New places always excite me.
I could spend hours just wandering and observing my surroundings for something to learn from or just something to look at. Sharing 5 of my favourite portraits that whenever I look at them… I feel like packing my bag and starting wandering on the street again.
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I was watering my garden last week … honestly not sure if I should label my 5 potted plants as a garden … I am a self-proclaimed minimalist, having more than 10 plants at my home would disqualify me from my minimalist self-titled hu hu hu … I shall think so (an excuse to remain as lazy as possible).
Okay … back to my story. I was watering my plants last week when I noticed a newly ‘born’ butterfly … she (I prefered to call it she because it was beautiful) just came out from her cocoon. She was drying her wings and strengthen her limbs preparing for her first take-off.
I used to shot macro. Quit doing it and focusing more on traveling and flying instead but … I am a moment photographer … I could just revert back to any photography genre just to capture moments, right?
I shoot this with my 105mm Nikkor f2.8 lens. I love that lens … the color and the bokeh that came out from this lens is dreamy. Photos were taken handheld … moments like this could pass by in split seconds and you need to be quick with you camera.
Looking at this little missy makes me wonder about my own life too. When the nest is finally empty … the one who left behind in the nest would either feel delusionally lost or probably decided to move on to the next nest.
Figured that … what makes a beautiful nest, is not the nest itself but the butterfly. Deep … 🙂 and I want to be that butterfly.
And at last after not more than 10 shots … my beautiful model decided to take-off and explore her new world. Leaving me behind … thinking that I should sharpen up my macro skill lol.
Beautiful moments, only if you choose to open your eyes and decide on ‘seeing’ ….alhamdullilah.
Bye for now,
Cheers.
MM
ps- “The journey.” ~ by Rumi
Come, seek,
for seeking is the foundation of fortune:
every success depends upon focusing the heart.
Unconcerned with the business of the world,
keep saying with all your soul, “Ku, ku,” like the dove…Even though you’re not equipped,
keep searching…Whoever you see engaged in search,
become her friend and cast your head in front of her,
for choosing to be a neighbor of seekers,
you become one yourself…Day and night you are a traveler in a ship.
You are under the protection of a life-giving spirit…Step aboard the ship and set sail,
like the soul going towards the soul’s Beloved.
Without hands or feet, travel toward Timelessness
just as spirits flee from non-existence.…By God, don’t linger
in any spiritual benefit you have gained,
but yearn for more like one suffering from illness
whose thirst for water is never quenched…Leave the seat of honor behind:
the Journey is your seat of honor.
On how would our earth look like from 10,000ft high up on air from a paramotor ride? Just you and your bared machine up high above the cloud looking down upon the earth with both of your feet dangling in the air at 10,000ft … wohooo!
I said yes when my PPG friends (powered paraglider) invited me to their latest flying event, a Malaysian Book Of Record (MBOR) challenge to fly as high as 10,000 – 15,000 feet up on air this coming December as their professional photographer.
I tagged along as part of the team and as the flying partner to En. Tazza. Flying with him is always a good vibe. It seemed that both of us adore flying so much that whatever people said about us, we would still be a good partner. Last weekend on October 1st and 2nd were their second MBOR training. They planned to test their physical endurance and engine capability while attempting to reach at least 6000ft to 8000ft.
We were swaying from left to right, up and down dangling on the airspace. I nearly vomited out my early morning ‘nasi lemak’ (breakfast) 😛 … oh boy! after hours and hours of flying with them I still experienced air sickness, It showed how gusty the wind was that morning.
The gutsy wind finally settled calmly as we ascended exceeding 3000ft and we started to feel the chill and oh my God! the view was priceless. Look at how huge the airspace was. Oh, the word ‘priceless’ felt underrated … the view was awesome A+++.
Guess that professionalism is still unknown to some of my conservative audiences. It may seem like I am the only woman in the team but as a frequent traveller and a professional photographer, this is a normal on-the-job environment for me. I didn’t feel awkward at all as I am not doing anything wrong … religiously or morally. The view up there is worth all the bad mouth rumours on the ground.
People do talk but having a mutual understanding between me and my subjects makes my work comfortable and easy … truly blessed!
“To live is the rarest thing in the world, most people just exist. That is all.” ~ Oscar Wilde
Yeay … been there, done that! and I am slowly moving on to my next project.
Preparing myself to get lost in Jogjakarta, Indonesia in mid-November. This is going to be my 3rd time wandering in Jogjakarta … this time around I will be joining my local photographer friend hunting for lights around the beaches, jungles, hills, paddy fields and some bushes outside Jogjakarta. Wish me well …
Bye for now
Cheers,
MM
ps – I am leaving it all to Allah, he is the best of planners. Ameen …
And [remember, O Muhammad], when those who disbelieved plotted against you to restrain you or kill you or evict you [from Makkah]. But they plan, and Allah plans. And Allah is the best of planners. [Al-Anfal verse 30]
Yes … I am still digging into my collections of external HD, hunting for hidden treasure. A continuous quest for me or for every photographer out there … a never ending chore to filter thousands of photograph for just one or two killing images.
While digging … I found a few interesting photos that related to ‘reflection’ that I wanted to share here. Sharing some photos of the landscape surrounding Shangri-La Resort in Skardu, Northern Pakistan (please excuse my watermark).
Capturing reflection either on a puddle of water, on a lake or on some mirrors have a satisfyingly calming effect. The sense of calmness came from my need to be super quiet and totally immersed in the moment, to be able me to notice details in my surrounding such as reflection.
The camera setting to capture reflection is the same setting as capturing photos of any landscape. But our eyes need to be more cautious though, aiming at various angles and at the same time maintaining the best composition. And don’t forget to wait for the right light and the moment when the wind decided to stop meddling with the water surface.
Looking back at these photos brought back sweet memories of us in Skardu, Northern Pakistan, we were hanging out at the edge of the lake while waiting for the wind to stay idle for us to capture a perfect reflection of this place.
I think I am more of a traveler than a photographer. Photography is just another reason for me to pack my bag and travel.
So it is kind of annoying when some ‘real’ photographer judging my photography skill based on whatever that I posted on FB after each trip. They’ll ask to see my winning photos of each place that I went … and questioned on why were I still travel to such places when I knew for sure that I can’t even shoot people on the street.
Hmmm. Speechless …
I need to remind myself that I am a traveler first before a photographer.
Having a good photography skill helped me to sharpen my eyes towards details around my surrounding. So … when I traveled … I can see more. The more I see the more I learn. And, if traveling with my camera could turn me into a ‘real’ professional photographer … then I am truly blessed.
The world of photography has no boundary … you can be as unique and as creative as wish you could be.
Bye for now
Cheers,
MM
I visited Mt Bromo at Probolinggo in East Java, Indonesia for the third time last July 2016. I heard from my friends that Mt Bromo was actively coughing off smokes out of its opened crater for the last few months … and I couldn’t resist the temptation for a quick weekend gateway.
We traveled in a very small group this time around. Just the three of us … leaving behind the rest of our “Sailangers” travel mate. I began to love traveling in a small group. Less drama and less need to socialize among us … which mean more time for observing and mingling around with the locals.
Tengger people of Probolinggo was celebrating their Yadnya Kasada festival that week and we intended to observe the ceremony. The ceremony was for the Tengger Hindus to express their gratitude to their believing Gods for good harvests and fortunes bestowed upon them.
It rained during the 4 days of our stay at Cemoro Lawang, Probolinggo. The last 2 days were a bit forgiving as we managed to catch morning sunrise before the fog and the rain started to concur the area.
The drizzling rain brought along thick and unpredictable fog that comfortably snuggled Mt Bromo alley into a deep dreamy sleep. At first, I thought that I was cursed … but rain, fogs, clouds and smoky landscape are always been my favorite moment. The reason why I still love flying with my paramotor/ PPG buddy is because of this dreamy imagination that one day I might stumble into a beautiful thick clouds formation during our flying stint.
Well … a sure challenge for a landscape or ‘chasing the light’ photographer when the sky is dark and the rain is dancing in the air. This is what I called … a lesson of letting go. Nature is teaching us to learn to let go … nature is beyond our human control and I need to learn to let go, this is not my moment yet. Full stop!
Once I decided to accept my fate … wallah! the sun start peeking out from the thick fogs … and presented us with a dramatic landscape view of Mt Bromo. Ahhhh … blessing in disguise alhamdulilah … couldn’t ask for more. And … clicking the camera shutter once again … is an exciting thing to do 😛
My DSLR is getting heavy and heavier lately … I blamed it on my ‘aging’ 😉 process . My heart still feels young and energetic but my shoulder started to crank up, my knee started to lose its vigor too … damn!
So … I bought a new tool for this trip … a Ricoh GR2 camera, a boxy old fashion looking dude with hmmm an acceptable image making ability. Pictures shared in this post were all taken from my boxy little Ricoh GR2 camera. Not bad for a small point and shoot camera …
Life is full of wonder … and having a curious mind could always work wonder. Ahhh … I want more and more of this.
Bye for now
Cheers
MM
ps -“Creativity is intelligent having fun.” ~ Albert Einstein
