Tuesday 27 March 2012

Guinea pigs again !!

hhmmmm .... the 5 star hotel appreciated our feedback last week and invited us back for another two complimentary nights in their Executive Suite again .... life is tough sometimes !!

Saturday 24 March 2012

Yet Another Car Accident :-(

OK, this is becoming extremely repetitive and very annoying, but for the fourth time in only five months, another car has smashed into the back of the car that I was driving !!!

This time I was at the wheel of a one month old Mitsubishi Lancer rental car, driving down the inside (= SLOW) lane of the 10 lane wide trans-Dubai race track (officially known as the Sheikh Zayed Highway). Just before the exit sliproad that we wanted to take, all the cars in front of us braked and stopped, so I did the same. The taxi driver behind us (in the Toyota Camry, whose bonnet is firmly embedded where the boot used to be on the Lancer) also stopped ....

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f3.5 : 1/60" : 24mm : ISO 400: 24.03.2012 18:40:30)



.... but a woman from Jordan in a BMW 318i decided to break with convention (instead of with her right foot) and keep going, regardless of the row of stationary vehicles in front of her. Just after we heard her slamming hard into the rear of the taxi, the Camry was catapulted forwards into the rear of the Lancer.

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f11 : 1/60" : 24mm : ISO 400: 24.03.2012 18:42:21)
 

A BMW Mini then gently nudged the back end of its bigger brother.

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f8 : 1/60" : 24mm : ISO 400: 24.03.2012 18:45:17)


Luckily no-one was badly injured in this incident, and the only car that was undriveable was the culprit BMW.

Apologies to everyone who was late as a result of the huge traffic jam behind us, but if only people here could learn how to drive at safe speeds and keep safe distances from the vehicles in front of them, I wouldn't have so much of my life wasted with frequent waits for the Police, trips to the other motorists insurance companies, and then to and from the accident repair garages .... oh, and I could have included photographs from the Internations meeting in the spectacular Zabeel Saray hotel on Palm Island that we were heading for here instead !!!

Friday 23 March 2012

Guinea pigs in new hotel

After photographing a new 5 star hotel in Dubai, we were invited to spend one night testing all the facilities and food - all complimentary - before the hotel opens to the public. Not good for my diet, I had managed to loose 10 kg in the last 3 months, but probably gained half of that back in less than 24 hours !!

Wednesday 21 March 2012

Internations Event, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai

Another Internations meeting this evening, this time in the Uptown Bar and Terrace on the 24th floor of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai. 

(Nikon D60 : Sigma 18-200mm VR f3.5-6.3 : f4.8 : 2" : 44mm : ISO 400: 29.11.2009 19:53:44)


(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f4 : 1/30" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 21.03.2012 20:48:01)

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f4 : 1/15" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 21.03.2012 21:09:16)

 
(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f4 : 1/15" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 21.03.2012 21:14:36)


(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f5.6 : 1/15" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 21.03.2012 21:16:46)


(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f3.5 : 1/15" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 21.03.2012 21:34:49)


(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f4 : 1/15" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 21.03.2012 20:54:29)


(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f3.5 : 1/8" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 21.03.2012 21:29:14)


(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f3.5 : 1/8" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 21.03.2012 21:32:08)


(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f3.5 : 1/15" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 21.03.2012 21:54:26)


(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f3.5 : 1/8" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 21.03.2012 21:57:39)


(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f3.5 : 1/8" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 21.03.2012 22:01:35)

 
(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f3.5 : 1/8" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 21.03.2012 22:02:30)


(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f3.5 : 1/8" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 21.03.2012 22:03:20)


(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f3.5 : 1/8" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 21.03.2012 22:06:09)


(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f3.5 : 1/4" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 21.03.2012 22:29:19)


(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f3.8 : 1/15" : 32mm : ISO 3200: 21.03.2012 23:03:24)


(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f3.8 : 1/15" : 28mm : ISO 3200: 21.03.2012 23:04:00)

Saturday 17 March 2012

International Arabian Horse Championship, Dubai

Today was the finale of three days of competitions in the Dubai International Arabian Horse Championships.

The award ceremony was delayed whilst we all waited for the patron of the Dubai International Arabian Horse Championship, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum (Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance), to arrive at the Dubai Trade Centre. Also attending was his younger brother, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai), and here one of his sons is seen waiting with us too.


(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f5.6 : 1/60" : 120mm : ISO 1600: 17.03.2012 19:47:46)


 Is it just me, or do the Papparazzi seem to be getting younger every day ?!?!

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f5.6 : 1/60" : 120mm : ISO 1600: 17.03.2012 19:28:04)




See what I mean ?!?

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f5.6 : 1/60" : 120mm : ISO 1600: 17.03.2012 19:21:19)




 Why did the over-enthusiastic security guard choose exactly the moment that His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum arrived to push me backwards ?!?!  Gggrrrrr.

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f5.6 : 1/60" : 120mm : ISO 1600: 17.03.2012 19:51:59)



Although this beast has two wheels too few, at least it has a lot more than just one horse-power !!!

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f5.6 : 1/60" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 17.03.2012 19:16:14)



There is an excellent explanation of what the judges were looking for in the champion horse at http://www.diahc.ae/aboutus/thearabianhorse_en_gb.aspx.

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 : f2.8 : 1/250" : 200mm : ISO 1600: 17.03.2012 20:24:04)


 

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 : f2.8 : 1/250" : 200mm : ISO 1600: 17.03.2012 20:24:04)




(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 : f3.5 : 1/250" : 80mm : ISO 1600: 17.03.2012 20:35:51)


 

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 : f4 : 1/250" : 200mm : ISO 1600: 17.03.2012 20:37:40)




(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f8 : 1/125" : 38mm : ISO 1600: 17.03.2012 20:56:46)
 

 
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (on the right) hands over one of the prizes.

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 : f4.5 : 1/250" : 200mm : ISO 1600: 17.03.2012 20:19:44)




 His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum (on the right) hands over one of the prizes

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 : f4 : 1/250" : 125mm : ISO 1600: 17.03.2012 20:45:26)

Wednesday 14 March 2012

New Projects - Lightballs, Blog Site for Sharjah, Training Courses

As you may have noticed, I haven't been posting here much recently. In addition to my photographic work, I have decided to start three new fun projects, and these have been keeping me very busy !!!

The first project is "Lightballs" .... once I have got this technique perfected, I will start posting images here .... but basically, I am heading out to distant deserted locations in the middle of the night, and painting light balls and the surrounding scenery as I swing a torch around in circles (attached to a piece of string, with coloured filters fixed to the front of it) !!  If it isn't already, all will become clear when I post some of these images.

The second project is a new blog site that will feature events and locations worth visiting in Sharjah - http://sharjah-alive.blogspot.com/. This was motivated by so many of my friends in Dubai (and Abu Dhabi) who believe that although Sharjah is only a few kilometers away, it is beyond the known civilised world and full of evil demons and monsters. So this will be my attempt to show everyone what Sharjah has to offer, either to a potential tourist or someone who might choose to live here .... unless I get eaten by one of the many evil monsters first !!!  I already have the first 23 locations listed, as soon as I can find the time to visit and photograph them (and speaking of eating, I plan to feature restaurant reviews too).

The third project is a one-day training course in Basic Photography for beginners, which will include a lot of theoretical explanations of the technicalities required to understand different lighting situations, and will allow you to take control of your camera and switch from Automatic to Manual / Shutter / Aperture Priority modes and capture better images than you could ever imagine to be possible. My goal is to have the training course up and running by the time the temperatures outside reach 45+°C (i.e. early July), so that I can remain in a comfortable airconditioned environment during the summer heat !!!  The first course will be free-of-charge (although a small voluntary donation to a Cancer charity is requested), in order to ensure that I streamline the content with any topics that I don't need - or failed - to include .... and most of these 10 places are already booked up !!

Monday 12 March 2012

Internations Event, Ritz-Carlton Hotel, DIFC Dubai


Another Internations meeting this evening, this time on the roof terrace of the Ritz-Carlton hotel in DIFC Dubai (where they serve Erdinger Weissbier from Bavaria !!). 

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f5 : 1/40" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 12.03.2012 21:46:52)  


 

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f5 : 1/40" : 28mm : ISO 1600: 12.03.2012 21:27:30)  


Here I am with my usual rabbit-caught-in-the-car-headlamps look - this is why I always try to hide behind the camera lens !!!

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f5 : 1/40" : 29mm : ISO 1600: 12.03.2012 21:52:59)  



(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f5 : 1/40" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 12.03.2012 21:24:19)  



(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f5 : 1/40" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 12.03.2012 22:20:15) 



(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f5 : 1/40" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 12.03.2012 22:24:48) 




(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f5 : 1/40" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 12.03.2012 22:27:48) 


 

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f5 : 1/40" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 12.03.2012 22:31:55) 





(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f5 : 1/40" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 12.03.2012 22:49:49) 


 

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f5 : 1/40" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 12.03.2012 22:52:19) 


 

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f5 : 1/40" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 12.03.2012 22:53:09) 


 

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f3.8 : 1/30" : 28mm : ISO 1600: 12.03.2012 22:55:02) 


 

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f3.5 : 1/30" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 12.03.2012 22:56:58) 


 

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f3.5 : 1/30" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 12.03.2012 23:09:40) 


 

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f3.5 : 1/30" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 12.03.2012 00:14:36) 


 

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f4.5 : 1/30" : 40mm : ISO 1600: 12.03.2012 00:17:05) 


Sunday 11 March 2012

Emirates Hills Villa & Wafi Film Evening

I spent the day photographing the landscaped gardens and water  features (inside and outside) of a villa that cost over Dhs. 30 Million to build (and is estimated to be worth Dhs. 75 Million now). 

This water cascade runs from the ceiling of the second floor down into the basement !!!

(Nikon D700 : Sigma 12-24 EX f4.5-5.6 : f9 : 1/30" : 12mm : ISO 400: 11.03.2012 11:13:01)


 This fountain is in the ballroom.

(Nikon D700 : Sigma 12-24 EX f4.5-5.6 : f5 : 1/200" : 12mm : ISO 400: 11.03.2012 11:00:02)


There is a swimming pool in the basement .....

(Nikon D700 : Sigma 12-24 EX f4.5-5.6 : f6.3 : 1/30" : 12mm : ISO 800: 11.03.2012 11:23:52)


.... plus a large fitness centre, a sauna, steam room and changing rooms.

(Nikon D700 : Sigma 12-24 EX f4.5-5.6 : f7.1 : 1/25" : 18mm : ISO 800: 11.03.2012 11:32:16) 


We then joined a few other members of Internations for the outdoors film night at the Wafi Mall Rooftop Garden this evening to watch "Due Date".

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f3.5 : 1/15" : 24mm : ISO 1600: 11.03.2012 20:31:10)