The first time I held a camera I was 14 years old and I got three clicks during photography class. I remember that moment. I taught myself photography by reading books, asking friends, and practicing, practicing, practicing. When I started out, I was freelancer and a new magazine asked me to cover a funeral ceremony on a Bali resort island. I knew I wouldn’t get paid much, but I took the opportunity and paid half the budget from my own pocket. After the story was done and printed in the magazine, I knew this was the kind of job that I wanted. Then 25 years works as a photojournalist gives me a lot of experience. Covering the Afghanistan war in 2001 with Reuters, left the biggest mark on me. The people I admire the most are the ones who live in conflict zones and disaster areas. Even though they have limited facilities, they survived. They are strong human beings. Aceh tsunami n 2004 was the biggest disaster I had ever covered, and the mass destruction in Banda Aceh made me sick to my soul. There were so many sad stories there, and years later they make me cry when I’m alone. I am excited by almost all my assignments, but most of all by assignments covering disasters, because they’re related to humanity.

Recently human story is my main job and a good camera is very important to create wonderful images.