A cold Saturday morning in the third week of October wrapped the eastern area of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM)’s campus, known as Wisdom Park. Dozens of students were warming up for their baseball practice. From one corner of the field, Axell, a student from the Faculty of Law, carried his SLR camera, capturing moments as members of the Student Activity Unit (UKM) hit or caught the ball.
Axell was not alone. Along with his friends, he roamed every corner of Wisdom Park, searching for the best shots from the lush greenery to the energetic scenes of morning sports activities.
He was not a member of the baseball unit, but one of twelve participants in the photography competition held as part of Porsenigama, UGM’s annual sports and arts event.
Photography, one of the art branches featured in Porsenigama, provides a creative space for students to express their artistic vision through the lens.
This year’s photography competition took place on Saturday (Oct. 25) in various areas around UGM’s campus.
During the event, Axell shared that photography has long been his passion. However, despite his enthusiasm, he admitted feeling nervous about competing.
“I was a bit intimidated because the other participants all had excellent equipment,” he said with a smile.
Axell also found the biggest challenge was timing. “I think the hardest part is catching the right moment because the theme really depends on that,” he explained.
The Head of the Photography Committee, Dzaky Ferdiansyah, explained that both the competition and photo submission were conducted on the spot. The participants received the theme and location on the same day rather than during the technical meeting or in advance.
“So, the ideas were truly fresh and spontaneous,” he said.
This year’s competition featured 12 participants in the journalistic photography category and 15 in the artistic photography category, with the theme “Emotion.”
“The goal was to capture expressions and reactions that arise naturally from the subject,” Ferdiansyah added.
According to him, the judging criteria included three main aspects: concept, which assessed originality and relevance to the theme; execution, which covered technical quality and composition; and presentation, which evaluated aesthetics and audience voting during the exhibition.
“My hope from this competition is that we can see that every faculty has students with artistic potential, both in journalistic and artistic photography,” said Axell.
The photos produced by the participants will not only compete for awards but also be featured in an exhibition on Nov. 22–23, 2025, at the foyer of the Faculty of Philosophy.
The exhibition will also showcase works from other art branches, including comic strips, traditional paintings, and digital posters. Winners of the photography competition will be announced on Nov. 23, 2025.
Author: Alena Damaris
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Salma
Photographs: Porsenigama