Buku Carla

Angel and Tony – Bali Wedding Photographer

cbardian — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 01:37:28 +0000

17 April 2012 was a very special day for Angel and Tony, two lovebirds who tied the knot at Villa Canderi, Canggu Bali that noon. Angel looked absolutely stunning with her blue kebaya, decorated pink nails and white bouquet; while Tony was all happy and smiley during the short one-hour ceremony in his cheerful pink striped shirt. There were no other guests invited, except two witnesses, a Christian priest and a lady from the state civil institution (well, and me as the photographer). None of us they really knew before. That made it the most low-profile, straightforward, simple wedding I’ve ever attended. Close to my own dream wedding, except that I would like to do it on top of a hill or at some secluded beach.

One thing about a private wedding like this is there’s absolutely no stress. No fuss about the flower arrangement, the type of glasses used, the food, the cake, the bridesmaid dresses or any other factors that can turn a supposedly-happy-once-in-a-lifetime moment into a disaster. No bridezilla crying just hours before declaring her vows or threatening to cancel the wedding because the flowers were not yellow. Both Angel and Tony looked perfectly calm and happy, they smiled, and they cracked jokes almost all the time I spent with them.

The two ceremonies (religious and civil ceremonies) themselves took roughly about over half an hour. It was 1 o’clock and the heat was mean especially to the groom. The deal I made was to photograph the ceremony only, but I felt like giving more. So I took them to Batu Bolong beach, about 5 minutes from the venue, and had a short post-wedding session. I delivered the photos the next day because they had to leave for Medan (Angel’s hometown) only the day after. And this is what Tony had to say:

Hi Carla

Just letting you know that Angel and I are really happy with the photos. Thanx so much for making it an enjoyable experience.

Well, the pleasure is mine, Tony. It was one of the nicest weddings I’ve ever handled.

Nadya and Jean-Luc – Bali Wedding Photographer

cbardian — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 10:32:44 +0000

February must be the month of love. Or the celebration of love. Valentine is one that everybody knows about, but this February seemed to have more weddings than usual. At least to me. After the prewedding session with Winda and Jim, I was then asked to shoot the wedding ceremony of Nadya and Jean-Luc on the 29th of February.

I don’t do that many wedding photography assignments, especially the large scale one. But I’m very comfortable doing a smaller, more private wedding photography. Like the one Nadya and Jean-Luc had at one of the most beautiful villas in Bali – Pondok Linayan in Nusa Dua. I made the photos of this gorgeous villa a couple of years ago when it was just freshly built (I still need to blog that one too). The owners, who are good friends of ours, thought I could help shoot this wedding, too.

So it was super lovely. The wedding was a cross cultural event between Bali and France. The beautiful bride and groom are both French, all the guests are French (dressed in traditional Balinese costumes), the ceremony was done completely in Balinese Hindu way, there was a group of little Balinese dancers who entertained the guests with their graceful moves and the last bit: opening champagne and enjoying yummy finger foods like saucissons, etc. was definitely a French culture. Totally interesting. With the magnificent view of Nusa Dua hill overlooking the vast sea, it couldn’t have been any more perfect. Well, without further ado, here are the photos.

And some more below…

Berry Hotel Bali – Bali Villa and Hotel Photographer

cbardian — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 03:48:09 +0000

I did this project last year (and just blogged it now, my apologies). At the time I was asked to copywrite the website of Berry Hotel when it was still in the construction stage. As time went by, they’d need a photographer to shoot their hotel so that sound advertisements could be conducted right away. I had this opportunity to take the Berry Hotel’s initial photos. There are some new photos on the website so I wouldn’t claim all were mine, but here are some hints of the work I did.

Click to view slideshow.

Winda and Jim – Bali Prewedding Photographer

cbardian — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 23:12:43 +0000

On Monday, I got a sudden call from Winda, a lovely, outgoing woman who was excited to get married to Jim, a nice Bandung-born American man. She asked me if I could do a prewedding session for them so that they could pick one photo to be blown up and displayed at the entrance of their wedding venue this very Sunday. They already had done their prewedding photoshoot before but they wanted to display a photo with their real wedding dress and suit (the previous one they were wearing traditional Balinese wedding outfit that they won’t actually wear at the actual wedding).

It was a quick call that I had to make but I was up for it. So the next morning we went to Uluwatu (Suluban beach to be exact) and had this great, fun prewedding session. Check out the photos below.

Winda and Jim were such a great couple to work with and they’d do adventurous stuff to get a great photo. Like the one below.

And here are some more.

It was an absolut delight to photograph Winda and Jim. Congratulations on your wedding, guys!

Little Max, 2 Years Old – Surabaya Children Photographer

cbardian — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 08:44:45 +0000

I was truly honoured when my best friend, Rina, asked me to photograph her little boy, Maximilliano Malik Ridwansyah – or shortly called Max - in December 2011. I photographed Rina’s wedding 2.5 years ago but I never got around to posting the pictures on this blog (I know, guilty as charged). And when I did want to do it, the session with her fast-growing baby already took place! Nevertheless, it was really a fine day… the time I spent with this beautiful family. I got to see how Max had turned from a helpless baby to the I’m-the-boss kind-of little guy. Most of the toddlers I take picture of are girls. And girls are in a way calmer. But not with Max. He’d just run here and there, sometimes in a circle, leaving me (the photographer) and Win (his father + bodyguard) breathless. No wonder Rina and Win have become so thin now!

Anyway, meet Max – one of the most adorable boys I’ve ever seen.

See you soon, Little Max. Pretty sure the next time I see you again, you won’t be that little anymore.

Madame Mina – Bali Portrait Photographer

cbardian — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 03:37:39 +0000

Madame Mina had never had her photos professionally and properly taken. This hardworking mother of three recently thought she should award herself with one photo session. And so I took her to Echo beach in Canggu, Bali to have the photo session. A lot of people do not know that through photos they can actually get many advantages; one of which being a boost of self confidence. There will be the time when they see the result of their photos, see how beautiful they can be, and start appreciating and respecting themselves even more. This point of thought goes a long way…. positively.

I hope she is happy with this sneakpeek.

Princess Michelle, 6 years old, Surabaya Children Photographer

cbardian — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 09:49:22 +0000

If I came back to Surabaya and Michelle did not ask me to take photos of her, I would be surprised. This time was no different. She kept nagging and nagging and nagging me until I took my camera and had this photo session with her. She was lucky she was cute!

She said she wanted to be like the Sleeping Beauty so I asked her to pretend to sleep. It was really hard the first five minutes because she kept giggling even when her eyes were closed. But I am telling you, this kid is a great model to be. I told her to stop laughing and get serious. And see what she did.

Look how expressive she was.

And such a little princess she is....

Shierly and Iki Kondo – Surabaya Family Photographer

cbardian — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 11:14:21 +0000

Shierly has been my model for a very long time. A very good friend of mine, we used to be inseparable in the past. She now lives in Tokyo with her only son, Iki, and hubby Hiro until he is assigned in another country. Last week she happened to be in Surabaya for the weddings of our mutual friends. So we took some time during our “busy” schedule to do a photo session. Here are the sneak peeks.

Iki is normally a shy little guy. But in this photoshoot he was so cooperative, thanks to the excessive amount of chocolate fed to him before. LOL

Isn't he sweet???

Iki and Shierly Kondo

With a balloon

Can you believe that she is thirty?

And do I have to state that she is thirty?

It is by all means a compliment.

It was so fun to photograph this pair of mother and son. After hearing that Iki kisses like his father, why wouldn't any one think it was fun? I enjoyed every moment spent with you two, Shierly and Iki! Until next time!

Winners Announcement – Carla’s Annual Contest 2010

cbardian — Tue, 18 May 2010 03:13:31 +0000

As promised, today I am announcing the two winners who will get a free photo session with me this year.

The photo contest winner is Ayu Maharani Setiawan with her baby boy Adi. Their photo gained 9 votes in total beating the other contestants.

The winning photo

The other winner from the voters is Yokhebed Santoso from Surabaya. The method I was using was just to write down the names of all voters and generate the number at random.org. Number 22 came out as the winner and Yokhebed is the lucky one.

Number 20 is the winner.

And it is Yokhebed Santoso!

Congratulations for both winners!!! Here is what you are entitled for:

A free photo session with me. Output will be 20 high-res images and one mounted canvas print.
The free session can be used by the winners themselves or given to somebody else they like.
The session is only valid to use until 31 December 2010.
By having this session, you are also entitled to join the next year’s annual contest.
The winners also need to sign a paper that Carla can use their photos for promotional material, if she wants.

For everyone else, why not book your own beautiful session with me this year to enter the chance to win another session next year?

Komang Sumiati

cbardian — Mon, 17 May 2010 07:35:31 +0000

Komang, whose French boss calls her Koko (I am guessing so that it sounds more artistically Frenchy like Coco Chanel hihi), is my classmate at Alliance Francaise. She is originally a Balinese but married to a Javanese lad. The sweet 30-year old woman enjoys posing for me and for herself and we had such a good time at the villa belonging to her Indo Dutch friend. Komang is also a good jewellery designer and hopes to be a successful one someday. Here are some of the photos.

She has got a perfect tropical skin colour.

And taste on colours and fashion.

Komang Sumiati

Looks sweet even in such a simple photo like this

And this one is my favourite of all. The colour of the water in the background suits her personality and look.

Also a favourite

Worth displaying in a magazine

Komang and her gypsy style.

Her husband is definitely such a lucky guy.