I sold my baby today !!!

I sold my baby Peugeot 206 CC today !!!  Although I had only owned the car for just over 4 months, it was great fun to drive with the top down during the Dubai "winter" and "spring", but the temperatures are up into the low 40°Cs already .... I am now looking for a good 4x4 to replace it, so that I can head off into the huge sand pit around here and capture some unique photographs !!!

Yet another car accident ....

For the fifth time in as many months, someone smashed into the rear of the car that I was driving, this time it was in Al Ain !!

I was on a roundabout in the far right (outside) lane heading for the next exit, when a "Chicken Hut" delivery driver raced across from the far left (inside) lane to the far right lane, to take the exit that I was just passing. 

 

He misjudged his speed and my position as he cut across two lanes into the lane that I was in, and when he hit the rear of my car, spun me around through 90 degrees. 

 It took him another 200 metres before he could finally stop his car.

Walk Now For Autism, Zabeel Park, Dubai

I photographed the "Walk For Autism" event this afternoon at Zabeel Park, Dubai ....

Hasselblad Demo !!

I went to look at and play with the latest Hasselblad medium format digital cameras today .... I had all my credit cards, cash cards and cheque books with me, but it still wasn't enough to allow me to come home with one of those beauties :-(  .... the entry level Hasselblad was on special offfer for today (with a 20% discount) at "only" Dhs. 62000 (Euro 12920 / GBP 10690 / US $ 16990) with an 80mm prime lens .... I was going to buy two (one as a backup), but they are too big and heavy to carry around everywhere with me :-)

New Web Site & Wireless Project

One of the hotels that I photographed (over nine weeks ago) has refused to pay even my booking fee, despite both frequent reminders from me and confirmations from them that the payment was being processed (and stupidly, I trusted them and handed over the high resolution retouched images, which they are now using in their marketing material). The same hotel chain is also refusing to pay my invoice for a Press Conference that I photographed for them - again, I handed over three of these retouched images to the CEO, who needed them immediately for a Press Release, and before payment the could be processed.
As a result of this, I am now building up a new web site which will include the option to purchase many of my images (including on-line via Paypal). All images can be viewed in low resolution and with a watermark, but as soon as I have received payment (in one form or another), I will release the highest resolution files without watermark protection for my client to download. I am sorry for any inconvenience or delay that this will cause for any clients that might be trustworthy, but if you have not done business with me before (or are amongst the bad payers that I have had to suffer in the last few months), I hope that you appreciate that I have to take these measures to protect my valuable time that I am currently wasting chasing after these individuals.
This new web site can be seen by clicking here. As soon as it is fully operational, I will close down my current web site and redirect the URL to this new site.

On a more positive note, I am currently investigating the possibility of controlling my camera via from software installed in my laptop. This is already working the way I wanted (with control signals being sent from the laptop to the camera, and the image being returned from the camera to the laptop), thanks to the CameraRC software .... but with the camera and laptop tethered together via a (2 metre long) USB cable, which is somewhat restrictive and dangerous. The next (and more involved) phase is to replace the USB cable with a USB wireless transmitter and receiver, which will give me an untethered range of 10 metres between the camera and laptop - I just need to construct a 5V power supply for the USB wireless unit at the camera end. The final phase of this project will be to introduce a portable (5V) wireless router, which will both significantly increase the range of the untethered link and send the images simultaneously from the camera to my iPad as well as the laptop !!!

More Blind Traffic Police / Sleep-driving in Dubai ??

Today is Friday 13th - and I have just received notice of an alleged traffic violation (driving my Chrysler Grand Voyager in the area around the Al Buhallet Tower in Jebel Ali whilst using my mobile phone) at 8:06 am on 21st February 2012. Strangely, I was in bed asleep at that time after a long night of retouching images, and I left home at 10:15 am that day in my Peugeot 206CC to deliver these images to my client (although I am still waiting for payment from the Auris Metro Central Hotel in Tecom, Dubai for this work) .... so either I was driving my Chrysler in my sleep (which would account for why I have no recollection of committing this traffic violation in an area that I have never consciously visited in my life, although equally strangely, I also have no record in my mobile phone log of any calls at that time), or both of the Traffic Enforcement Officers who "witnessed" me driving my car are blind or illiterate, having noted down the wrong number plate.

Either way, I had to pay the Dhs. 210 (US $ 55 / Euro 45 / GBP 35) fine before I could renew the annual registration on the Chrysler due in mid-May :-(

I have formally complained to the Dubai Police HQ in Dubai (and also asked them to check my mobile phone usage log with my service provider, Etisalat), but they insist that this violation is valid !!
 
Guilty even if you can prove that you are innocent, your honour .... "justice" in Dubai !!!

Christ Church, Jebel Ali / International Wheelchair Basketball Championships

Having been chosen by a bride and groom to photograph their wedding next month, I went to Christ Church in Jebel Ali today to meet the Father Steve Wright and check out the lighting in the church  ....

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 24-120mm VR f3.5-5.6 : f5.6 : 1/30" : 90mm : ISO 800: 11.04.2012 13:09:16)

.... and took this shot of a couple as they were getting married today !!!

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 : f2.8 : 1/125" : 200mm : ISO 1600: 11.04.2012 13:16:46)

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 : f2.8 : 1/250" : 200mm : ISO 1600: 11.04.2012 13:23:43)

 From the church, I drove to the Al Ahli Sports Stadium in Dubai, to photograph the finals of the 4th Fazza International Wheelchairs Basketball Championship ....

Japan were in 3rd place, and the finals were hotly contested between Australia and Oman ....

 .... with victory finally going to Australia (in the white t-shirts) !!!

Moving Window Frames Sideways

Unfortunately, only after the frame of the building opposite our flat was consructed and they started to fit the balcony windows, they noticed that the window frame wasn't centred .... so they had to cut away about 50 cm of brickwork on the left side, and add 50 cm of brickwork onto the right side !!!

At least on this window frame they cut back and stepped the new breeze blocks into the original ones, to give some rigidity and strength.

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 : f4 : 1/60" : 95mm : ISO 400: 08.04.2012 10:14:19)

Moving up one floor to the work in progress ....

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 : f5.6 : 1/125" : 200mm : ISO 400: 08.04.2012 10:11:42)

Here they didn't bother cutting steps into the old brickwork, instead just laying the new breeze blocks on top of each other ....

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 : f4 : 1/60" : 100mm : ISO 400: 08.04.2012 10:14:59)

 .... and hoping that they will be held in place against the original brickwork with this metal tie and a nail !!!

(Nikon D700 : Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 : f4 : 1/60" : 200mm : ISO 400: 08.04.2012 10:14:32)