Chasing Light: At the Edges of Night by Teguh Santosa

More than a photography book, it’s a whole poetic story from dusk until dawn.

After previously publishing his macro photography book in 2013, Teguh Santosa set out to create something…different. The theme, however, needed work. The artist is particular about his process as, to Teguh, a photography book should not be just a photo album, but should require a story to be understood and interpreted by the readers.

When a friend challenged him to make a book titled “Jogja at the Edge of Light”, Teguh was inspired to expand on it, turning it into “Chasing Light: At the Edges of Night”, a book about nighttime photography that explores landscapes, human interest, astrophotography, and nature, from dusk until dawn. As the title suggests, light is the focus of the book, setting the background, lighting the subjects of interest, dispersed by the elements or even the stars themselves. This can be quite literally as takes great delight in capturing star clusters and the Milky Way. Both the existence and the absence of light serve to balance each shot, displaying Teguh’s sense of photography and techniques.

Readers will see the world through his eyes, things that have captured his attention and invoked self-reflection as part of the universe, but everyone is free to interpret it in their own perspectives. Teguh’s dedication and patience in chasing these shots are apparent when you know that he has roamed the streets and countryside when everyone else is asleep. After years, finally he is satisfied. He has written the narratives, set the flow of the book, and wrapped the project to move onto the next.