Magic Moments on Camera

Lake Tamblingan, Bali. (Photo courtesy of Burufly)

Since Burufly was established in April last year, the people behind Indonesia’s first social travel site have worked relentlessly to bring the country’s diverse beauty closer to the public through user-generated content.

Burufly’s founder and chief executive Peter Goldsworthy said the site was developed to promote tourism in Indonesia, but it is much more than just a website with pretty pictures. What sets it apart is that users can research, plan and book their upcoming travels and share stories of their journeys afterward.

In line with its aim to uncover hidden gems throughout the archipelago, Burufly organized a photo competition in recent weeks, calling on amateur and professional photographers to submit images of Indonesia.

With the help of renowned Indonesian photographer Indra Leonardi, 100 out of the thousands of entries were chosen and are now on display at eX Plaza Indonesia until the end of June.

The selection was later narrowed to five winners of the grand prize, a photographic trip to Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, from June 30 to July 4.

Indra said he was happy to see so many people join the competition. He said many entries were of landscapes and scenery, while he was looking out for something different.

“I was looking for images that represent the variety of our country,” he said. “But 40 percent of the entries showed a sunset. While of course that always looks nice on a photograph, I wanted to make sure that the top 100 photos also had other themes. Indonesia is much more than sunsets. This country has many other beautiful things to capture.”

Once he chose the top 100, he said, it became more difficult to pick the final five — but he relied on his years of experience as a photographer.

“To take a good photo, there are several basic criteria, like the right color balance, composition, lighting and expression when there are people involved,” said Indra, who studied at the Brooks Institute of Photography in the United States.

Jakarta-based Tirta Winata, whose photograph of Lake Tamblingan in Bali secured him a ticket to Lombok, said he was excited to be among the winners, especially since he only took up photography as a hobby five years ago. He took the photo while he was on vacation on the Island of Gods.

“Tamblingan is the smallest of Bali’s northwestern lakes,” he said. “Many tourists flock to the bigger ones, but I decided to go to Tamblingan, very early in the morning. The path that leads there is quite hidden and rocky, so it’s not so easy to reach.”

His efforts were certainly worth it: Tirta’s photograph perfectly captures the sleepy atmosphere of a cloudy morning, as a couple of old wooden fishing boats lie quietly in the water. The multiple-tiered shrines of a typical Balinese temple in the background add a sense of peace and tranquility.

The other four winners are Adri Syahfril Koto Piliang for a breathtaking shot of Laguna Pari in South Banten; Hendro Hioe for a stunning underwater photograph; Hadi Setiadharma for an image of a craftsman putting the finishing touches on a gong; and Irvan Darmawan for a snapshot of presean , a tradition of Lombok in which two men battle each other with sticks.

Goldsworthy studied at Melbourne’s RMIT university and went on to work as an online marketing expert, working for the Admax Network and Australia-listed iProperty Group before embarking on the Burufly project.

He said he initiated the photo competition to encourage Indonesians to become involved in promoting their own country.

“Indonesia has an abundance of tourism assets, but unfortunately its tourism potential is not yet maximized,” he said during a media gathering this month where the winners were announced.

To underline his point, Goldsworthy showed his audience some similar-looking photographs, asking for guesses on which of the landscapes was located in Indonesia, and which were from abroad. Most answers were wrong, prompting laughter.

“We are hoping that this initial step will move domestic and international tourists to pack their bags and explore all of Indonesia,” he said.

Burufly worked with Japanese travel agency H.I.S. Travel Indonesia to organize the competition, which was also backed by the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy.

“We truly believe that Indonesia’s tourism industry still has much potential for growth,” said Gomi Mutsumi, president director of H.I.S. Watie Moerany, director of fine arts development at the ministry, said Burufly was a good example of how the private sector can raise awareness among travelers.

“Indonesia has many beautiful tourism destinations that are not yet on the radar for international tourists,” she said. “Therefore, we expect that there will be other private players who will help us [realize] the government’s tourism program.”

Burufly may have found a formula for success in promoting tourism in Indonesia. While most of the website’s users are Indonesians, there is also a rising number of users from the Philippines, United States, Singapore, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.