A Muddy Business at Pacu Jawi, Tanah Datar

October 7, 2015March 30, 2020 Matsuda MashimaruLeave a comment

PAJ_7340-Edit — “The journey itself is my home” ~ Lembah Anai waterfall, Jalur Padang

Pacu jawi or bull race is a popular photography event among photographers here. Pacu means the race speed and Jawi means cow.

When I told my (photographer) friend that I haven’t been to Pacu Jawi before they were puzzled. Every serious photographer that I know have been to Pacu Jawi in Tanah Datar, Pariangan, West Sumatera, Indonesia for at least once.

I need a quick short break from my routine life and rekindle with my traveling spirit lol … so, I signed up for the bull race event. I need to experience the adrenaline rush while shooting the bulls and the thrill of pressing the shutter button while on burst mode.

The subject is the same … the same group of jockey, the same bulls, the same location and the same ambience. They’ve shown me their photo version of Pacu Jawi , which by the way … look all the same to me 😛 … I can’t help but wondering on how am I to create my own unique version of Pacu Jawi photos … lol?

And … here are my version of Pacu Jawi bull race. Not bad huh … for a first timer

PAJ_2171-Edit — A muddy business in Pacu Jawi, Tanah Datar

Bull Racing — And, this is the thrill … to capture the Jockey while he was bitting the bull’s tail

Wow … the feeling of shooting fast-moving Pacu Jawi or bull race is sensational. The bulls will run along the muddy paddy field while the jockey will do some tricks to excite the bulls, like bitting the bull’s tail or smacking the bull’s backside. Surprisingly the bull remained calm and composed, not going berserk over the crowd excitement.

And I ended up with hundreds and hundreds frame of the jockey and their bulls, I run amok with my shutter button 😛 … don’t ask me why, I got carried away by the thrilling moment.

PAJ_2222 — Pacu Jawi with its audience as a background

PAJ_2301 — A real muddy business here … yaiks!

PAJ_2276 — Mud splattered all around the place

PAJ_2359 — Side view of the muddy business

After all the running and chasing between the jockeys, the bulls and us the photographers lol, the bulls were treated with a cold shower under the sun.

PAJ_7972 — Bulls getting their cold shower under the sun

PAJ_7969 — Yaik … a pushy shower time moment

PAJ_7964 — Massage and tender loving time 😛 after the shower

The main event for this trip was to shoot the famous Pacu Jawi and Indonesia has never failed to surprise me with its gems. The landscapes, the people, the food and the ambience has never failed to excite me. There would always be something for my curious eyes.

We started our journey at Padang, drove further up and spent a few nights in Bukit Tinggi before we proceed to Tanah Datar, Peranginan for the Pacu Jawi event. The weather when I was there was not that great for a landscaper. Occasional rain here and there created a gloomy ambience around Bukit Tinggi. I am just glad that I am a ‘rojak’ photographer … I will shoot anything that pleased my eyes … and the gloomy sky would never be a hindrance to me.

Despite the dingy mood, we had a great moment exploring Puncak Lawang, Malinjau, Bukit Tinggi while being surrounded by a thick mist … a mysterious and haunted thick mist hu hu hu.

PAJ_7377-Edit — Misty landscape at Puncak Lawang Maninjau, Bukit Tinggi

DSC07328-Edit — The afternoon light is sneaking behind the thick mist at Puncak Lawang

DSC07314-Edit — I was mesmerized by the mist, lost in my own thought

DCIM101GOPROGOPR3457. — Wefie on top of Puncak Lawang

Here are some of my photos of lakes surrounding Agam, Kamang Magek, Bukit Tinggi during a cloudy and rainy afternoon.

PAJ_7388-Edit — A buffalo looking up at me as I was enjoying my landscape

DSC07364-Edit — A calm morning at the lake … my heart is at ease alhamdullilah

DSC07390-Edit — Fishing activity around the lake

DSC07493-Edit — Activities around the lake

PAJ_7740-Edit — Afternoon light before the rain

And lastly, here is my video for the Pacu Jawi trip. I made this video for the fun of it … and I noticed that a good short video could be a great story-teller for my audience. I am currently learning on how to take a good video and to edit it to perfection. so, enjoy yeah …

Bye for now ….

Cheers

The sky is my Canvas

August 26, 2015March 30, 2020 Matsuda MashimaruLeave a comment

“The sky is a canvas, so paint your own life”

And … I am painting the sky with my favorite color. I’ll call it my color of FREEDOM.

I was out on the field the other day. Following a group of hardcore paramotoring friends for a fun-flying wedding event at Besut, Terengganu. Told them before hand that I don’t shot wedding … not yet … hmm … maybe I’ll shot wedding one day. Reason being … I sucks at following orders, protocols and guidelines. I am the type that color outside the lines … almost all the time.

Instead of focusing on the bride and the groom, I was more captivated by the sun that day. Due to the unpredictable rain and thunder-storm which had started a few days earlier … the sky during that day was a bit calm and cloudy, excellent for a mid-day paramotoring activities. And the halo effect circling around the sun was a bonus excuse for me to get lost in my world.

It is weirdly interesting to have the opportunity to hang around among people with different affection than mine. I have followed them a lot these few months … staring at the glaring sun and praying for a ride on the cloud … while watching them indulge themselves with all those technical jargon about engine and flight handling skills. Dreamers like me doesn’t talk about engines or that technical wing setting he he he my brain refused to stay awake during such talk 😛 .

For a street photographer that love to shoot people and face expression … shooting PPG pilot with their genuine face expression is not an easy thing for me. I got bored too while chasing the light. Thank God I have my Gopro to play with … a newly found toy to play with.

Maybe I will get bored one day with the sun 🙂 but for now I plan to stick around for a little longer than I promised. These are a few shoots from our weekend fun-fly around Cyberjaya, WP Kuala Lumpur. I am enjoying it while it last ….

A due credit to this PPG pilot. Thank you for the great friendship

And lastly, I am enjoying my landscape through a different perspective now a days. A personal self achievement each time I came across a brilliant looking landscape while flying … just Subhannallah! gorgeous world if you just stop for a while and stare more. It surely remind me to the Creator … the Al-Mighty …

“Knock, And He’ll open the door. Vanish, And He’ll make you shine. Fall, And He’ll raise you to the heaven. Become nothing, And He’ll turn you into everything.” ~ Rumi

KUN_7083 — A different way to enjoy my landscape

KUN_7070 — My sunset at Besut, Terengganu

Bye for now.

Cheers

p/s Sharing some videos during our outing activities:

Introduction video to JanjiFly @Besut on 01-08-2015

Take-Off compilation to JanjiFly @Besut on 01-08-2015

JanjiFly FunFly @Besut Pantai Air Tawar, Terengganu

JanjiFly FunFly @SSP Cyberjaya on 23-08-2015

The color of Kindness

July 5, 2015March 30, 2020 Matsuda MashimaruLeave a comment

IND_4668 — India 2015: “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.”

It has been awhile since my last post here. So many things happened during that period of time … smacked down moments that make the happy go lucky me went silent without words … my ‘maturity’ lesson, I called it.

Or maybe a trade-off for my current lifestyle that I am having now. In order for me to enjoy my “jiwa MERDEKA” or “free spirited” life … I have to experience these emotional confusion about responsibility, accountability, loyalty, trust, love, friendship, religion (as what PEOPLE imposed me on believing) and death. More you get of X, less you get of Y.

Accepting and understanding death is the hardest for me. Loosing someone who is close to you through death does not feel the same as loosing him/ her through a devastating broken relationship. But well … life continuously goes on and on … and time heals you accordingly. For arwah Abah and Paksu … al-fatihah.

What really helped during those confusing moments? … the act of kindness by people closed to me and by those unexpected strangers in my life … helps to ease up my confusion and at the same time giving me hope and space … so that I would rise up better than before. Alhamdullilah and thank you …

If I rant further more … then this post will ended up as philosophical as Sigmund Feud thesis paper on understanding human psychology.

"We rise by lifting others." - — India 2015: “We rise by lifting others.”

The truth is … I am craving for my solitude and silence more than ever now.

With this thunder inside me now … if I continue forcing myself out, words spoken or written surely would sound more defensive and hostile. The hidden drama queen in me would probably go berserk 😉 … but ‘I am no hero and I’m not made of stone.

Looking at photos has a temporary tranquility effect on me … my all-natural tranquilizer. Sharing some human interest portraits from my recent India trip with my readers here. Images are mostly in monochrome, if you want to view in color then you can check-out my flickr account.

I need a lullaby to keep me going while preparing my today’s post. I am singing my heart out with my karaoke version of “Until it Sleeps” by Metallica. Let’s sing along together with me … 1… 2 … 3 😉

Note: click the video below so that you can continue reading while listening to the song as your background music

"A warm smile is the universe — India 2015: “A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.”

Where do I take this pain of mine?
I run, but it stays right by my side

So tear me open, pour me out
There’s things inside that scream and shout
And the pain still hates me
So hold me until it sleeps

"Respect is a two-way street, if you want it you have to give it." - R.G. Risch — India 2015: What is the color of kindness?

Just like the curse, just like the stray
You feed it once and now it stays
Now it stays

India 2015: They said PINK is the color of kindness

So tear me open but beware
There’s things inside without a care
And the dirt still stains me
So wash me until I’m clean

It grips you, so hold me
It stains you, so hold me
It hates you, so hold me
It holds you, so hold me
Until it sleeps

Kindness — India 2015: And, he has the color of kindness neatly tucked on his shoulder

So tell me why you’ve chosen me
Don’t want your grip
Don’t want your greed
Don’t want it

I’ll tear me open, make you gone
No more can you hurt anyone
And the fear still shakes me
So hold me until it sleeps

It grips you, so hold me
It stains you, so hold me
It hates you, so hold me
It holds you, holds you, holds you
Until it sleeps

IND_1436 — India 2015: “Kindness, like a boomerang, always returns”

I don’t want it … no … no … no

IND_1609 — India 2015: “To be happy, we must not be too concerned with others”

So tear me open but beware
There’s things inside without a care
And the dirt still stains me
So wash me… till clean

India 2015: “In the end … only kindness matter”

I’ll tear me open, make you gone
No longer will you hurt anyone
And the hate still shapes me

So hold me until it sleeps

IND_1668 — “What is a rebel? A man who says NO” … so hold me until I SLEEP 🙂

I am signing off right now … and continue taking my recovery sleep. When I finally decide to wake up … I will strike harder and better than before … In Sha Allah. Till then … 🙂

Cheers

p/s Ramadhan Mubarak to all my muslim readers … and we are moving nearer to the last 10 days of Ramadhan. The most blessed days in the blessed month of Ramadhan are the last 10 days of Ramadhan. May Allah grant all of us strength and will to make the remaining days of Ramadhan work to our advantage … ameen.

Taste of Courage in Danakil Depression Ethiopia

May 4, 2015November 25, 2023 Matsuda MashimaruLeave a comment

Courage is found in unlikely places
– J.R.R Tolkien

Ethiopian Danakil Depression – the most challenging place that I have visited so far.

This place challenged the tough me to the core.

Not a usual place for a relaxing aka healing vacation, the kind of place where I go for my self-discovery experience. Am I tough enough? How is my true character in the most physically challenging environment?

I survived a 3-day 2-night stay in Danakil Depression, Ethiopia at the end of summer 2015 (27-28-29 April 2014). The temperature in the desert was unforgivingly hot (during mid-day > 40’C) despite the assurance of my guide that “it was the end of summer, the heat should be bearable”.

Anything that doesn’t kill me will make me stronger.

Angelic colors in Maiga Island

April 27, 2015November 15, 2023 Matsuda Mashimaru2 Comments

Perfect natural light … perfect cloud … perfect wind … perfect weather … ahhh just speechless!

I couldn’t ask for more. Great companion as always … photographers from Brunei, Singapore, Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur … mostly are strangers turned companions. We shoot like a mad soldier with infinity bullets 😉 . I was surrounded by non stop camera shutter sound from my left and right side, it makes me feel inferior lol … like I am not working hard enough accumulating my own stock photos …. argh! bunch of pro photographers. And … in 2 days, I accumulated more than 1000 images from my “crazy! memory space eater” D800/ D800E 😉

And, great food too as our host Muslianshah bin Masrie is not only a great photographer but he turned out to be a darn good cook too. I couldn’t complaint more … why should you complaint when your belly is full, right? *wink*

Maiga Island under the sun
View from one of the jetty here in Maiga Island
The other side of Maiga Island
My addiction with clouds continue here

Photographer’s heaven …!! <— I know! I need to stop ranting and start writing instead.

Maiga Island is just a small remote tropical island.

No hotels, no facilities … just a few simple and humble homes owned by the island people from Suluk and Pala’u (Bajau Laut) descent. Typical Sabahan hospitality… playful, friendly and polite. So, I would like to remind you … that you need to have an adventurous soul to be able to see and enjoy the beauty of this place.

We shared their homes for 2 nights and we hang around with their children during our sunsets and sunrises.

You would probably feel a bit curious … about the safety issues surrounding this area especially after the major security breached incident regarding foreign intruders last year. Well, it felt safe when we were there … and I saw groups of China tourist wandering freely around some small islands there too.

Well … there is always a RISK in everything that we do, right?

Sunset here at Maiga Island. The downside of having cloud overloads is ... — Sunset here at Maiga Island. The downside of having cloud overload is … my round yellow “egg yolk” sun … ended up playing peek-a-boo with me

Catching the last color of the day at Maiga Island. Yeah ... I admit , another boat as my foreground ... — Catching the last color of the day at Maiga Island. Yeah … I admit , another boat as my foreground

The curfew hours from 6pm to 6am is still on-going though … so, no island hoping activities at night for us. Just some relaxing and frustrating milky-way night shoot … and this is due to the cloud overload activities that continue during night time too.

And, this is how my milky way and sunrise looked like:

Milky-way attempt at Maiga Island
Morning light peeping out from the nearby island
Island children with their routine jump at the jetty
Children doing their routine jump at the jetty during my sunrise moment
Island children playing with their small boats
Bohey Dulang Island A gorgeous fisheye view of the Bohey Dulang Island

I made some new friends here too, Patricia, Azmal and Chinta.

Regardless of whatever or whoever our background is … human is still human and children will always be children. Most of the children here are without proper nationality and ‘politically’ they don’t entitled to experience school (… sarcastically saying). With no proper education, most of them can’t read or write but they are not slacking on their manners. Well mannered children that makes my heart nervous … thinking of their future.

The boy with a lollipop is Azmal. My diplomatic little tour guide ... I paid him to guide me around the island — The boy with a lollipop in his mouth is Azmal. My diplomatic little tour guide … I paid him to guide me around the island

Chinta … is not her real name, her real name is so difficult to remember so I just called her Chinta lol. She is a great story teller and a very imaginative child too. Whenever she started telling her stories …. the rest of the children would definitely be glued to her … including me, an adult child he he he.

I had a hormone imbalance moment when it was time for me to depart from the island. I had dust in my eyes whenever I look them in their eyes … especially towards Azmal, Chinta and Patricia. It felt like leaving your own child alone at a strange and dangerous roadside. Emotional attachment in 2 1/2 days … I am definitely getting older … or is it an early menopause sign? … emo 🙂

May Allah grant them protection, peace of mind, guidance and remain in his guidance always. And, may Allah grant a continuos resources, energy and time for me to travel and learn more from life … ameen.

“Do they not travel through the land, so that their hearts (and minds) may thus learn wisdom and their ears may thus learn to hear? Truly it is not their eyes that are blind, but their hearts which are in their chests” (22:Al-Hajj:46)

I pressed published before before checking on my post ... lol ... and missed this photo. A child playing with her swing ... — The joy of witnessing life: A child playing with her swing … love it!

And as at today, my traveling schedule for the next few months is still remained empty. I am planning to stay glued at home … editing photos, updating my photo portfolio, generating money to finance my next travel project and working on GayaIzzah.com. Wish me luck yea …

Cheers

p/s If you plan to visit here, I would suggest you to bring some gifts for the children. Children clothing or swimming goggles or pens/ pencils or simple reading books or books for writing. Or you can spent some moments with them, reading for the children or just playing “tag you’re it” game with them. Sharing is caring …

MATSUDA MASHIMARU

I LIKE NONSENSE, IT WAKES UP THE BRAIN CELLS

Author: Matsuda Mashimaru

A Muddy Business at Pacu Jawi, Tanah Datar

The sky is my Canvas

The color of Kindness

Taste of Courage in Danakil Depression Ethiopia

Angelic colors in Maiga Island

Like this post? Please share it:

Like this post? Please share it:

Like this post? Please share it:

Like this post? Please share it:

Like this post? Please share it: