Changing Lanes

My CC had once tried to surprise me on my birthday. The idea failed miserably due to the failure on the part of our (then) common friend Ash and a sloppy execution. Then last year Begg and Biela tried to surprise me a day before my birthday and failed because it was obvious to me what they were up to. I’m not easy to surprise or so I thought.

After a not so exciting birthday, I drudged along to pick up NA a day after for a meeting. We drove to Capri Italian Grill (located near the Trade Centre metro station) to discuss details regarding my photography brand over dinner. On entering the restaurant I asked the waiter for a table for two but NA jumped in and said we didn’t need one as we made our way to a table hidden in a corner that had three people already seated i.e. SJ, Dots and Nizam. As SJ later pointed out, the look on my face was priceless; a mix of embarrassment and surprise. A decent meal followed by a birthday cake that was devoured by me. A dark chocolate mousse from Pascal Tepper that would melt away in your mouth leaving an after taste that would last for several minutes. Delicious...

In my defense, I blame the extremely stressed/lack of sleep state I've been in for my downfall... (>_<) On a side note: I’m glad the waiter/s didn’t break into a birthday song when they placed the cake on our table. That would be highly embarrassing...

Had completely forgotten about the Solar Eclipse today so with a last minute reminder from SJ, I managed to capture this. Luckily it was cloudy which made my shot more interesting and easier to take. Shot this through two tinted windows of my house to reduce light along with a circular polarizer to reduce light further by a stop and to reduce reflections/doubles (slightly visible) created by the windows.

Perhaps the best sunset picture I took in 2010. The reflection adds a whole new dimension to this scene, something I've shot a million times before. A custom white balance to get the purple tone with a bucket full of contrast to get the silhouettes.

Location number one from my gruesome trip. These are mangroves somewhere near Madinat Zayed in the western region of Abu Dhabi. Now I have two shots of the same mangrove and I can't decide which one I like best so would appreciate some feedback. FYI both shots are HDRs.

I don't know how long I'll manage to keep my blood shot eyes open. I've spent 17 hours covering over 800 kilometers today with SJ taking around 1,200 pictures in total; from panoramas to 9 shot HDRs. I am beyond tired but I'm stone cold high (read: freaking excited) over the pictures we took and the places we went. This has been by far the most gruesome outing I've had with SJ. We literally sleep-drove ourselves back home.....Teaser -  below - see - elaborate - later!! ZZZzzzzzzzzzz.......

As ranted earlier; according to the bill my camera is out of warranty. But surprisingly (and unquestionably) according to the Canon online records, it is still under warranty. So the service centre has to fix or replace my camera for no extra charges. It’s going to take them 8-10 days to get back to me on this and I suppose another few weeks for them to hand mine back or a new camera over to me. This is me being optimistic because last time I had something fixed from them; it had taken them 3 months to give the item back and I’m not the only one who’s had such an experience. The evident incompetence on the service centre’s part is highly unprofessional and harmful to brand Canon. Unfortunately even with consumer rights, we have no rights so like every other person who is at their mercy, I shall wait for the buffoons to work out what’s wrong with the camera and then take some more time to figure out how to fix or replace it. Sigh!!

Anyway till then, I’ll be shooting with the ancient 5D that belongs to SJ as she recently bought a new camera i.e. the 5D MKII; being the full frame snob she is and therefore doesn’t need this camera. I’ve always been part of the ‘full frame is over rated’ crowd because of the hype that surrounds it though unlike wannabe experts my reasoning is totally in line to what the facts are being the photography geek I am (Oh the modesty!!). That doesn’t mean I’m a full frame hater because to me, it does have its advantages like for example the shallow dept of field. Love the bokeh you’re able to achieve with such a sensor and being the bokeh addict I am, I’m loving it!!

Even though I don't like the way this car looks, it sounds like a beast which put a huge grin on my face. This might possibly be the only Lexus model I like even though I still dislike the normal IS.