RAFI DJOKOSOETONO

I was born and raised in Jakarta and spent several years in Boston studying mechanical engineering. Since then, I’ve worked across consumer electronics, renewable energy, and transportation. The work I do has changed over the years, but photography has been a constant throughout them.

I first picked up a camera when I was about ten years old, one that belonged to my dad. He documented nearly every trip, birthday, and milestone throughout my childhood. Long before I understood photography, I understood what photographs could do. They made it possible to revisit places, people, and moments that had already passed. But if I’m being honest, I first picked up photography because there was something about the feeling of a camera shutter that I liked. I always felt really cool holding a camera.

Over time, photography became less about documenting where I was and more about understanding how a moment felt. I’ve been chasing that preservation ever since. That shift began in Boston, when I realized my time at university wouldn’t last forever. The people, places, routines, and version of myself that existed there would eventually disappear into memory. Photography became my way of holding on to them.

Most of the photographs on this website come from that instinct. Some were taken across the world, others on ordinary afternoons that, for one reason or another, felt worth remembering. Together they form a record of the places I’ve been, the people I’ve met, and the things I’ve been fortunate enough to experience.

This isn’t a complete archive, nor do I think it ever will be. There are thousands of photographs scattered across hard drives, old computers, and forgotten folders that may never find their way here. What you’ll find instead is a collection of the moments, stories, and images I’ve chosen to revisit over time.

I’m based in Jakarta, but I try to be elsewhere as often as I can manage.