Tag: Travel Photography

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

 

Taste of Courage in Danakil Depression Ethiopia

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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.

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Angelic colors in Maiga Island

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.

This is Chinta with her audience
This is Chinta with her audience
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
Playing with my sea gypsy friends
Playing with my sea gypsy friends
Me and you moment
Me and you moment

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 🙂

Wefie moment with my island friends
Wefie moment with my island friends

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

MM

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 …

Strange Colors in Sabtang Island, Philippines

Matsuda Mashimaru4 Comments
Batanes Island: View from my balcony
Batanes Island: View from my hotel balcony

Ahhh … a fantasy island indeed.

The weather was unpredictable during our stay in Batanes Island, Philippines last week.

Strong wind, cloudy sky and scattered rain here and there … had made my hunting (for lights and colors) more challenging than usual but experiencing the “heaven on earth” kinda landscape that surround the island  … has lighten up my heavy heart.

The crispy clean air had magically chase away my stubborn Indian cough that had been ‘lovingly’ sticking to my throat for weeks (after completing 2 courses of antibiotic the cough still linger).

The island is so spacious … empty hills and mountains with only green grass field and a few here and there trees. It entice the feeling of flying in me … the wanderer me riding the wind while exploring the hills surrounding the island lol.

Spacious Batanes ...
Free flying with just the wind … no glider and no paramotor engine needed here

After a few days being surrounded by the gloomy weather, we decided to take a short boat ride to the nearby  Sabtang Island (30-45 minutes boat ride away). A small island with estimated around 1800 people and they are economically depending on the sea (most are fisherman).  

We refused to be at the mercy of the weather. Hunger for light and colors … we were all over the place … exploring the island until there were no more light left on the horizon.

At 2pm: We arrived at the Sabtang port
At 2pm: We arrived at the Sabtang port
At 3:15 pm: San Vicente Ferrer Church (Sabtang)
At 3:15 pm: Some maintenance work at San Vicente Ferrer Church

We spent our afternoon looking for the perfect spot to shot sunset at the not so nearby (about one our ride on an open-style truck) fishing village. The weather at Sabtang Island was not as bad as it was in Batanes Island … so we were expecting a nice sunset that afternoon.

For those who love to shot people or streets, Batanes and Sabtang Island is obviously not for you.

As for me, I adore beautiful landscape but I need subjects on my landscape … and these islands are so secluded that you need to be extra creative to be able to capture the gorgeous view with your camera.

Internet connection in Batanes Island is super duper weak … but my life has never been depending much on the wifi connection anyway … so, it was not a big deal to me (how I wish). Being an introvert, staying disconnected from such need towards creating extra noise for attention is always my ultimate goal.

At 3:45 pm: Spotted a secluded beach on our way to the fishing village
Another side view of the scluded beach
At 3.47 pm: Still here for a quick shot around the secluded beach

So, we were hanging out at the village enjoying the afternoon breeze, waiting and praying for a colorful sunset. It was kinda cool hanging around with the villagers while watching fishermen unloading their catch of the day to the shore.

  • At 4:30 pm: We hang around the fishing village
  • At 4.30pm: Fishermen loading up their catch of the day
  • At 4:30pm: Hanging around the beach while the fisherman uploading their catch of the day
  • At 4:30pm: Looking at dried fish at the hanger facing the sea
  • At 4:30pm: Still hanging around here waiting for sunset
  • At 5:30pm: Still walking around the village looking for moment
  • Dried fish hanged along the village
  • Sunset at Sabtang Island

I have a few more interesting shots of the sunset in Sabtang that I would probably upload it to my Zenfolio photo profile later. It was a very interesting afternoon indeed.  We were lucky to have a clear sky that night … so, our next target for the night was … hunting for milky way.

  • At 4:00 am: Practicing my seeking a signal skill
  • At 4:00 am: Still practicing my seeking a signal skill
  • Milky way across an old light house in Sabtang Island, Philippines
  • At 4:30am: Hunting for the gorgeous milky way
  • AT 5:40am: Watching the first morning light
  • At 6:30am: With my warm and lovely friend … an unexpected companion
  • At 6:45 am: My new pet dog

I met all kind of unexpected warm souls while traveling. Souls that warm my heart and this new companion that I met in Sabtang is one of a kind soul.

At 6:45 am: My new pet dog

If I can have a dog of my own … I want this type of dog.

He accompanied me during my early morning shot, he followed me everywhere during my sunrise moment, he lead my way around the bushes on the hills, he sat with me on top of the hill and he accompanied me while I was enjoying my golden light moment … darn! my yellow grumpy cat at home doesn’t do that … gosh! I want a dog … I bet if I have a companion dog like him … I can wander alone, confidently around beaches and bushes in Malaysia taking pictures of beautiful local landscape … I need a dog!

But … with Malaysian crime rate hiking up day to day … I think I will need a bulldog as my companion dog 😛

At 5:50am: Trying to catch the morning light behind the cloudy horizon
At 5:50am: Trying to catch the morning light behind the cloudy horizon

Honestly, I felt a bit discontented with this trip … reason being that the unpredictable weather had made it hard for me to experience the true light and the genuine color of Batanes Island. Too bad huh… but who knows one day I might have a chance to visit Batanes again.

I am preparing myself for my next trip to Maiga Island in Semporna, Sabah on Thursday next week. More landscape and milky ways to feed my D800 lol. Wish me luck ….

Cheers

MM

p/s Dada Macusi … in case if you are reading this. I will make it a point to call you up next time if I happen to visit Philippines again, there are so many places to explore there …and chasing whales in Babuyan Island sounds so cool 😛 . Take care …