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Outside the former police station at the busy Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta, a group of people is gathered, some eating lunch or sipping juice, others cleaning camera lenses and checking equipment. A range of high-end cameras, long lenses and laptop computers sit atop a long wooden desk, sharing the space with meals and drinks. Backpacks and helmets in various colors are placed on the rack of a nearby street food stand.

Everyone in the group looks relaxed, joking and laughing with each other. All are dressed similarly, in jeans or cargo pants with sneakers, each with a small bag on his or her waist. Inside the building, others of the group lie on the floor because all the wooden chairs outside are taken.

This is the headquarters of Pewarta Foto Indonesia (Indonesia Photojournalists), one of the oldest photojournalists’ organizations in Jakarta. From around lunchtime every day, the building, which is next door to the new police station, is packed with photographers from news stations and print publications throughout the city.

“This is where news journalists and police seek and share information,” said Bay Ismoyo, 39, a founder of PFI who works for Agence France-Presse.

The tradition of gathering at this central point began in early 1998. The traffic circle has long been one of the most popular places in Jakarta to hold demonstrations, along with the Presidential Palace, so was an ideal meeting place for photojournalists.

“Back then, there was no fountain at the circle. It was quite a spacious area for people to gather,” Bay said.

“Before we picked this place, we used to gather at the Legal Aid Foundation [LBH], then the House of Representatives office and also the General Elections Commission office.”

The organization has been unofficially using the former police building since the new station was built and is in negotiations to make it a permanent home.

Apart from the addition of the fountain and the new station, the main change to the area in the past 10 years has been that most of the street food vendors who were located between the police station and the British Embassy have been moved elsewhere, leaving only three warung . The three are kept busy with orders from the photojournalists.

More than 300 photographers are registered as members of the PFI, said the group’s general secretary, Astra Bonardo, or Ibon, who works for the Seputar Indonesia (Sindo) newspaper.

“Indonesia Photojournalists is a nonprofit organization, and we give support to our colleagues who are in trouble,” he said. Common problems for photojournalists include broken cameras, violence against them while working or health problems. Currently, the group is paying for a lawyer to represent a colleague who was assaulted in the course of his job.

“Our group is really solid, if one of us is sick, or even gets married, we donate money for them,” Ibon said.

The group also holds monthly discussions on subjects such as copyrights or trends in photojournalism.

Although they all work for different companies, sharing information about what’s going on is common among the photojournalists.

“You would not find this in, for example, Australia, where they emphasize exclusivity,” Ibon said.

Discussing current trends, Ibon said there is a move toward a feature-documentary style, particularly for political photographs.

“The photo is not always of a man on a podium, but it could also be of candidates having a break from the campaign,” he said. He gave as examples photos of US President Barack Obama during and after his campaign, where photos were published of him in a helicopter or resting after giving a speech.

Boy Harjanto, 35, an award-winning photographer who was previously based in Solo and now works for Indopos newspaper, said the group has helped him settle into his new job in Jakarta.

“When my editor assigned me to the metro [Jakarta city] desk, I just hung out here and got a lot of tips on where to go from my fellow photographers,” he said.

Since moving to the city, Boy has won awards from three different journalists’ associations this year.

Boy said he learned from fellow photojournalists that North and West Jakarta are interesting places to explore for subjects because there is a lot of social conflict in those communities.

“Here, you always get the information,” he said.

Pewarta Foto Indonesia
Jl Pangrango No. 3
Guntur, South Jakarta
Tel. 021 8370 0397
Astra Bonardo (Ibon): 0818 768 344
http://pewartafotoindonesia.com/