Humans of Indonesia. A Portrait of A Country and the Indonesian People.

130743908192 – met so many cool guys at prambanan temple this

‘Never Forget. A country is its people.- King Nefertari Cobra’

Eiichiro Oda.

This is exactly what motivated us to start Humans of Indonesia, a unique photography project we proposed to the Ministry of Tourism in Indonesia when we were invited to visit this land a couple of months back by Indonesia Tourism.

Apart from running around 6 different destinations (being this one our absolute highlight!) as part of a large press trip we were part of, we’d be taking extra care to portrait Indonesia and explore the country beyond its main landmarks as well. Focusing on the culture and people of Indonesia.

And so we started taking portraits of Indonesian people that came across and was ok with us doing so. Lucky us, Indonesia resulted to be one of those warm countries where smiley people do want you in their lives and in many cases, after asking and shooting someone, we’d find ourselves being the subject as the locals would ask us back to do the same.

In the end, we managed to publish almost a hundred pictures on the website we built for this Humans of Indonesia project, and those were of course broadcasted through the Humans of Indonesia specific Social Media networks, being the Humans of Indonesia Instagram once again the leading one, managing to get over 500 followers organically in a few weeks.

Satisfied with this pilot black and white photography Indonesia people project, we can say this is only the beginning as we’ll be taking our series on our upcoming trips. Therefore, if you are into portraits, black and white photography, short and visual storytelling or simply enjoy people, keep a close eye on this space. We’ve warned you!

in Tangkuban Perahu

Our first caption, a group of Indonesian youngsters in Tangkuban Perahu, Java.

Art Director and Main Photographer – Jose Martinez

Assistant Photographer and Writer – Inma Gregorio

Wanna know more about our Indonesian adventures? Head here.

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There are 49 comments

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  1. Julia Gomez

    Beautiful project and pictures.
    Indonesian people are so sweet, the pictures couldn’t look bad with those huge smiles! Every time I go there I feel like at home. Congratulations!

  2. alexis

    Wow, incredible portraits. This must have been a life changing project! One of my favorite things to do is to meet people and hear their stories:)

  3. trucosviajeros

    Unas fotos fantรกsticas! Sabรฉis leer a las personas y vuestra fotografรญa lo transmite. Grandes!

  4. Jade

    Absolutely stunning! It’s refreshing to see portrait travel photos over landscape. You’ve captured the beauty of Indonesian people so perfectly

  5. Rishabh & Nirali

    Lovely project and more so because it is in B/W. Contrary to popular perception, B/W pics seem so much more vivid especially for portraits or photos with human subjects.

    • Inma

      We hear you Rishabh and Nirali! In the beginning we balanced pros and cons, BW won! ๐Ÿ˜€ Happy it turned out pretty ok.
      Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

  6. Heather Cole

    Just blown away by these stunning pictures! I’m a landscape photographer personally, and like to kid myself it’s because I love capturing the scenery, but in reality it’s because I don’t have the confidence to work with people taking photos of them. It’s so much harder (and possibly therefore more rewarding!) to photograph people, so brilliant job!

    • Inma

      Thanks so much! We really appreciate your kind words. But let us tell you it is not as difficult nor invasive as it seems. People usually loves to be taken pics of! Or at least the people we’ve came across of. So go for it!

  7. The.Restless.Worker

    These pictures are unbelievable! To this day the people of Indonesia are the kindest, happiest and most peaceful people I’ve ever come across. You’ve captured this beautifully.

  8. Roaming Renegades (@Travel_Explore1)

    Ahh, I love these photos. So much character, soul and of course so many stories! You have a real gift for capturing the essence of a person.

  9. Monika

    Amazing photos and a wonderful idea for a project! It’s important to go off the beaten track and talk to people like you did – for me this is what constitutes the true spirit of every country.

  10. Svet Dimitrov

    Oh, my, God! This project is absolutely amazing! I am flabbergasted by the shots, the ambiance, your assiduity. Keep going, you are all beautiful!

  11. Prianka | Map Halves

    Really beautiful portraits – are you guys going to put this together as a whole big project like HoNY et al Also what places did you visit on your press trip, that sounds like so much fun!

    • Inma

      Hi Prianka.
      And thanks so much for stopping by and commenting.
      Indeed, HoNY has inspired us in the past and will continue to do so in the future. However, this is a bit of a different approach. Anyway, YES! We’ll keep doing this series in upcoming travels and we are also thinking of reviewing past trips portraits to do something similar as well!
      Regarding to our route, please have a look to this article where we put together our itinerary ๐Ÿ™‚ Hope you like it as well!
      https://www.aworldtotravel.com/indonesia-trip-itinerary-and-map/

  12. NYC JetSetter

    Great photos. I am going in December so I am excited to experience the people and culture first hand!

  13. Claudia

    Not that I had any doubt… I have followed your work on Instagram and your photos are amazing. It is great to see them all together. People of Indonesia are gorgeous ๐Ÿ™‚

  14. whileimyoungandskinny

    Definitely gonna follow this and can’t wait to see more! Such a lovely idea and it must have been a really fun, exciting project to work on. I was in Indonesia earlier this year! Well done!

  15. Andrew and Emily

    Great project and you guys clearly have a lot of talent behind the camera and obviously in terms of human spirit too in order to be able to have such great access to take such personal shots. So many great ones, but one photo in particular really captured my attention (called Time Tales with a woman with a towel around her head) – I’d love to see it a little larger as I think you’ve captured someone incredible there.

    • Inma

      Thanks so much for your nice words, Andrew and Emily! It wasn’t difficult, the people of Indonesia were just so warm and helpful and interested in the project as well that this was just one of the most enjoyable things we’ve ever done! ๐Ÿ˜€

  16. Stephen

    Brilliant shots guys, especially the beautiful juxtaposition of tradition and modernity that characterizes so much of Indonesia. Very nice!


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