azim.zainudin photography™

12-28-11

the best of 2011

at last, 2011 will end soon… its been a tough one for me. =/
a lot of things happened, but that’s life… its been a wonderful journey since i started travel in 2008.
3 years i have spend, a lot of money involved, and a lot of time have been sacrificed also.
insyaAllah i will keep continue doing this, after all this is what i love to do… =)
being on the road, meeting a lot people, learning about their culture and lifestyle.

these are some of my favorite from 2011 collection. =)
every picture have their own story, either its a moment, portrait or just a plain landscape picture.
hoping for a better year. 2012, please be nice to me.
maybe the last year before settle down? im not so sure. =)

all of these photos are from

- jakarta & bandung indonesia
- koh li pe island thailand
- hong kong
- macau
- bidong island malaysia
- tioman island malaysia
- penang malaysia
- cambodia
- fraser hill malaysia
- hatyai thailand
- north & south island new zealand

regards, azimzainudin.2011

08-28-11

photo documentary – ramadhan in the kingdom of wonder

Ramadhan will come to an end. soon we will be celebrating hari raya aidilfitri. 2011, was the toughest ramadhan in my life. i was in cambodia for 17 days. gaining a new experiences, learning new things every single day, getting to know my muslim brothers and sisters in cambodia.
These are some of the collection from the road less traveled cambodia – 2011. i manage to capture the activities of the muslim community here in cambodia in ramadhan. Muslim is just a small group in cambodia. u can hardly find them in other part of cambodia except in phnom penh, kampung cham and kampung chnang.

“Cambodia is a strange and beautiful land. The majority of Muslim here live in extreme poverty….. yet regardless of the hardships they face, they are perhaps the most smiley people I’ve ever met”

best regards,
azim.zainudin.

04-17-11

photo documentary – a wet new year

April is not always the cruelest month, though Thailand in April can sometimes feel that way. It’s hot, hot, and more hot that month, but a special antidote do exist. It is called Songkran, or the Water Splashing Festival. Just as the name implies, at Songkran a lot of water gets dispersed =)
Songkran is a celebration of the Thai New Year, and historically the word “Songkran” is Sanskrit, and means “passing through”. The dates used to be calculated by an astrological calendar, but are now generally set to April 13th through the 15th.

Water and Songkran is very synonym. Thais driving by in trucks dumping buckets of water on anyone in their path. Children with their water guns, drenching each other. Elephants fill their trunks and spray the crowd. In this event also occasionally chalk or talcum powder is added or mixed into the water. If you don’t want to get wet or chalky you should probably lock yourself up inside your hotel room.

Songkran is a Public Spring Cleaning Day, supported by the religious belief that anything old and useless must be thrown away or it will bring bad luck to the owner. That’s why they are using the water!
During the afternoon of the 13th, Buddha images are bathed as part of the ceremony. Young people pour scented water into the hands of elders and parents as a mark of respect while seeking the blessing of the older people. In ancient days, old people were actually given a bath and clothed in new apparel presented by the young folks as a token of respect for the New Year.

This is my first time experienced Songkran. I choose Hatyai as my destination because of the easy access (and of course because of the tight budget) If u guyz really2 want to experience Songkran, Chiang Mai and Bangkok is other destination that offer awesome celebration! This year, Bangkok celebration itself have made a new world record as the biggest water festival in earth so far! I cant imagine myself!
But Hatyai does not disappoint me. The midnight celebration was so cool and crazy! people started to get wet as early 8pm before the Songrkan day itself and party all night long non stop for 48 hours!
Seriously Thais in Hatyai really knows how to celebrate it… with a lot of fun and cool event like parade… muay thai show… concert… and the best part is the foam machine! haha!

I decided to documented this event with 100% black and white! I really dont have a fix reason… its just that i feel like BNW is perfect for this. Trillion thx to naqi for the fish eye! wohoooo!
and not to forget my travel mate man, eman n doc for this awesome trip! remember what happened in Hatyai will stay in Hatyai. lol~!

Travel tip – the most important thing… book your accommodation at least a month before event! seriously there’s no such thing as walk in as a backpackers when it comes to Songkran festival. the rate will be double! damn!
Do make a preparation to wrap up your camera if u are a photographer! using underwater casing is one of the option.
bring extra cash as backup, and enjoy the event! hehe =)

next year Songkran… Bangkok or Chiang Mai! anyone with me? =)