The model world of photographer Darwis

By K. Basrie

JAKARTA (JP): Nobody wanted to know him when he was a new kid on the block.

He was often even insulted and harassed by those who at the time considered themselves senior and professional photographers.

"One of them even belittled me by saying that I just took on this profession as a way to become a gigolo because, he said, I had no talent at all for photography," said Darwis Triadi, 45, recalling a grim time in his life some 20 years ago.

He said he was badly hurt by the insult.

"I could not forget this thing, and the face of this arrogant man, who's still alive and still takes wedding pictures," Darwis told The Jakarta Post last week in an interview at his studio in Cikini, Central Jakarta.

He said at the time he prayed to God to give him strength and the opportunity to realize his dreams to become a professional.

"I pledged at that time that if one day I became a professional photographer I would never degrade newcomers, but instead transfer my skills to any keen photographers, unite them, or at least provide a place where they could meet, chat and exchange knowledge," Darwis said.

Some three years later, Darwis began to gain popularity with his photographs of Indonesian models and began to share his know- how to newcomers; a rapport that has continued throughout the years.

But he said he harbored no bad feelings for the man who once damaged his early career prospects.

"This man is still around and still taking wedding portraits, which I think is nothing unusual," Darwis said without emotion.

The husband of senior photographic model Chitra refused to name the man in question.

Darwis is no longer a kid. He is a big name in the country's professional commercial and glamour photography business.

For elite models and film stars in this country, Darwis is perhaps their Annie Leibovitz.

To be snapped by Darwis would boost any Indonesian model's portfolio and career.

"I cannot remember how many models I have photographed. (I have) no records on this. But I think at least seven of every 10 models in this country have been photographed by me," he said.

His images have filled the exclusive interiors of many offices and the mansions of the rich, as well as the homes of prominent artists.

His photographic charges have also become a barometer in the Indonesian photography world.

After being pushed several times to disclose his tariff, Darwis, who likes to keep a low-profile, took a deep breath and said: "My photographer fee for either commercial or model work is at a minimum some Rp 1 million (US$127)."

But like many successful hard workers, the road to these glory days have been challenging ones.

Born of Surakarta (Central Jakarta) parents, Darwis -- the forth of eight children -- did not have the capacity to continue his studies at university due to financially strapped conditions.

"My father had just retired from the military as a colonel. But unlike many other military families, we were so poor. We could not even obtain proper food for our daily needs ... and many people do not know this," said Darwis, who is a Catholic.

Little Darwis spent most of his teenage years in the beautiful West Java capital of Bandung.

He moved often between senior high schools because of his involvement in one-to-one fights.

"I was once jailed for that," he recalled.

Instead of releasing him, his policeman brother Adjar Triadi even made him spend two nights in the police prison.

"That's the funny part of my life," Darwis added.

Adjar is now a lieutenant colonel traffic policeman in Jakarta.

After graduating from high school, Darwis then decided to join the free Curug flight school in Tangerang.

"It was 1974. After recording some 30 solo flight hours, I quit, simply because of the restricted teaching system at the school. There was no pressure. You could not rebel against anything. I then quit and did not obtain my license."

He moved to Jakarta and joined a local Aero Club. His glory days began to blossom here.

Darwis obtained his private pilot license for domestic charter flights and began his pilot career flying individuals to destinations such as Pulau Seribu, Semarang in Central Java and Surabaya in East Java.

It was here that Darwis for the first time became acquainted with the world of models and photography. His teachers were his boss, his community and a passenger.

"The passenger was a bule (Caucasian) commercial photographer. I paid great attention to his work which really amazed me and inspired me to try photography," he said.

The father of two girls said he enthusiastically wanted to take up photography as soon as possible because he liked paintings but was keenly aware that he had no talent or skill in that area.

"My hands are not good for that," he said.

He then left the cockpit, borrowed his friend's camera and started to take amateur pictures of everything, such as weddings and birthday parties.

"No one also know that I began this career from a real beginning," Darwis said. "I snapped anything as long as it made money."

For three albums covering a wedding ceremony, for instance, he earned a net income of Rp 50,000.

He soon bought his first camera: a secondhand Nikon F2.

"It was Rp 250,000."

He then entered the glamourous world of models.

"My first model was her," Darwis said, pointing to his wife, Chitra, who is a senior photo model.

"At the time (1978), she was still a little girl, a first grade senior high school student, but already a photo model."

Five years later, he married the "little girl".

Darwis said his knowledge of model and commercial photography was obtained from books, ballet shows and anything that could help sharpen his knowledge.

"Just a few years later, I took several courses overseas, in Germany, Switzerland and Singapore, which I paid for by myself," he said.

He said the public often mistakenly thought that his cameras are only for perfect women.

"That's not true. I take photographs of all kinds of women, including many overweight ones, because I believe that every person has his or her own attractiveness."

He however acknowledged that he had to work extra hard to concentrate fully when working on photo model images.

"I have to admit it that I'm a man. I have passion. So, I often have to fight hard against the emotion, the inside fluctuation."

Otherwise, he added, his works could not reach their optimum level.

Amazingly, Darwis, who still makes the top list of photo model photographers in the country, is yet to offer model releases to his models.

"Yes, I haven't used it yet ... but I have always bowed to the code of ethics and take full responsibility for my models," he added.

"I know that model release forms are badly required. But don't forget, we people in the East still have to respect the human approach.

Without a friendly approach, such a model release form would only boomerang on both parties. Any problem that existed would end in a lawyer-to-lawyer war."

"So what's the point of using the form if we have no good will? I therefore adopt a friendly approach to avoid awkwardness.

Thus, I always tell my models if their pictures are going to be used for commercial works, for which they would receive a certain amount of money," Darwis said.

Darwis has held a series of solo exhibitions, including the latest one, which is on display at the Jakarta Hilton International Hotel.

In his works, he admitted to having no favorite gear, film, or even models.

"I do not have and will never ever have favorite things in my life. I can use any of them," he said.

He described digital images as separate from his conception of photography.

"I have my own graphic and computer graphic designers do such kinds of work, but I'll never bring these works to my exhibitions."

In the corridor and lobby of the Hilton Hotel, Darwis displays some 140 of his unpublished black-and-white works. Price tags range between the Rp 1.4 million and Rp 5 million mark.

"Unlike two or three years ago, many hotels across the country now allow photographs as a work of art to be displayed in their lobbies for exhibition. Previously, hotels only saw paintings," he said.

Darwis and Chitra, 40, live in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, with their daughters Andanari Yulia Setiasih, a Tarakanita senior high school student, and Ambar Hapsari Maharani, who attends Kepompong kindergarten in South Jakarta. The family sometimes spend weekends at their villa in the mountain resort of Cipanas in Puncak, West Java.

"The bad thing about him is his lack of discipline," Chitra said.

Darwis said he has no regrets at all about his pilot career. He has not even had to be a gigolo to attain this better life.

An artist is different from a tukang photo (unskilled amateur photographer), he said, probably referring to the man who once called him a gigolo.

"An artist usually becomes mature in line with his/her age. Not vice versa," he said.

And for the future? Darwis dreams of setting up a permanent photo gallery in Jakarta.

"That's my only dream!"