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owadays in Jakarta one can find a photo printing studio in almost every neighborhood, but veteran photographer Pieter Mendur prefers to go to his trusted place on Jl. Sabang, Central Jakarta, for film developing and scanning.

And so on a Friday afternoon in September this year the 70-something had the unpleasant experience of getting caught in the rain when heading back home after scanning old photo negatives for people who requested them for the purpose of an exhibition concerning Minahasa (Manado) fighters in North Sulawesi .

Despite being soaked, he arrived in his house in Depok with a sparkle in his eyes and was still praising the photo studio. “It’s where reporters go,” he smiled.

As with most photo journalists, Pieter, or more cordially known as Piet, had unforgettable experiences ranging from covering military conflicts to flying to remote corners of the archipelago with high-ranking officials.

His career of 50 years or so moreover spans through the reigns of four leaders of the nation: first president Sukarno, the New Order’s “smiling general” Soeharto, Habibie, Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid and Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Piet is most likely the only surviving second generation of the Mendur family, known for being pioneers in the history of photo journalism in the country.

His uncles: Alexius Impurung and Frans Soemarto Mendur, established the Indonesian Press Photo Service (IPPHOS) in 1946, a year after the country’s independence, with Justus and Frans Umbas, Alex Mamusung and Oscar Ganda.

IPPHOS moved on to document historic moments in Indonesian history along with other visual journalism agencies: Antara and Indonesian Film News (BFI).

 Several iconic photos that are the works of IPPHOS and the Mendur brothers before the establishment of the agency are that of the first flag-raising ceremony after the declaration of independence on Aug 17 1945, and that of Indonesia’s first president Sukarno giving a speech to an ocean of people in the state palace after his return from Yogyakarta in 1950.

Piet joined IPPHOS, which had its office on Jl. Hayam Wuruk, Central Jakarta, in 1953, when he was 18 years old.

Piet first learned to organize and file IPPHOS’ photo collection before he moved on to learning methods for developing pictures and taking them, working first as a photographer’s assistant.

He had a fond memory of being apprehended by Sukarno when he was trying to take a picture of a public meeting with various parties in front of the palace; apparently the palace’s officers were not impressed with his initiative to climb a wall to get a good view.

“[Sukarno] on the next day told me ‘Oh you, taking a picture like that,’” Piet mimicked the reprimanding yet affectionate tone of the former President

Piet first learned how to take pictures with a Zeiss Ikon Nettar, which obliged one to “cock” the unit after setting the speed and snapping a shot. He also used the Speed Graphic camera.

“Back then, [photographers] were always appreciated…Nobody forbade us getting close to the president. It was only after the grenade incident targeting Sukarno [in 1957] that the president began to be guarded with high security,” he said.

After his move to Makassar, Piet became more involved in military reporting. He formed close relationships with military leaders and earned a certificate of honor, which hangs proudly on his living room wall along with various journalism training certificates, from Kodam XIII military area’s Col. Sunandar Priyosudarmo.

Part of his job was covering the settlement processes between the central government and various movements that were behind the uprisings in regions, such as the Darul Islam (DI) movement.

One particularly memorable experience for him was when he was asked to attend an invitation in Gowa, South Sulawesi, from former DI members who had decided to re-unite with the central government.

“We were riding in a Russian-made army car. As soon as we entered their territory, we saw armed men ahead. Apparently the night before there had been a clash with the TNI [Indonesian Military] and DI. We were almost attacked [by those people], but the DI person who was taking us there then got out of the car and gave a signal….if he didn’t we probably would have died,” Piet laughed.

In the Soeharto era, Piet went into various corners of the archipelago during his time reporting for the ministries, including the transportation ministry. “I have flown to 68 small scale [perintis] airports,” he said.

His most memorable photo was taken back in the late 1950s, depicting a finger-pointing moment between then Prime Minister Djuanda and Lieut.Col. Ventje Sumual, who announced the establishment of the Permesta movement in Makassar.

IPPHOS’ popularity and productivity declined during the last decades of its existence due to various causes, including the preference of newspapers that had been using the company’s service to hire their own photographers.

Alex Mendur and Frans Mendur died in 1984 and 1971, respectively. The company survived for a while by selling photo albums comprising their collection of historical images but eventually disbanded.

In 2003, Piet was still going to the House of Representatives’ building in Senayan armed with his camera.

However, he chose to step back from the field along with the arrival of digital cameras and the rise of president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

“I am a bit technologically challenged with digital cameras,” he laughed.