Changing Lanes

After a very long time I'm spending over 10 minutes editing a picture & enjoying it.

Also this is the first time I've used a picture of mine as a wallpaper on my phone which might seem like a minuscule thing but for me it's huge because it means I won't get bored/critical of it any time soon meaning I'm quite satisfied with the end result. (^_^)


Camera Model : Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Shooting Date/Time : 20/12/2012 12:00:32 PM
Tv(Shutter Speed) : 1/30
Av(Aperture Value) : f4.0
Metering Mode : Centre-weighted average
ISO Speed : 640
Lens : EF 24-105mm f4 IS L
Focal Length : 24mm

After a very long time I'm happy with my pictures from a shoot. This turned out to be my favourite from all of them. :)

Camera Model : Canon EOS 7D
Shooting Date/Time : 15/07/2012 08:36:56 PM
Tv(Shutter Speed) : 1/20
Av(Aperture Value) : f1.8
Metering Mode : Pattern
ISO Speed : 200
Lens : EF 85mm f1.8
Focal Length : 85mm

There are two kinds of breakdowns in my opinion. One where you scream out loud in desperation and fall into a pool of tears while the second is when you have an internal meltdown with a smile plastered on your face. The second one is the one that freaks me out. As the penguins would say... 'Just smile and wave boys, smile and wave...'

Anyway on topic. SJ bought a Canon EF 24mm 3.5 TS-E lens a month or so back and I've got one thing to say about it...LOVE IT!!! I haven’t been shooting much for myself which is evident from the missing photo posts on this blog and my photo specific tumblr blog so it was refreshing to see myself up and running thanks to the lens immense learning curve.

I’ve learned photography through constant trial and error so this lens is perfect for the photo geek in me. It constantly allows and expects me to tinker with what I shoot and how I compose it while throwing a curveball in the form of its ability to Tilt and Shift which in layman’s terms means AWESOMENESS. I haven’t had this amount of fun for a very long time which is quite surprising. I did buy myself a Canon EF 135mm f2 at the same time with SJ which happened to be on my wish list but I didn’t enjoy it as much.

Anyway two images I shot in the last two days which I adore to bits. Not the best display of the prowess of this lens but I don’t care as I like them… (^_^)

A teaser from the eventual time-lapse me and SJ are working on.
Camera Model : Canon EOS 7D
Shooting Date/Time : 15/06/2011 22:39
Tv(Shutter Speed) : 1/200
Av(Aperture Value) : f5.6
Metering Mode : Pattern
ISO Speed : 100
Lens : EF 600mm f4 L IS
Focal Length : 600mm

As summer barbeques its way into our lives, we believed that our Friday cricket days were over. But that hasn’t been the case due to the passion some of us have towards the sport. With some smart changes to the rules, we’ve been able to shorten the number of hours we spend under the sun which has greatly helped the less passionate to convince themselves to turn up. Unfortunately sooner or later the heat will become unbearable and we will end the season (to restart a new one in September) but before that we are headed to the Zabeel Park cricket field; think concrete pitch and grass. It will be the perfect end to what has been a brilliant season with over 40 people being involved at some point or another. Skadoosh!
Camera Model : Canon EOS 60D
Shooting Date/Time : 10/06/2011 07:03:12
Tv(Shutter Speed) : 1/800
Av(Aperture Value) : f6.3
Metering Mode : Pattern
ISO Speed : 200
Lens : EF-S 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS
Focal Length : 18mm

Camera Model : Canon EOS 7D
Shooting Date/Time : 23/05/2011 17:58:17
Tv(Shutter Speed) : 1/4 | 1/15 | 1/60
Av(Aperture Value) : f5
Metering Mode : Pattern
ISO Speed : 400
Lens : EF 16-35mm f2.8 L
Focal Length : 35mm

I showed SJ one of the pictures today and she seemed quite proud of my effort which I think is a good thing cause she's the architectural photography wiz... (^_^)

This is what happened.....

"Al Tayer Motors, the Ferrari and Maserati dealer for the UAE, has re-opened their Dubai showroom after an extensive refurbishment and expansion. It was unveiled during a media event last week."

And this is what I was doing...... ^_^
Camera Model : Canon EOS 7D
Shooting Date/Time : 27/04/2011 12:18:28  |  12:19:06  |  12:19:52
Tv(Shutter Speed) : 1/200  |  1/100  |  1/160
Av(Aperture Value) : f8
Metering Mode : Center-weighted
ISO Speed : 400
Lens : Samyang 8mm f3.5 fisheye
Focal Length : 8mm

Firefly to me and a few other million people is the name of a television series created by writer/director Joss Whedon who I first came across while watching ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and ‘Angel’ on TV ages ago (I was in school then). I got hold of the series for my sister about 2 years back because she’s a huge sci-fi fan. Being a bit of a sci-fi fan myself, I’ve seen the series a couple of times and the movie called ‘Serenity’ that is based on the series numerous numbers of times. Love the characters, the concept, dialogues, the ship…basically the whole execution. The series didn’t last beyond its first season due to low rating and poor decisions.

Anyway back to the reason of this blog post, here is Firefly….an energy drink sold at Starbucks…. (O_O)
Camera Model : Canon EOS 7D
Shooting Date/Time : 24/04/2011 20:42:00
Tv(Shutter Speed) : 1/60
Av(Aperture Value) : f1.8
Metering Mode : Center-weighted
ISO Speed : 1800
Lens : Sigma 24mm f1.8
Focal Length : 24mm

I was half expecting to end up with cramps by the end of it but surprisingly I felt perfectly fine. I even wanted to walk back but due to other commitments via SJ, had to hitch a ride with her. I might weigh more but I am indeed as fit as I was before if not fitter. This feels good. ^_^

I broke my lens. The fishy eyed one. It has been improved upon. SJ wants to buy it. I think I'll make a profit. So I’m happy. Plus I got this shot to boot so I’m not complaining!! (^_^)
Camera Model : Canon EOS 7D
Shooting Date/Time : 10/04/2011
Tv(Shutter Speed) : 1min
Av(Aperture Value) : f8
Metering Mode : Spot
ISO Speed : 100
Lens : Samyang 8mm fisheye
Focal Length : 8mm

Like most Indians, my Dad is a colossal cricket fan. He loved playing the game (when younger) and loves watching it especially if it has anything to do with the Indian national cricket team. As some of you may not know, the Cricket World cup started last month with a lot of publicity with some nail bitingly close initial matches that made my dad’s heart beat and interest skyrocket (not that it wasn’t already up there somewhere).

Then in the beginning of this month, my parents decided to take a trip to India for a month where we don’t have a TV which meant missing out on the World Cup. Now you need to remember that my dad’s very passionate about cricket; so much that he bought a Sony bravia LCD to take with him. He got a cable connection in 3 days and now is apparently spending most of his lazy hours in front of the box while I’m here watching the matches on our ancient (read: 9 years old) unknown brand Flat Screen CRT TV. So not fair.... -_-

To add to my annoyance, my dad tried to get tickets to the final as he’d be in the same city (read: Bombay) as the venue for the final but the mighty useless BCCI failed him by only selling 4,000 tickets to the general public which seem to be sold out or in access to people with sufficient contacts. Putting all that aside, I think this might possibly be my dad’s favorite India trip and for that I’m glad.... ^_^

Talking about the World Cup, we have now reached the Quarter Final stage with Pakistan thrashing West Indies in the first one today. Pakistan propelled by the success of their bowlers (specifically Shahid Afridi) has become one of the favorites to lift the cup. To commemorate that, here’s Humungousaur doing the Afridi pose after he takes a wicket.
Camera Model : Canon EOS 7D
Shooting Date/Time : 23/03/2011 04:47:42 PM
Tv(Shutter Speed) : 1/250
Av(Aperture Value) : f13
Metering Mode : Spot
ISO Speed : 100
Lens : Sigma 24mm f1.8
Focal Length : 24mm

For the people unfamiliar, Humungousaur is a Ben 10: Alien force character. This is my first major Lego purchase to basically make my niece happy because she adores the Ben 10 cartoon a lot. Being the bullying niece she is, she wants the whole range now which is going to burn a huge hole in my pocket cause the local prices for Lego toys is three times the prices in the US. I’m trying to get the toys shipped now, let’s see how that works out for me. -_-

Today a new chapter of my life begins; we shall call it “The Lego”. High hopes for a celebratory beginning is dashed when I end up with “Gorilla suit Guy” as my first ever Lego. Not the prettiest one though rather ironic cause I’m called Mowgli by my best friend for my hyper monkey (read: parkour) behavior. If you didn’t know, Mowgli is a human child character that first made its appearance in Rudyard Kipling’s short story “In the Rukh” but made famous by Disney’s animated film “The jungle book”.

Oh and to add more to it, I’m also called “Bandar” by a few other friends which in monkey in Hindi. So seeing that it just makes perfect sense; this Lego minifigure shall be called Mowgli. Time to hand him over to my niece to fiddle with before she gets her hands on the real Lego toy…. ^_^
Camera Model : Canon EOS 5D MKII
Shooting Date/Time : 18/03/2011 00:17:15
Tv(Shutter Speed) : 1/100
Av(Aperture Value) : f2.8
Metering Mode : Spot
ISO Speed : 800
Lens : Sigma 105mm macro
Focal Length : 105mm

The day started at 7:45am as me and SJ made our way to the other side of town i.e. Barsha to pick up WS, sad and wifey (faz). WS was asleep while the couple was delayed (they were coming from Al Ain) so we detoured to a car wash to clean the dusty X-trail that we’d borrowed from SJ’s uncle the previous night from Abu Dhabi. We headed out at 9am to the Ras Al Khaimah – Musandam border via Emirates road. We got there at 11am after a tedious drive on the supposedly new highway through the desert without getting lost even though we didn’t have a map.

At the UAE side of the border, we were informed that SJ couldn’t travel into Oman because she wasn’t with her sponsor i.e. her dad even though we had a NOC letter just in case such a situation popped up. Slightly dejected, we decided to check out the breakwater near the border because we’d seen relatively large (compared to Dubai) waves crashing into it. We snapped pictures, got wet, relaxed and basically had a nice time on the rocks enjoying the beautiful weather and view.
We left at 1pm after SJ was done chasing a cow and a goat and entered RAK to have lunch i.e. KFC as demanded by everyone because once upon a time my parents used to drive all the way to RAK to have KFC because it was the only one in the UAE or something like that. Unhealthy lunch done with, after a vote between mountains or water with water winning, we drove back towards Dubai via the old more scenic highway looking for a patch of beach to chill on. Instead I decided to look for Jazirat Al Hamra (click here for more information) which I conveniently found. This is supposedly a photographer’s paradise which obviously led to me and SJ going a little mad.
Spent an hour or so there as the others got a little tired of walking around. Back on the highway in search of water, we ended up on the beach right at the border between RAK and Umm Al Quwain. Saved two starfish (hopefully), squished squishy looking watery things, SJ got very wet, took funny pictures, walked some more and made a happy face.
On to the marsh land somewhere near Ajman where a draft of cold wind made it uncomfortable for everyone else (I had my trusted sweater) which left me disappointed as I wanted to stick around there for sunset. Then into Ajman city where being the tourist guide I am, I took the winding city route via the corniche where on the Sharjah side we saw the boats (click here for more information). Weaving through Sharjah traffic on a squealing happy X-trail was a bit of a challenge but we managed to get back to the other side of town to drop the others without much car drama. It was 8pm by then which was earlier then we’d expected so SJ and I decided to drive to Abu Dhabi to give the X-trail back. We got back home at 12pm with me snoozing in the passenger seat. ^_^

Moving on, most people know I'm a sucker for shallow dept of field and bokeh. I try to slip it in even when I'm shooting for a client just to make life a little more likable.

Last weekend I was asked to photograph half a dozen musicians on Al Seef Street in Bur Dubai. With no crowd in sight and a lack of any substantial branding, most of my time was spent photographing only the musicians. After the initial experimenting with bounce light, I started looking for creative ways to do my job. I started by focusing on the instrument or the hands instead of the face which is a cliché way to do things but it was progress. In the process of doing that, I realized I could use the lights hanging from the shade to add colour to my pictures and to make my bokeh a lot more interesting...
Camera Model : Canon 5D MKII
Shooting Date/Time : 16/2/2011 19:04/20:55 PM
Tv(Shutter Speed) : 1/100
Av(Aperture Value) : f2.8
Metering Mode : Evaluative
ISO Speed : 1600
Lens : Sigma 70-200mm f2.8
Focal Length : 200/159mm

Love the results as it makes the picture more than just a point and shoot effort. I had to get down on the floor and shoot up which was a piece of cake though I ended up attracting more attention than the musicians themselves which was kind of sad but this is how Dubai works oddly. In the end, I’m proud of myself for taking it further... *pats self on the back* ^_^

One a side note, I wonder what was up with the east european/russion companion. At least that's what it looked like...though I may be mistaken (not!!).