a little about the character that we take from an object — that`s what I call the insight, which I was referring to earlier. Other than that I love interacting with the subjects in my photos; human interaction and broadening my knowledge of the people around me.

Aweh: Is photography purely a hobby or do you do commercial work as well?

Ready: For me it is not just a hobby, but has become the opiate which I must continue to do. I never promote my photography as a paid profession, but sometimes I get paid work as a result of work I have done purely for the reason that I liked doing it.

Aweh: Which do you prefer; digital, phone, or film photography?

Ready: I like it so long as I can produce good work, but I find film photography to be very pleasant. I like filling out the film, pulling the lever, and then the process of developing film in a darkroom. Much can be tried and much should be learned from shooting film, like the different kinds of film, the chemicals to use, how to process film, and so forth. But I also frequently use a digital camera. It depends on the needs and financial conditions of the task — if I’m not able to buy film I shoot digital!

Aweh: What’s your opinion on the emerging culture of iPhone photography?

Ready: I heard about the pros and cons of Instragram, which provides advanced features and options to edit photographs, and it is not uncommon to ask whether this can be properly included in the category of photography. I can say it is a good development in terms of photograph technology. After all, with one tool you can take photographs while also calling your girlfriend, haha!

Aweh: We’ve noticed that you use an array of cameras; if you had to choose one camera to shoot with for the rest of your life then which one would it be and why?

Ready: From the few cameras that I use I like them all, they are each useful in their own way for taking pictures. Especially with digital, people are always coming out with new features, so it can very confusing to choose which one is best. Maybe I should answer that the old non-electronic cameras are best in the long run, because they are not easily broken!

Aweh: What’s your one piece of advice that could possibly change a photographer’s life forever?

Ready: Keep shooting, don’t be satisfied with your work, and keep learning.

Aweh: Thanks for your time. Any last words?

Ready: Thanks to Aweh and regards to all photographers around the world.

/// READY FREBRIAN ///