I am Rahmad Larae, I was born and lived in an archipelago in the eastern part of Indonesia called Banda Neira. I am 27 years old, I am a diver, and a freelance photographer and videographer. Banda Neira is an island that has strong historical background not only Indonesia but all over the world, my dream and wish is to introduce Banda Neira and eastern part of Indonesia from the local perspective. My interest is in the culture, human interest, and ecological issue which I think are really important to be documented and also told to the whole world through still images and moving images.
I started doing photography and videography in 2016, using my actioncam. Since then, I am fascinated by the power of the camera to capture and preserving moment. The nature and cultural activity here in Banda Neira are really good to be captured by camera so I decided to be more focus in camera and film making.
I studied photography by myself through internet. Youtube, Instagram, and google are the source of information for me to learn. I still use my first action cam go pro hero 5 and SONY a6000, with my favorite lens 35mm f/1.2 from 7 artisan because it is small and has a really good bokeh that I think is really good for making portrait and story.
I knew the application through my friend’s feed on the Instagram, then I downloaded the agora application and entering the photo competition at agora image since 2018, and I become HERO through #ecofriendly2018 category. I’ve been entering the top 50, 6 times through #memories2018, #changeTheWorld2019, #green2019, #beauty2019, #light2019, #blue2020 categories. I am really happy that i become the winner of the international photography competition through agora image and being invited to be the ambassador #agoraworld2019.
For me agoraimages is an app that really supporting and appreciating my talent as a photographer. As a person that came from small island in the eastern part of Indonesia, Agora given me the opportunity to show my work to the whole world. Through agora images I can also see many works from other photographer from all over the world that really inspires me and inspire me to keep on creating.
This is the photo the won in #ecofriendly2019 category. I took this photo when I visited one of the islands in Banda archipelago named Hatta Island. I use my go pro hero 5 on midday. When i was snorkeled around the corals I saw a gree sea turtle on area where the corals are already damaged. Through this photo I want to share about the connection between human action and the ecology. We can see that the green sea turtle is depending on the corals to survived which now has been damaged because of the human action. And I believe that human will get something back because of their action in the future, so I want to warn and ask all of us to care more about our environment.
HERO #Ecofriendly2019
Winner of the underwater photo competition the bast seascap in 2016, Winner of the folk festival competition in 2017. I believe that the limitation of gears and media that I encountered here is not a barrier to learn about photography, we can access the information through the internet just like I did. We need to respect the process, because for me just like Indonesian proverb said “proses tidak akan mengkhianati hasil” that means a process will never betray the result.
Through photography we can use our imagination just like we wanted, and through it also we can share stories that can be enjoyed by others.
Contact Information :
Agora : @Rahmadlarae
Istagram : Rahmadlarae24
Email : Rahmadlarae24@gmail.com