My Photography Shots of 2015

It's only been around four weeks into 2016, so we'll still call it a new year. So, it's still proper to include content from last year, isn't it? This'll be the last post of January, then... how fitting.

I took the photography extracurricular this academic year (2016/17) in Santa Laurensia Senior High. Now, two years ago, when I was at ninth grade, I got a shamefully low score for photography. But, guess I wanted to take another shot, rather than letting my Canon EOS 600D gather dust. And here are some vengeful photography of last year, all taken with my camera, and edited in Adobe Photoshop.

Taken on 28/8/2015
Shutter speed: 1/800 s
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 200

One of the first things we did on the new academic year was an exercise where we were only allowed to use ISO 200. The subject was softball, and I got this good-enough shot, for my standards then. And just learned how to use Photoshop to edit a picture back then.

Credits to the softball player, whoever you are.

Taken on 4/9/2015
Shutter speed: 1/80 s
Aperture: f/7.1
ISO: 200

The next week, same drill: ISO 200. Snapped this tree, and again, still good enough for my standards then.

Taken on 4/9/2015
Shutter speed: 1/30 s
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 800

But on that day, my friend brought his robot figure. Managed to get this pose, and another friend suggested black-and-white. Thanks!

Taken on 9/10/2015
Shutter speed: 1/20 s
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 200

This day's theme was contrast. Plucked several flowers from the garden (and ran from the gardener), and piled them up.

Proud, Indonesian colors.

Taken on 25/9/2015
Shutter speed: 1/60 s
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 1600

This day, we were tasked by documenting my school's other extracurriculars. I got modern dance, and this one turned out nice enough. Credits to all dancers in the picture... sorry I do not know your names.

Taken on 10/10/2015
Shutter speed: 1/500 s
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 400

Fine caterpillar in my garden. My mom freaked out about it.

Such green.

Taken on 23/10/2015
Shutter speed: 1/40 s
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 800

The theme of the week: circles. This one, I got on the floor mat of the school canteen. This was also printed and up for display in my school.'s regular gallery.

Taken on 2/11/2015
Shutter speed: 1/640 s
Aperture: f/8
ISO: 800

Taken on 3/11/2015
Shutter speed: 1/1000 s
Aperture: f/7.1
ISO: 400

Taken on 3/11/2015
Shutter speed: 1/800 s
Aperture: f/8
ISO: 400

Taken on 3/9/2015
Shutter speed: 1/250 s
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 400

Taken on 3/11/2015
Shutter speed: 1/800 s
Aperture: f/7.1
ISO: 800

Taken on 3/11/2015
Shutter speed: 1/800 s
Aperture: f/7.1
ISO: 800

Taken on 4/11/2015
Shutter speed: 1/500 s
Aperture: f/8
ISO: 400

Taken on 5/11/2015
Shutter speed: 1/1000 s
Aperture: f/8
ISO: 800

(Edit 14/2/16) This picture made it as my school's magazine cover! Hooray!

Taken on 6/11/2015
Shutter speed: 1/1000 s
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 800

Taken on 6/11/2015
Shutter speed: 1/1000 s
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 800

For the whole week, my school held the Laurensia Cup, a sports event calling many schools in Jakarta together. I have no liking whatsoever for sports, so to pass time I snapped pictures. Hope some could be displayed in the school magazine.

This was a bi-annual event, and this time the theme was "Balakosa," Sanskrit for Glory. In the name of school spirit, I guess... go, Tigers! Credits to all players, who I cannot name one-by-one, especially the Santa Laurensia teams.

Taken on 13/11/2015
Shutter speed: 1/1000 s
Aperture: f/5
ISO: 100

Taken on 13/11/2015
Shutter speed: 1/500 s
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 100

This day, we got to learn about silhouettes. Well, those were two of my best.

Taken on 29/11/2015
Shutter speed: 1/160 s
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 400

And, the closing of the year means rain. Taken in the front of my house.

There we go, the rest of my pictures from 2015. I've still got much to learn, I know. Oh, also do check out my school photography blog, and also my DeviantArt photography gallery, where some of my shots are featured. Goodbye, January.

GATE S2 - Episode 4: Getting Exciting

Now, for the first several episodes, GATE's story was not much. It jumped a lot... until we arrived at last episode's complications. Now, we get to see the Fire Dragon again, in this episode 4: The Fire Dragon, Once More. Spoilers, intentional or otherwise, ahead.

It seems like the slave of Prince Zolzal was a queen of the warrior bunnies (however stupid that sounded), captured when her settlement was razed by the empire. Now, she wants to take revenge by letting the war start by framing Princess Pina for a murder of a Japanese. To do that, she ordered a spy in Arnus to kill someone.

Now, this grudge does add another layer of conflict to the Japanese's peace efforts... if not for the events that follow will cut the treachery short.

By the way, Pina hasn't got too much screentime in this season yet. Will she be as big an impact as last season, or perhaps this will focus more on Tuka, Lelei, and Rory?

Meanwhile, Yanagida has been trusted to do the administration and the other boring stuff for Itami the Idiot's mission. What was funny, but also unsurprising, was that the general immediately consented with this foolishness. 

And then, the alliance talks with a king. Now, I'm interested on what this alliance shall bring... though again, this brings out the difference in technology, a main point of the series.

The night became quite emotional. The freed slave from two episodes ago was starting to think suicidal thoughts (perhaps their culture), just when the warrior bunny came in to kill her. And that was when Yanagida interrupted. We have a fight on our hands, though a short one. Long story short, both got severely injured.

The following, again, showed the Japanese superiority in investigating. Looks like the story may not be as complex, as it was found out that someone from Formar was a conspirator for the warrior bunnies' anti-peace campaign.

Following that, we got a rather pointless dogfight between two F-4 Phantoms and the fire dragon. Though, it's nice to see aerial acrobatics again in GATE.

And finally, we'll see how Tuka will respond after Itami told her that it was the fire dragon that killed her dad. Quite a suspenseful moment when he convinced her to pull the bazooka's trigger. I guess the revenge story climaxed here, and we shall see how Tuka will deal with it after (and will all that time Itami pretending to be her dad will be a waste, both story-wise and for Itami himself).

This episode of GATE shows the return of the fire dragon, which puts Tuka's internal conflict nearing a close (or will it?). Meanwhile, Japan's peace talks failed to be hampered down by the revengeful warrior bunnies. We'll just see how this series will progress, then, as we still have three-quarters of a season to cover.

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GATE: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri is originally a light novel by Takumi Yanai, and adapted into anime by A-1 Pictures.

Star Wars Rebels S2 - Episode 12: Mandalorian Brawl!

Oh my. This episode... I haven't seen something like this since the Clone Wars.

That was a quote from The Siege of Lothal (with modifications). But actually, this episode, number twelve: The Protector of Concord Dawn, had some throwbacks to that series, and this one episode's story was darn nice. Take the back sear, Ezra, we'll let Sabine and Kanan handle the Mandalorian diplomacy. Spoilers shall be ahead, intentional or otherwise.

Speaking of Concord Dawn, this was a magnificent backdrop.
Although, those kinds of planets should not exist, as I've explained with The Force Awakens.

It all started when the rebels needed safe passage through Concord Dawn, and when Hera and Sabine wanted to talk, they were ambushed by the Protector of Concord Dawn, Fenn Rau, who actually works for the Empire. This severely injured Hera (just who could survive something like that?), and enraged Sabine.

Now, I haven't seen a space dogfight this exciting since the Star Wars The Clone Wars. At least for me, that fight was nicely directed. And it is also set with the background of the planet Concord Dawn. Those kinds of planets should not exist, though, but those still fascinate me.

Which reminds me of a similar planet at the beginning of Knights of the Old Republics II. Still haven't managed to play that game thoroughly.

Afraid that they'll lose more members, Kanan went to Concord Dawn alone to forcefully (puns.) discuss negotiations. However, Sabine stowed away, like Ezra usually does, to exact revenge for Hera.

Sabine's character is executed well here, the recklessness of a teenager showing. However, this stowaway thing is quite frequently used in Rebels. Ezra did it before. And here I'm surprised that he didn't sneak out. Well, it's time for the Mandalorians--and a female, at that--to take center stage.

They infiltrated the base, and Kanan met up with Fenn Rau.

What could I say here? This was the throwback to the Clone Wars. We got to see a little bit about Kanan's history here, and Kanan may have persuaded Rau if not for...

Sabine getting caught. So, she called her rights a Mandalorian, on her name as a Wren and as a member of Clan Vizla, to challenge Rau to a duel. That moment itself was quite epic. And, we learn the Mandalorian culture here, along with Sabine's status. A traitor of Death Watch, apparently, according to other Mandalorians. More SWTCW memories.

The duel was indeed Western-style. And, no surprise, Sabine knocked the blasters off Rau and set off the bombs she'd been planting.

Then, another amazingly directed gunfight follows, among the mesmerizing inferno frequently found in Rebels.

And after that, the quite cliche scene where our hero, in this case Kanan, hitched a ride on the villain's--Rau's--fighter, and hung on for dear life. However, this one cliche ended surprisingly. Kanan wrenched Rau out, and jumped to the waiting Phantom.

Well, Rebels isn't a dark or complex story, by any means. At the end, Rau was convinced to cooperate with the Rebellion, looking back at Kanan's rousing speech back then, albeit a little reluctantly.

The Protector of Concord Dawn put Ezra in the sidelines and became an action-packed episode of beautifully directed dogfights and gunfights. Also, we managed to get a little more of Kanan's and Sabine's pasts here. We'll see how this new ally they made will turn out at the end.

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Star Wars Rebels is a series by Disney Lucasfilms.

Sketching: A Disciple's Burden

After that first episode after hiatus of Star Wars Rebels, I decided to draw this piece on Ezra Bridger:

A Disciple's Burden. Also on display at my DeviantArt.

It all started a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... wait, no.

It was quite a while ago, and this project took longer than expected due to schoolwork. It was in this scene of the first episode after midseason break I thought I'll draw something from Rebels again:

What I did was actually, pretty much copied Ezra from there, with tweaks to the pose to make it at least a bit more original... and I was quite happy with what I came up with. I made Ezra slump more after that tragedy. Well, I didn't warn of a spoiler beforehand so I'll not mention the tragedy.

 

As I pretty much copied, so I just sketched immediately on sketching paper. Done with my HB for the first sketch.

And then I shaded him, using a 2B and 6B, as 4B was too in-between for this piece, I thought. Well, the done sketch was not too much different from the final image. Just tweaked colors in photoshop, to make up for the loss of graphite 'color' during scanning. And there you have it, A Disciple's Burden.

Ah, next episode of Star Wars Rebels up tomorrow for me to watch and review.

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Star Wars Rebels is a series by Disney Lucasfilms.

Grimgar - Episode 3: Questioning the Show's Future

Yes, last two times I've said that Grimgar was breathtaking and beautiful. This episode was no different for that matter, however it may just take things too slow on the wrong parts.

This episode started with Moguzo cooking (is it the 'big and scary but actually gentle guy' cliché?), and after the great OP, what else, Ranta's perverted attempts. Well, not directly, thankfully enough, but concerning the state of their poor clothing. I'll skip on that.

On the next day, their spirits were at an all-time low after the night's problem. That, and days of not being able to slay any goblins. Actually, it was a shame that Haruhiro told us straight up.

And for some reason, this low morale and earnings became the reason for a fanservice (thankfully indirect, nothing too explicit), involving underwear. I won't discuss this. Just... no.

We finally see a turn of luck for our group, where they traveled to an abandoned city and slayed lone goblins. Now, this was a shame that Haruhiro only spoke of, not showed, how they killed stray goblins, one after another. It should have been better if the show showed a bit more action, the development of our heroes' skills.

The rest of the series, again, it took stuff slowly, with nice, relaxing music, and conversations between the characters. This is actually good, to be honest, as we could see more of their character. While the misunderstanding at the beginning of the episode only served to lower morale for the beginning of the episode, Shihoru seemed shier than usual. Let's see where this'll take us. Other than that, we also see Manato's style of leading through Haruhiro's conversation with him.

Again, this episode was a slow one. The presence of fanservice, and how Haruhiro tells, rather show action, made me think, how will this show continue? Where will it focus? I would really like to see more skill development, see our heroes out of this poverty, but is that really the focus? I'll wait next week. Shame if a beautiful show has no story.

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Hai to Gensou no Grimgar is originally a light novel by Ao Juumonji, and adapted into anime by A-1 Pictures.

Durarara!! - My Thoughts: Badass and Complicated

Durarara!!! Yes I put a third exclamation mark, of my own. Now, where to start. This was an epic series, of a different scale and genre from most other anime. It's different, it's damned complex, it's seriously epic. What more could I say.

Durarara, an anime with a strange name, and with a different type of story than others, according to my friends' recommendations. I've only seen the first season so far, and decided I'll rest my brain for a moment before going to the second season, which, according to my friends, will be more jumbled. Even at halfway through season 1, I had no big idea whatever is going on in Ikebukuro. Which is, actually, fine. I love these kinds of complex, unpredictable story. Trusting my friends that this is a great show did not hurt.

Huh, didn't Izaya basically say to never trust anyone?

Thus I'll give my own thoughts here. Spoilers, intentional or otherwise, may be present. Oh, I do know that there's Durarara x2 Ketsu airing now, but I'll have to catch up with everything. I'll just put My Thoughts again for that second season.

The story starts simple, by a boy, Ryuugamine Mikado, who came to Ikebukuro (in Tokyo) in an attempt to escape the mundane daily life. He met with his old friend, the funny Masaomi Kida, and went to school together, and became friends with the shy and quiet Sonohara Anri.

More or less all the important characters in Durarara. Credits to the person who made this image found in Pinterest.

And then, we learned that everyone is special in their own way. Ikebukuro is one strange town, full of wondrous people. We have the headless rider, the Dullahan, Celty Sturluson, and her strange doctor/scientist of a lover, Shinra Kishitani. Then we have the strongest person in the world, Heiwajima Shizuo, whose arch-nemesis is the influential-but-childish-and-not-right-in-the-head information broker, Orihara Izaya. Then we have Kida's friends, the Van group, whose names I haven't remembered, who frequents a shop where a dark-skinned Russian, Simon, work. Then the girl alleged dead, Mika Harima, and her lover, whose-his-name, whose sister, who heads a company but later works for Izaya, likes him. And...

Still so much characters. I am at a loss. Perhaps a good thing, before this character line-up becomes too long. Just see in the Wiki. 

Point being, there are so much characters of different flavors, each special in their own way. All of them are great. Even our heroes have flaws, and our villains unclear (are there even 'villains'?)... like Game of Thrones. (perhaps I should have used 'protagonist' and 'antagonist)

Let's start from the beginning, the Dollars/Dullahan's Head arc--or whatever it is called.

A dullahan usually travels with her head cradled in one arm. Celty lost hers, her head stolen in Japan, so she came to Ikebukuro. I didn't expect the story to have this level of supernatural. And I also didn't expect this story to have a strange love dramas (though not surprised), between Harima and the siblings, and Shinra with Celty (why isn't he creeped?).

This story expands to envelop our main characters, especially Mikado--and what surprised me was, at the end, we finally know that he was the one that made the Dollars gang. But seriously, which educated person accepts a shady email request to join a gang?

And it turned out, Izaya is one shrewd man. He should be the antagonistic info broker, working on his whim, but his personality was just so hilarious, and so smart, that I just can't bear to hate him. People are fascinating.

Now, on to the second arc, the slashers. The search for the strongest man in Ikebukuro--Shizuo--connected with a string of attacks in the town, with the victims possessed by a cursed blade. It turned out, Anri was the one that held the 'mother' blade, which she kept to protect her loneliness.

I don't get it either, however this arc really fleshes Anri's conflict. Add the surprising revelation that Kida is actually the founder of another street gang, the Yellow Scarves, we have an interesting finale brewing up. Is it really coincidence that all our three teens each have their secrets?

Finally, we have the Yellow Scarves arc, where we see how their friendship start to become distant, starting with Kida who rejoined the Yellow Scarves to find the Slasher, who seemingly have attacked Anri, which turned out as a gang war between the Dollars and Yellow Scarves, which also dragged Celty and Shizuo along... see when I said that the story is complex?

That end had a nice buildup. I usually hate plot with misunderstandings, however this was... well, something different. And the end tied the loose ends. I'll leave you to watch.

What else to comment on. The art style is just normal, nothing like Hai to Gensou no Grimgar. However, it is quite nicely animated. Especially the fights featuring Shizuo. That guy is awesome.

The audio. Voice: all well and great. Music: simple, playful, not teary. Reminds you of  music from old detective movies (probably). The openings, Uragiri no Yuuyake and Complication, strikes me as upbeat and fascinating, while the first closing, Trust Me, was one of only several closings to reach my playlists.

Durarara!!! Oh, what a lovely different show. It covers about everything from supernatural to drama to action, with a seriously complicated and interesting story arc. Also, the characters are all epic, memorable, and properly developed. Just, what more could you ask for from this first season. Now, I'll be watching the second, for this thing had gotten me hooked. But could this displace Shigatsu?

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Durarara!! is a light novel by Ryohgo Narita, then adapted into anime by Brain's Base Studios.

PS. Eightieth post!

Edit 28/1/16: Changed title, resized image, added info to first and last paragraphs.

My Sketches of 2015

Several day ago, I've shown my collection of photos. Again, I'll introduce you to several of my sketches that I made last year, so we could be properly on our way to greet 2016.

Back then, I was playing Skyrim. Thus, I figured I should draw something from there; I have little creativity back then, to be honest. I mostly (or actually, wholly) copied (but not traced) from some guy's work. Thank you kindly to the guy, sorry for not being able to remember your name.

And this was when I planned the Fall of an Empire, the Dragons' Court.

I've always loved to draw. Sadly, missed out on drawing for a while due to piling work and getting a new laptop early last year, this one I'm using right now, which I've devoted for gaming for some time. Found new inspiration in several anime I started to watch.

Kousei and Kaori's Performance

My treasured piece, of the show I love most. Took a scene from the opening, then watercolored, as the art class at that time was about watercolor. Used too little water, I think.

Crossing Sabers

This came up on a whim. I wanted to study the pose and.. tried to have a laugh. Kirito from SAO season 2 was amusing, so much so that I had him square off against Vader. Never intended to shade.

Here, I studied poses again. Just finished Shingeki no Kyojin back then, I think, and copied someone's work. My thanks for the idea, and sorry for not being able to remember your name.

Shu and Inori - Guilty Crown

This one, lovely pairing. just took a scene from the opening and detailed it.

Captain Levi - Shingeki no Kyojin

Attack on Titan. My friend, who really really likes Levi, asked me to draw him. As a facial study, I eventually did it.

Persevere

My first original character, and original pose. I won't even try to do the body just yet, so I covered it with the cape. Oh, and also messed up the cape shading, looks like.

Kaneki - Tokyo Ghoul

I'll admit it. This looks nothing like Kaneki. And something's quite off... creepy.

Gazing Duty

Another OC and original pose. A bit rigid, but good enough. Tried for a more futuristic look, but failed. Also shied away from showing the face.

New Master, New Padawan - Star Wars Rebels

Star Wars Rebels, the show I love. Decided to do Ezra and Kanan, with the references from several scenes of the series. Still looks a bit strange. Oh, and it was the first time I used a 4B pencil to sketch... useful.

Trampled Flowers - Shingeki no Kyojin

It's been long since I finished SnK, however for some reason it still is fascinating enough to make me draw one more, this time of Eren. Completely shaded, though butchered the background (or, foreground).

Some more works are in the art label, if you would want to click below. And also, they are in my DeviantArt sketches gallery.

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Skyrim, Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, Shingeki no Kyojin, Guilty Crown, Star Wars Rebels, and Tokyo Ghoul belong to their respective owners.