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Singapore-based magazine Asian Geographic is widely known for the stunning photos viewed through the lens of people from all over Asia. Most recently, one of our very own also managed to win a coveted prize in their annual Images of Asia (IOA) photography competition!

These breathtaking photos of a young boy in Terengganu playing with buffaloes were taken by Malaysian photographer Mohd Nazri Sulaiman. The image below, titled “Sharing Emotion”, even managed to win the grand prize in IOA’s Street/People category! He was also deemed Photographer of The Year by the magazine.

The other photos also began to circulate online and Malaysians began commending the photographer for capturing such stunning images of a pure connection between a young boy and his farm animals.

Speaking to Harian Metro, the young boy in the photos named Mohd Syukur Khamis (14) couldn’t believe that his face has been seen by so many people both locally and internationally. The daily also reported that Mohd Nazri’s photo also won other international awards like the Remarkable Award at the 2018 Siena International Photography Awards in Italy.

According to Mohd Syukur, the buffaloes are reared by his father in Terengganu and he has paid frequent visits to his father’s buffalo enclosure since he was 8 years old, forming a special bond with all of the animals there.

What’s even more impressive is that all of the buffaloes and other animals in this enclosure follow the 14-year-old’s instructions faithfully, which made the photoshoot he did with Mohd Nazri run smoothly.

Some of the cows, goats and buffaloes that are especially close to Mohd Syukur are named Awang, Wahab, Saat, and Boy. These animals are reportedly so close to Mohd Syukur that they had even slept with him since he was young.

When the stunning photos of him with his beloved animals began to receive international acclaim, Mohd Syukur expressed how happy he felt when his peers and school teachers congratulated him. He told Harian Metro,

“I was not proud when the photos gained popularity, but happy because my father was always looked down upon because he rears cattle for a living. Now, I’m happy because I made my father proud and changed everyone’s perception towards his job.”

The photos received such widespread acclaim that even Federal Territories Mufti Datuk Seri Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri took to Facebook to commend Mohd Nazri for his work. A behind-the-scenes shot of the photoshoot was also shared in the comments of this post, showing the sheer scale of the work this photographer put into these photos.

Tahniah & Syabas anakanda pelajar SMK Pdg. Midin, K. Terengganu.Rasa kagum dan terpana ketika melihat gambar-gambar… Posted by Mufti Wilayah Persekutuan on Thursday, January 10, 2019

We commend Mohd Nazri’s hard work and congratulate him for all the recognition he’s getting for his amazing photos! If you want to check out more photos of Mohd Syukur and his beloved animals shot by a variety of photographers, check out this Facebook page here.

Read Harian Metro’s full interview with Mohd Syukur here. Meanwhile, be sure to check out Mohd Nazri’s Instagram to see his other stunning photos!

Also read: These are the Photos That Won a Malaysian His Award at a World Photography Competition