Eric Setiawan’s Journal

Will you ever quit taking pictures? No, I will take pictures until I die.

Our meeting was only 5 hours but at the end of today I have learned so much, a lesson in photography and in life. I feel that’s the kind of person Tay Kay Chin is. One of 2003 Hasselblad master. Whose works are acknowledged by a wide range of people. But let’s forget about it for a moment. Right now, he’s a friend who is visiting my hometown, Bandung. I think he is a simple man who knows exactly what he wants. A man with great ideas, I hope he gets the time to make it all happen. And no Kay Chin, you’re not old.

What did I get from him?

Encouragement. I know I’m easily touched by a song or a movie. But this is different. I actually found a new spirit. Eventhough he didn’t tell me what to do but I now know what I want to do. Well, at least I’m hoping I will head toward the right direction.

Finding what matters most to us. Sometimes we get inspirations from around us. Very close to us. Even from our home. Our daily life.

Do what we love most. Don’t do it for others or what others want or like. Do it because we like it. And if there people who don’t like it, so be it. If I do what I don’t like, I know I will regret it.

Free our mind. Photography is so free, the only limit should be our imagination.

A Panoramic Singapore book, a full stomach, and an open mind. What a night! Thanks for everything, Kay Chin!

So from today, I will not try to take pictures, I will tell stories through pictures. Talking pictures. I will not look for great exotic places to shoot, I will start from my home, my city. I will not try to be like other photographers, I will just follow my heart. And I definitely will not stop taking pictures because, just like him, I love doing it.