Beautiful lie

January 25, 2017March 30, 2020 Matsuda MashimaruLeave a comment

mys_9314-edit-2 — **Jugra Hill, Selangor, Malaysia: Paraglider TO base. The view before the storm strike**

This year is going to be my third year flying and photographing Malaysian paramotor (ppg) pilots, with JanjiFly Aviation Club Malaysia. 2 solid years of experiencing the joy of flying and hovering around Malaysia’s airspace with our wings. Traveling with our gliders …

SSP Cyberjaya, Malaysia: A view down from my paramotor ride

Yeah … I realized that here in Malaysia, this sport is still dominated by men, unlike paragliding. The heavy engine, the tendency for the engine to create drama and the expensive cost of this sport are probably the major hindrance for just any woman to adopt this hobby.

Me … I have my camera and we go everywhere. No boundaries …

SSP Cyberjaya, Malaysia: A fishing trip up there on the cloud
How do I see all this? Well, I have the ‘explorer’ character in me that had been there for as long as I can remember. Being able to constantly fly with them allow me to explore and experience moments that are different from the ordinary.

Was it easy? Doing all this in my ‘conservative and judgemental’ Malay society? Nope … it has never been easy since my day one. My poyoness aka numbness attitude saved me from all those nasty words thrown at me lol. It has never been easy to be different.

Sharing another unexpected moment while flying at SSP Cyberjaya with beautiful morning light at zero wind and the subject was perfectly fit in. And we have a

And we have a ‘fishing trip with friends in the cloud’ moment.

SSP Cyberjaya, Malaysia: Beautiful reflection
Photos were taken from my paramotor tandem ride at SSP Cyberjaya, Malaysia with my 70-200mm f/4 lens. For a moment like this, my advice is …be extra cautious with your camera shutter speed.

SSP Cyberjaya, Malaysia: Beautiful lie

Gotta run …. bye

Cheers,

ps:

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more,
~Lord Byron

View at 6000ft via Paramotor at Tekah Airfield

October 11, 2016November 15, 2023 Matsuda Mashimaru5 Comments

to-tekah-600ft — ***at Tekah Airfield on October 01, 2016 with my flying buddy***

I always wonder.

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.

They had a few rounds of training at Tekah Airfield, Taiping, Perak.

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.

at 6000ft-7 — **imagine your feet dangling on air at 6000 ft**

The wind was gusty that morning.

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.

Since ‘giving up’ has never been my favourite words. So, we kept on going.

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+++.

1935mtekah — ***at 1935m = 6354 ft … bullseye! we reached the target***

at 6000ft-1 — at 6000ft … and that fluffy clouds on the left

I often get misunderstood by my viewers.

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

screen-shot-2016-10-10-at-12-33-35-pm — **at 6000ft we blend well with the surrounding**

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,

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]

Portraiture around Me

August 24, 2016March 30, 2020 Matsuda MashimaruLeave a comment

MYS_2893-Edit-2-Edit — PokNik, a farmer that rears hundreds of cattle, sheep and goats

August is always an exciting month of the year as we celebrate Malaysia’s 59th Birthday (Independent Day). Malaysian flags could be seen on the streets and business premises everyday in August. The best time to go out and capture the ‘flag’ moment around the street corners.

Again this year, I have the opportunity to contribute some photograph for the Merdeka day photo exhibition. This time around Yaman Ibrahim’s exhibition photo theme is on Faces of Malaysia. As I dug out my HD storage for any Malaysian portrait that can qualify me to join the exhibition. I realized that I have none … hu hu hu

I have been traveling and taking photos of faces around the world and … I have nothing in my HD storage that could portray the faces of Malaysian. Shame on me …

So I decided to open up my eyes and my mind towards my surrounding and attempted to capture faces of Malaysia around me in a short period of time. Talking about working under pressure … and wallah! … I managed to capture some beautiful portraits of Malaysian and as always I have my own private story for each photo that I took … lesson learned story that drove me to capture their moment <— dreamers statement 😛

MYS_3006 — Pak Musa, a carpenter for 34 years that I met at the farm

I was at a Chinese Opera show in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur hunting for a backstage moment with the actors and the actresses. Then, I spent a few days at a private farm (cattle, sheep and goats) in Kuantan, Pahang to capture some moments with the animals and the shepherd.

Chinese opera in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur

Chinese Opera in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur

And, a few days after that I tagged along with my JanjiFly buddy for his Paramotor MBOR training at Tekah Airfield, Taiping, Perak. Yes … I believe I can fly hu hu hu and I captured some moments with the Commando Vat 69 team on parachute training that day. Talking about luck … this is what I called durian runtuh hu hu hu

Commando Vat 69 during his parachute training

Well … it was tiring but worthy. My moment of learning to find beauty … at every imperfect moment presented to me by the All Mighty.

The good news is … my two(2) images below are currently exhibited at Yaman Ibrahim #OrangMalaysia (people of Malaysia) photo exhibition together with another 59 photographs. 33 photographers and 61 photographs …

Caught a moment with PokNik with his goats at the farm

Caught a moment with En Basri, a member of the Commando Vat 69 while the team was having a parachute training

Do come and visit the 61 selected photographs of ‘People of Malaysia’ on display now. Details are as follows:

Theme: Yaman Ibrahim #OrangMalaysia Photo Exhibition
Venue: MaTic Gallery, Malaysian Tourist Center, Kuala Lumpur
Date: 15th August to 17th September, 2016

I am moving on to the next project … 🙂 … next please ….

Bye,

Cheers

ps – “Between what is said and not meant. And what is meant and not said. Most love is lost”~ Khalil Gibran

From courage to freedom, Paramotor

October 26, 2015February 18, 2019 Matsuda Mashimaru2 Comments

“Fear is your best friend or your worst enemy. It’s like fire. If you can control it, it can cook for you; it can heat your house.

If you can’t control it, it will burn everything around you and destroy you. If you can control your fear, it makes you more alert, like a deer coming across the lawn” ~ Mike Tyson

I had an ‘adrenaline burst’ moment with my PPG or powered paraglider pilot friends a few weeks back. A cross-country (XC) flight from Kuala Besut to Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu.

The distance from Kuala Besut to Kuala Terengganu is approximately 1 hour 10 minutes drive along the seaside road.

We were on a slow-mo mode that morning as we want to enjoy our morning ride as it is. And up there, on the zero highway route … every direction is our highway. Amazing feeling … fear and survival instinct blend together with the most awesome view. And … the salty air smells FREEDOM.

Sharing some snapshot photos from my gopro videos with all of you.

First take-off at Bukit Kulim, Kuala Besut

It was a great pleasure to be able to take part in this mind-blowing adventurous way of exploring the world ;-).

PPG pilot needs to acquire an adequate engine, glider and thermal handling skill to be able to do cross-country flight here at the Terengganu coastal area.

At 10 am onwards the heat was unbearable. If you are flying closer to the ground/ shore you might experience some turbulence due to thermal heating. Yeah … I know that I am just a passenger to my PPG pilot but after spending hours flying with them I couldn’t help but noticed the character of the wind too.

I used to fly early in the morning and late afternoon when the wind a bit calmer and colder. Not used to fly at odd hours like this time around , I was a bit shaken by the unpredictable wind and the turbulence caused by the heat or thermal energy.

My advice to you before you decide to try riding with PPG tandem is to know your pilot skill level first (to be able to trust him with your life), study their equipment (engine/ glider) and to TRUST them with their skills. Extreme sport requires great skills to be able to execute each activity safely.

Yes … I do have fear and no, it’s not acrophobia (fear of height) 😉 .

Cheers

P.S – Well … I am scared of the dark 🙂 . I used to have fear of being alone or monophobia but through photography I managed to divert my fear to my advantage. And, I noticed that I am more focus and creative when I am alone … guess that my survival instinct would start to kick-off whenever I feel lonely.

Sharing JanjiFly XC video @besut 091015

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