Tag: travel

From courage to freedom, Paramotor

Matsuda Mashimaru2 Comments
From courage to freedom
From courage to freedom

“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.

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

MM

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

Photo Exhibition with Yaman Ibrahim

Matsuda Mashimaru2 Comments

 

A Hamar tribe of Ethiopia, Africa ~ photo credit to hana
Me and my ‘A Hamar tribe of Ethiopia’ photo ~ photo credit to hana_mujahidah

There is always a first time to everything … and, this is my first time joining a photo exhibition.

It is an honor to be selected as one of Yaman Ibrahim & his Mutual Friends #Kolektif 1  photo contributor.  Yaman Ibrahim is a very talented and famous photographer here in Malaysia. A simple, humble and down-to-earth artist that I find easy to work with. 28 photographers (from Malaysia and Brunei) exhibited 78 pieces of travel photograph around the world during the exhibition period. Do come and have a look at our photos on display at MaTIC Kuala Lumpur. Admission is free.

Detail information about the photography exhibition:

  • Event: Yaman Ibrahim & his Mutual Friends #Kolektif 1
  • Location: Matic Art Gallery, MaTIC Malaysia Tourist Center, Kuala Lumpur
  • Date: 3rd September 2015 to 30th September 2015

Honestly, I felt weird seeing my own photos on display and a bit awkward when people start to ask questions. Reason being … when I shoot my photos I was totally in my selfish mode. I love the moment and I wanted to capture and keep the moment to myself. I want to look at my photos and be reminded of the feelings that I had while capturing those moments. And this is totally new to me …well, there is always a first time to anything, right?

But, seeing it being printed and hang-up on the wall triggered an excitement in me. I want to have more and more of my photos printed out on beautiful papers for my personal keeping or maybe once a while I want to share it with public through photo art galleries. I want to be an artistic photographer … a fine-art photographer maybe. Hmm what a dream huh?

And, these are my photos exhibited during the photo exhibition.

I learned a lot from this experience and I need to reassess my photography direction … again and again. So much to learn, so little time.

Ok. I gotta go now. Need to pack my gears (and my crazy COURAGE)  for my next adventure 😛 ,  a cross-country (xc) expedition via paramotor ride from Tok Bali, Kuala Besut, Terengganu to Batu Buruk beach, Kuala Terengganu. It is going to be a long ride … will update the outcome here for sure. Bye now ….

 

Cheers

MM

p/s Credit: The IG photo of me and my ‘A Hamar tribe of Ethiopia’ photo is from hana_mujahidah Instagram account

 

A Muddy Business at Pacu Jawi, Tanah Datar

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“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

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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.

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Pacu Jawi with its audience as a background
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A real muddy business here … yaiks!
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Mud splattered all around the place
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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.

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Bulls getting their cold shower under the sun
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Yaik … a pushy shower time moment
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Massage and tender loving time 😛 after the shower
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More shower time
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I’m loving it …
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Play time …

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.

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Misty landscape at Puncak Lawang Maninjau, Bukit Tinggi
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The afternoon light is sneaking behind the thick mist at Puncak Lawang
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I was mesmerized by the mist, lost in my own thought
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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.

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A buffalo looking up at me as I was enjoying my landscape
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A calm morning at the lake … my heart is at ease alhamdullilah
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Fishing activity around the lake
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Activities around the lake
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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 …

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ON666XvkLI

Bye for now ….

 

Cheers

MM

 

The sky is my Canvas

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 ….

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

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The sea line and me
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A different way to enjoy my landscape
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My sunset at Besut, Terengganu

 

Bye for now.

 

 

Cheers

MM

 

 

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

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcu_J27GsCM

"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

They said PINK is the color of kindness
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

kindness
India 2015: “My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.” ~ Dalai Lama

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

kindness
India 2015: “The kindest word in all the world is the unkind word, unsaid”

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

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

I don’t want it … no … no … no

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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

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“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

MM

 

 

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.