Hengki Koentjoro’s fine art photography knows how to showcase underwater landscapes in an entirely new light. By focusing on black and white underwater photography, the Indonesian photographer puts special emphasis on showcasing the special textures, lines and shapes of Indonesia’s diverse ocean environment.
Oceanographic Magazine (OM): How did you become a photographer? Have you always been fascinated with cameras and taking images?
Hengki Koentjoro (HK): At the early age of 11 , my parents gave me a Kodak Pocket as a birthday present and I have never looked back ever since. The ability of photography to keep memories forever has always fascinated me. We can freeze a moment in time and preserve it forever. And this is exactly what I enjoy doing: documenting the weather, different animals and the underwater world. It is such a beautifully creative profession.
OM: Why did you specialise in black and white underwater photography? How did you come to love this special field?
HK: A friend of mine exposed me to the masterful work of Ansel Adams, an American photographer and environmentalist who was famous for his black-and-white photos depicting the American West. His images were the most gorgeous images I’ve ever seen. I have never thought that black and white images can be so beautiful. I therefore started to study his work more and more and began to experiment myself. I kind of became obsessed with the tonality of monochrome images. This also led me to study photography in the USA at Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara.
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