Carlos Nizam Photography

Human Interest & Travel

Feb 19 2013

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, Thailand.

Posted in Latest, Photojournalism, Travel

So recently, I decided to pretty much run away from reality as I was feeling pretty dry in my well of inspiration. I bought my tickets last minute and hopped on the earliest train to Ratchaburi, Thailand. I was hoping with all hopes that Damnoen Saduak, the famous water village in Ratchaburi would with every touch fix me.

When I arrived, I was still quite dazed. I could hear the voice inside me telling me what my mission was, but all the sights and elements surrounding me at that point in time was pretty much overwhelming, so I decided to just rest at the hostel and recuperate from the travel fatigue.

I started off slow (and steady).

I played with my camera and lenses, just clicking at random things, and the voice in me was still pretty faint.

After a couple of days, my ears finally started working. I reconnected with the voice in me and I could feel this magical kind of feeling that guided me to know where to look and to snap.

I did realize that that feeling came upon me when I recognize and acknowledge the beauty of the spirit behind Damnoen Saduak. And no, I am not talking about things that the Winchester brothers (from Supernatural) deals with. I was just really impressed that the community in Damnoen Saduak has preserved this tradition of water as a daily transportation. Water wasn’t only a medium for them to clean or wash but they built a village on it and rely on it for their trade. I personally felt that Damnoen Saduak, as a whole community was living a godly life. They ingenuity in building the water village was a sign of gratitude to the beauty of their natural surroundings and a tribute to the greater being. (Of course that being said, there are some cases of irresponsible use of the environment. But that I would probably leave it to the experts.)

Well, in other words, when I grasps the spirit of the village and gave thanks to the beauty of it all, I found myself again. I felt gratitude and thanks-giving from the villagers and I found them in me all over again. What a relief to know that I wasn’t broken (just bent).

Thank you Damnoen Saduak. I can now learn to love again.

I always encourage them to practice in a way that will help them go back to their own tradition and get re-rooted.
– Thich Nhat Hanh, Living Buddha,

Tags: Banana, boat, color, colourful, Damnoen Saduak Floating market, floating market, Fruits, glow, hat, leading lines, life, light, monk, ripple, River, sampan, Sea, Thailand, villager, Water, Yellow

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Dec 22 2012

My 12 Best Shots.

Posted in Latest, Publication

There has been many events and obstacles that I’ve gone through this year. I will always keep the lesson I have learnt in my mind, as I am learning to become more aware towards the arts, humanity and life. There will be more things and projects to come for the upcoming year, and I pray that I will be my best in all that I venture into and for you guys as well. Love, Carlos Nizam.

Tags: action, bestfriend, Celebrity, Friend, Malaysia Japan Monkey Life Wedding, Mountain, Sport, Thailand, Woman

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Nov 26 2012

The Piano is Exploding, I Think (Sigur Ros Live In Kuala Lumpur)

Posted in Latest, Photojournalism, Publication

To those who are avid fans (or who have googled about Sigur Ros online), you would recognize that the title above was a comment by Jonsi Birgisson during Sigur Ros’s appearance at the 2008 Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. And I couldn’t agree more with what Jonsi said. Over the weekend, we had the music highlight of the year with Urbanscape 2012 at Padang Astaka Petaling Jaya, Malaysia and we had the great opportunity of having Sigur Ros blow our minds off with their great performance. I am an avid fan. I find their music soothing to my soul and I take their form of art as a muse to what I do. Bliss during the weekend. Nothing could top this music festival weekend. Though I had an eargasmic wonderful time listening to some of my favorite artist, my legs had some battle royale fun with the mud. No pain, no gain, some would say.

Quote : The music comes from a very special place deep inside the mountains of iceland
Sigur Ros – Takk (2005)

Tags: Concert, epic, kuala lumpur, live, Malaysia, Sigur Ros, tour, Urbanscape

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Nov 19 2012

Rockaway 2012

Posted in Latest, Photojournalism, Publication

How can anyone resist the opportunity to shoot his or her favorite performer that inspires him or her? I definitely would not be able to say no to such an offer and that was exactly what happened recently. I got a call from Akta Angkasa to shoot their performance during the Rockaway Festival 2012. I believe that even Akta Angkasa could detect my enthusiasm and excitement through their cellphone while telling me the details of the shoot. Yes. I was star-struck and how could a rock fan not when it comes to Akta Angkasa. They are one of the bands that take risks in making music and nothing more can be said about their stellar performance. You have to witness it for yourself. The music festival was held at the Sepang International Circuit and it was an ear-orgasm day for all rock fans out there. Besides Akta Angkasa, there were also performances by Soulfly, Unearth, MxPx All Star and Set Your Goals.

Sighs. I wish it was Rockaway Festival, everyday.

P/s : Packing up my gear for Urbanscape 2013. See you guys there.

Tags: Akta angkasa, Carlos Nizam Photography, Citizen of Ice-Cream, Concert, Hujan, Koffin Kanser, Malaysia, Max Cavalera, MxPx all-star, photography, photojournalism, Rockaway 2012, sepang, Soulfly, Sphere, The WKND session, Unearth

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Sep 16 2012

The Lazy, Crazy, Hazy Days of Summer.

Posted in Latest, Portraiture.

What do you get when you fall in love? A lot of crazy days where a haze of passion just clouds your mind and all you really want to do is to have time slow down or just stop so that you can laze around in fields of green with the one you’ve fallen in love with. Of course, the feat of trying to actually stop time has yet to be discovered unless somebody out there is keeping it a secret (which most would applaud him or her for, for such a discovery could be more of a disservice to mankind). So to really make the best out of what we have, we “stop time” by taking snapshots of that moment so that we can always either linger on a little longer in that moment or travel back in time to that emotion. For Hideto, that was what he wanted to present the apple of his eye, Shoko with. A memory immortalized to remind them of the time that they had wanted to stop and linger in more just because they were in the company of love for each other. It was an outdoor photo shoot just when summer decided to appear with warm bright days. The sun shone down on us bright and strong but I noticed the face of Hideto, who was beaming with pride and enjoying every moment spent with the one his heart calls for and nothing is more romantic than seeing a man love and care for his woman in a way where even his facial expressions fail to hide his emotions. To the lovely couple, Hideto and Shoko, it was a great opportunity to capture pure moments of just natural love and caring between the both of you. These shots are a legacy for you and us on lessons of love and thank you for sharing such a moment with us.