Asking his father for a professional camera was not the walk in the park he had imagined. It was hard work. He had to prove he was worthy and pass a little test... So they got up early in the morning, drove out of Jakarta to a small fishing village and had the most unfair photography competition imaginable - the father with his highly professional camera and the son with his small snapshot camera that he wanted to replace.
But in the end, everything worked out well for Muhamad Putera Wicaksana and he became the perfectionist Instagrammer @puterawicak we know today: his style is fashionable and lifestyle-filled, yes, but he also adds a bit of futuristic magic to each carefully edited, selected, and – in Instagram’s order of three – optimized photo.
And it's precisely these details that matter! As we scroll through the gallery, Muhamad gives insightful backstage insights into his image editing routine. Films are a big inspiration for him - and studying the color concept of, for example, Wes Anderson's Grand Budapest Hotel can lead to edits that turn a red wall into pastel, a subtle, poetic tone that is very close to the idol. It is films like Interstellar , Inception or The Shape of Water that lead to the selection of special locations and edits.
@puterawicak studies communication design in Potsdam - he came to Germany a few years ago, was amazed by almost everything in everyday German life and dealt with it in a vlog, which became very popular in Indonesia two years later. "Half of my followers come from being suggested on Instagram and the other half come from my vlog," he says. When it comes to Instagram, he joins the critical voices: "In my view, creative people used to be very valued, whereas Instagram no longer listens to its community."
After two years in Europe, this year it's time to visit Indonesia again and see his father, who has done a really good job. "He taught me early on how to take photos in the blue hour" - the magical moment after sunset when the light changes from golden to bluish. The photographer's occupational hazard: getting up early in the morning or waiting for the right moment after sunset - Muhamad admits that it is sometimes not easy to spend time with him.
