EXPLORATION OF PASSION: THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF ANOM MANIK AGUNG

Since his childhood, A.A. Ngurah Anom Manik Agung, S.Sn., A.FPSI is a truly art adorer, especially paintings. Through a sheet of paper and various coloring tools, he can express his feeling, emotion and creativity into a beautiful form of art. Anom Manik was on his way to become a painting maestro of the island, but at his college time, he got caught in the alluring world of photography.

His convergence into photography itself didn’t come naturally, but instead a bit ‘forced’ so, because one of the courses he had to take in his early college time is basic photography. So in three semesters, Anom Manik had drawn himself in various tasks and assignment to capture moment and image in-frame by using vintage analog camera, until he becomes fond and eventually fells in deep love with photography.

As a photographer, Anom Manik opens himself up to learn from various world-class figures instead of just focusing into one. He did it all by holding into but one principal; always developing his character and identity. With the mindset that photography is an endless field to learn, Anom Manik is now known as an adept photographer in many fields; including culture, fashion, wedding / pre-wedding, architecture, travel, street, documentary, to product. Whatever catches his eyes that are what he will aim and explore. But as a Balinese, Anom Manik gives big attention to the island’s culture, and captures them with his lenses, turning them into magnificent, timeless still images. As shown on some of his photos; such as ‘Ramayana Epic’, ‘Smile’ and ‘Super Woman’.

To further enforce his existence in the world of photography, Anom Manik is not afraid to stray from commercial path and taking part in prestigious competitions, whether it’s local, national or international to prove his skills. Anom Manik has won not just one or two competitions, but lots of it. From 1997 until now, he has collected over a hundred winning trophies of photography competition, and also regularly hold exhibition to showcase his masterpieces.