NatGeo winning photos taken in Indonesia

I was flicking through the October 2011 issue of National Geographic Magazine on a red sofa placed inside a department store of a new shopping mall in town while my mum and sister were browsing shoes. My eyes stopped on a page displaying the winning images of the annual National Geographic Photography Contest. It took me a few seconds before I realised that two of the top three best pictures had been taken in Indonesia. 

Out of curiosity I then searched for more information at home. Three categories are available for submission, namely Places, Nature, and People. In each category you can find the category winner, followed by several honourable mentions and one viewers' choice winner. And out of the three category winners, the judges will pick the grand-prize winner.

And here are the National Geographic winning photos with Indonesia as the setting since its inception in 2006.

2012 National Geographic Photography Contest

Fransisca Harlijanto. Category: Nature. Honourable Mention.
Thousands of fish move in synchrony in Komodo Island waters.

Wendell Phillips. Category: People. Honourable Mention.
A patient of mental sickness is shackled in chains at
Yayasan Galuh Rehabilitation Centre in Bekasi, West Java.

2011 National Geographic Photography Contest

Shikhei Goh. Category: Nature. Grand-Prize Winner and Nature Winner.
A dragonfly is sprayed with water in Riau Islands.

2010 National Geographic Photography Contest

Aaron Lim Boon Teck. Category: Nature. Grand-Prize Winner and Nature Winner.
Mount Rinjani volcano erupts on Lombok Island.

Stephanie Swartz. Category: Nature. Honourable Mention.
A lion at a wildlife sanctuary.

Chan Kwok Hung. Category: People. People Winner.
A Sumatran farmer and his buffalo charge through the mud
in a buffalo race in West Sumatra.

Winning a ticket to the Queen's Birthday Party

It was one of the most fun experiences I've ever had.

I knew that the British Embassy in Jakarta, through their Facebook page, was holding a photo contest last June commemorating UK Queen Elizabeth II's Official Birthday Party. Anybody could submit as many photos as possible that depict the Union Jack, the best three of which would be extended an invitation to the party in Jakarta. I didn't really pay any particular attention to that announcement and I had no intention to participate in it.

It was in the evening on Tuesday, 4 June 2013, when I was heading to Sofyan Hotel Betawi in Menteng, Central Jakarta, to welcome Brian, fellow ex-participant of the 39th Ship for South East Asian Youth Programme. Hailing from the Philippines, he flew to Jakarta thanks to the Indonesian government's Arts and Culture Scholarship. With three other contingent members, we made an appointment to gather in the hotel.

So, I was riding my motorcycle when I bumped into a bajaj running exactly in front of me on Jl. Cipinang Baru Utara. And I noticed that the three-wheeler had a Union Jack on its backside! Instantly, I was saying to myself, If the birthday party were meant for me, I would be able to capture this bajaj.