Nicholas Charles Coelho

When Nick first entered the Thian Hock Keng Temple in Singapore, the elevated steps forced him — like all visitors there — to lower his head and look down to show humility. For Nick, being humble and modest was easy, so he proceeded on to marvel at the Chinese architecture and how the original temple was built without a single nail. Awed by one of Singapore’s oldest Chinese temples, Nick decided to make an amateur documentary about it. Prior to that, he had made several others such as the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the Electric Buddhist Monastery in Thailand and a snapshot of life in Kuala Lumpur. Once stricken by dysentery in southern India, Nick was nursed back to health by a doctor who had built a hospital for the poor in a jungle village. In return, Nick filmed the doctor to document his work in the local community and his passion for art and music. Nick was always more comfortable behind a camera than in front of one. He loved the research, travel and production aspects of making videos and wanted to do many more in retirement from his day job as an engineer. He had the skills, schooled in broadcast communications as well as electrical, computer and video engineering. But he simply needed the time. Closer to home, in Pasadena, he would journey out on walks to the mountains of Santa Monica or San Gabriel or the desert of Anza Borrego to find inspiration for his next international project and peace of mind. The Thian Hock Keng Temple in Singapore was built for the worship of Mazu, a Taoist sea goddess. Perhaps she is guiding Nick to a safe passage. 

Some of Nick’s work can be found in the Mementos section or here: https://m.youtube.com/user/PhaseLockedLab/videos