Tag: travel

Judgemental Mind of Mine in Pakistan

Matsuda MashimaruLeave a comment
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A victory toss (with mango and pineapple juice) to celebrate the end of our Pakistan journey

Being human … a normal human being, I admit that I am too quick on judging things. My excuse is that I need to take a good care of ME … my physical, my mental and my heart. I need to safe guard ME. As I grow wise (and aging lol) … an achy breaky me is not easy to recover from either physical or mental torture.

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A stop on our way to Besham, Northern Pakistan

So, I refused (at first) to join my travelling friends on their quest to explore Pakistan. My concerned was upon my safety but towards the last minute I changed my mind. With a good travel companions, a full trust on my ultimate protector (my Creator) and my survival instinct … so I thought the rough Pakistan journey won’t be that bad.

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This is a common view along the road. Most men I saw on the street were wearing kurta (long cotton shirt) instead of T-shirt and jeans. 

I was telling my girlfriend that “if we could survive this trip babe, it would turned out to be our most valuable experience .. ever” and true enough, the journey was tough to the bone but it was worth every second of it. You need to be physically and mentally  strong to truly see the beauty of Pakistan.

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The road was not crowded at all … occasionally you would see decorated lorries, buses and a few private cars.

We travelled from Islamabad-Gilgit-Karimabad-Hunza-Skardu via road and travelled back to Islamabad from Skardu via flight. Driving to Gilgit via the  Islamabad-Mansehra-Nahran-Chilas-Gilgit  would be around 10-11 hours drive but we were unlucky that day as that road was closed for a few months due to landslides. And, we have to travel via alternative road that took us approximately 19 hours to reach Gilgit. Yes … and 19 hours on a rough road felt like a week lol.

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What a view …

Half of the journey was tolerable as we passed through Masya-Allah … the most beautiful and unique landscape view along the way and we drove through small towns after another … a very memorable journey. But after Besham, the roads and the geographical area turned rocky and rough. We were surrounded by rocky gigantic mountains and the road conditions were really bad. As the day turned night … the tough journey became very challenging.

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A quick snap shoot along the road to Gilgit, Northen Pakistan

Police security roadblocks were at every km away and we … the “tourist” have to be safely escorted by the appointed police personnel upon entering Bersham and straight to our hotel in Gilgit.

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At one of the small town after Besham. I didn’t shoot much here as we were rushing through and this was taken from my jeep’s window. 

Tough journey in 10 days either can be a disastrous experience or a rich moment for your soul. I am glad that I made the decision to step out of my comfort zone … alhamdullilah I am a step richer in experience.

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The Eagle’s Nest of Hunza valley, Northern Pakistan

We travelled further up from Gilgit to hunza valley via the famous Karakoram Highway (KKH). The KKH connected Gilgit-Baltisan region, Pakistan to Xinjiang region, China. The highway is listed as the Eighth Wonder of the world due to its high elevation (4,693m) and the difficult geographical conditions in which it was constructed.

The view …. Subhanaallah, I am glad I have eyes to witness how beautiful our earth is. I’ll share some photos in my IG and 500px when I have the time to dig out all of my Pakistan images.

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The Eagle’s Nest of Hunza valley, Northern Pakistan

And here are a few photos taken from my favourite spot in Northern Pakistan … the Hunza Eagle’s Nest. I seriously will come back to this spot for a night camp, just to watch the stars and capture the milkyway crossing over the glaciers … uh tak sabar nya tunggu /uh I can’t wait for our next Pakistan trip.

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The self acclaimed Queen of Eagle’s Nest of Hunza valley at her throne he he he

Hmmm … this photo (above) remind me of the people that I met along the road here in Pakistan. The 10 years old girl, Misbah from Hunza valley. The girl opened up her story about her so called normal life that bring tears to our eyes. Another 10 years old boy, Abdullah from Rawalpindi. A curiously intelligent boy that followed us around the market (near his home). Both are lacking in education and materials but well brougt up with proper manners … a proud and beautiful people, Pakistan ….. I will be back! lol

Uhhh … I need to stop typing words here or else I might sound like an old immobilised ‘makcik’ or aunty that kept on reminiscing on old memories hu hu hu gotta run 🙂 .

Bye for now

Cheers,

MM

 

ps- “Be selective with you battles. Sometimes peace is better than being right.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lesson of Acceptance

Matsuda Mashimaru4 Comments
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Quran teaching at Jami Masjid, Agra, India

I stumbled upon this particular poem of Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi’s while I was struggling to understand the existing and the departing of certain people around me. Sharing it here with y’alls.

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
As an unexpected visitor.Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

~ Rumi
We are bombarded with all kind of emotions or thought daily … at least I am. A good reminder to a stray soul like mine … beautifully written indeed.
As I strolled through my photo collections, I felt like sharing these photos of a very patient Quran teacher that I saw at Jami Masjid, Agra, India. Why did I thought that he was a patient teacher?
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A humble place to learn to read the beautiful Quran
I was  watching him while he was teaching.
His voice was calm and soft towards his student. And … my friends and I … strangers with cameras clicking around him doesn’t annoyed him at all.
I was comparing this situation back home in Malaysia whereby …certain people, especially those who has certain level of religious knowledge more than the average, would easily get agitated with strangers ( I am being carefully polite here).
But … yeah, I might be wrong though.
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Another shoot from above. A nice warm feeling whenever I looked at this photo

It’s hot and hazy here in Kuala Lumpur. Feels like staying indoor 24×7.

A good reason to start preparing myself for my next gateway. Emptying my expectation and straightening my judgemental mind. A blank canvas could be a canvas full of possibilities … right?

Bye

Cheers

MM

 

p.s – Learning to be at peace with myself. Oh Allah … please be gentle with me and never leave me alone unattended by You. Indeed oh Allah … You are the best Protector and the best Helpers

 

 

Curiosity Killed the Cat of Tasik Pedu

Matsuda MashimaruLeave a comment
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Photo taken from Mr Google

I have been reading quite extensively this past few weeks. Upscaling my photography technical knowledge … to be able me to teach (yes! teach … I, myself am surprised too) a Basic Photography Class for a small crowd of students last few weekends. My first teaching stint aka my excuse to learn from my observers.

A good thing that I decided to do this as I found a strong excuse to refresh and brush up my camera and composition knowledge. So … I have been reading more than usual too.

Sharing with y’all an interesting write-up on street photography that I am currently trying to digest:

‘100 Lessons From the Masters of Street Photography’ by Eric Kim   

Street photography is always my first choice of photography. Being a curious cat since as long as I can remember helps me to enjoy street photography more than any other photography genre that I have tried.

Being curious on the street with strangers from all sort of background makes the process of meeting new people kind of adventurous to me. Like a child mind … everything and everyone looks trust worthy in my eyes. But often enough I have to restrain myself from being too curious or too friendly with my subject knowing that every culture has its own social restrictions that I need to be well aware of.

Saw these hobbyist fisherman and woman at the Pedu Lake jetty
Feeling happy with their catch of the day
I am fishing too … fishing stories with my gopro pole hu hu hu
Feeling curious with these ladies while I was hanging out at the Lake Pedu jetty

p.s – pics of me being curious with these fisherman and fisherwoman at the Pedu Lake jetty

Yep, curiosity killed a cat for sure (my cat lol). Encountered an uncomfortable aka social resistance aka an awkward situation recently, that put me down for a few days too. But nonetheless being an optimistic bitch … my eight (8) other cat lives were struggling up to gasp for oxygen at no time … alhamdullilah.

Maybe a platonic relationship between man and woman will never exist in the world of pessimist. A curious mind of a woman in the world of pessimist belongs to a slut or a husband snatcher huh wth. I am blessed that I lived in the world of optimist … sayonara to the pessimist, I am off to explore more of this part of the world.

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Taking my time-off at my favourite spot at Seri Mahawangsa BoatHouse, Lake Pedu, Kedah

Well … I decided to join my photographer friend for a short trip to Kedah, Malaysia for a quick stress reliever. I took an early train (ETS KTM train) from Kuala Lumpur to Anak Bukit, Kedah. Slept one night at my friend’s house in Jitra, Kedah and spent another night at Seri Mahawangsa BoatHouse, Lake Pedu, Kedah. Then … I took an afternoon train back to KL again.

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Our lunch before we headed to Lake Pedu, Kedah
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I got to shoot the full moon
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And, I got to shoot the morning sunrise too
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And, I snooped around and shoot the lovebird

And this was how I spent my time at the Seri Mahawangsa BoatHouse, Pedu Lake, Kedah. Ahhh …  a simple mind and a simple life …nothing more. 

Bye for now …

Cheers

MM

ps – … … … 🙂

 

 

 

Chasing The Light in Tasik Pedu

Matsuda MashimaruLeave a comment
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Seri Mahawangsa Boathouse at Pedu Lake, Kedah

“In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.” – Aaron Rose 

I learnt from observing and listening to people around me, therefore most people that I met are my teachers and mentors in their own way. Yup … a bit cliche, I know but well … a lazy middle aged woman like me doesn’t have much time to spend on trials and errors 🙂 .

I have been following Yaman Ibrahim for closed to a year now. Observing and learning from him, a great teacher who loves doing whatever that he is doing. He has that eyes for spotting good lights around him … he called it “Yaman’s Eye”.

By all means … the “good light” in photography yeah peeps. Not that near to death moment light or that spiritual spotlight or that seeking the light aka mysterious haunted light thingy huh.

So, I spent a ‘rich’ 3-days with him and a group of great companion at Pedu lake, Kedah, Malaysia last weekend. We were ‘chasing the light’ around the lake. Good light that can creates a sense of drama to our subject.

Yaman has been working closely with tourism Malaysia for years. He has the experience and opportunity to explore Malaysian culture more than other photographers that I know. Looking at his photos made me longing for the same opportunity to shoot and document my own home culture through my own lens.

Sharing some martial art moves from the boys of Silat Gayung Nusantara Kedah with y’alls. Fyi … I got a lot more interesting shoots around here in Pedu Lake but well, every picture has its own moment.

So, I had my first opportunity to shoot subjects that close to my heart. A traditional action-packed Malaysian Malay martial art. The morning light and the rays were superb.

I was enjoying my moment. The backlight from the morning sun rays were a bliss.  There were 10 of us … photographers from various genres. And listening to our camera shutters sound at the highest possible burst rate, at the same exact time … was interestingly comical.

Listening to them (and myself) again and again, commenting and admiring our own photos was hilarious too. Yep … photographers and their egos, right? We were ‘high’ with our own moment, self achievement moment … lol, I am guily as well, it felt pathetic now … as I recalled back the moment he he he

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My second favourite spot after the hammock

I had a good time while in here. It was super quiet … no phone coverage, no wifi, no TV … a total disconnected from the noisy life. And, having surrounded by a great companion was a bonus too. The owner of the boathouse is a very talented host. He is the boatman, the cook, the wireman, the karaoke man, the technician, the talent etc. Yaik … talking about him … I still owe him a collection of his portraits.

If I was not holding my camera … I would either chewing on food or daydreaming in the hammock … enjoying my quiet moment, snoozing. My companions were as noisy as always hu hu hu yep! a very cheerful and lively crowd but my mind was at peace … alhamdullilah what matters is the heart … right?

I will repeat this trip again in March 2016. Thinking of spending more time there … like a week of totally disconnected from the world. In Sha Allah …

Bye now

 

Cheers

MM

 

p/s … “You wander from room to room … hunting for the diamond necklace … that is already around your neck!” ~ Rumi

 

 

 

 

Perfectionist vs Rightist

Matsuda MashimaruLeave a comment
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Tools vs Photographer

“People call me a perfectionist, but I’m not. I’m a rightist. I do something until it’s right, and then I move on to the next thing” ~ James Cameron

I kinda like this quote … and yes, I am a rightist for sure 🙂 .  An attempt to explain my super slow reaction on each job that require my thinking hat. Yeah … and I am blunt if I didn’t have my thinking hat on.

Alamak! (oh my!) … and I have not posted any new entry since November 2015, which was last year. Last year sounds like a long months ago. Happy New Year 2016 to all my readers and to my followers (small group of followers coz I am too shy to market myself lol), thank you for putting that extra effort to follow my writing aka babbling. I feel honored … thank you.

I fulfilled at least 1/3 of my last year 2015 New Year resolution (… I shall think so 🙂 ). And … I don’t have any new additional resolution for 2016. Thinking of not having any new year resolution this year … maybe I will let my options stay open and just follow my heart.

What was I doing in the past few months that kept me locked up in my own cave? I wonder too or must be that laziness syndrome again … I need to write often as the more I write … the more I read.

I settled down (not so peacefully) in my new home in mid November, traveled to Nepal in early December, flew around Cyberjaya and Kundang air space with my paramotor buddies during my free weekends, traveled to Krabi, Thailand via train/ van in early this month and now I am packing up my gears again for my next weekend gateway to Pedu Lake, Kedah, Malaysia.

My Nepal trip was very different and interesting at the same time. Giving me the urges to keep on coming back to Nepal. I will share more about my Nepal trip once I am properly settled with my new office and my new studio. Yes … I am having my own creative space now … uhh and am super nervous and excited about this too.

Sharing with y’all my moment with my new friend Nima that I met on my way back from Pokhara to Kathmandu, Nepal. Saw him at one of the street side coffee shop on our tea break and I decided to approach him for a quick street shoot. His beautiful “sad look” caught my eyes … and he had a cultural shocked too (I bet!), seeing a daring blunt woman wanting to photograph him lol.

The thing that I love about street photography is … meeting up with beautiful strangers on the street. Beauty is very subjective though. Beauty in my eyes will not necessarily a joy to your eyes.

I am so hooked up with faces now a days. Maybe this is just a phase …

Bye now

Cheers

MM

p/s:  …. blank