Dawn

Shooting the KPC Building

2012-01-20T02:09:00.001-08:00

Been a long time since the last post. I was planning to upload these shots that I had taken around the the Head Quarters of the Kuwait Petroleum Coporation (KPC) as a part of a photo workshop last summer. It was pretty hot and balmy that afternoon and moving around the huge complex and shooting was quite demanding physically too! It was a good idea to have carried the polariser filter. Guess it has done a decent job with the sky and the glass.

Looks like lately its a shift to architecture photography as can been seen with most of the stuff I have put up here. Really wished could get some real critique from some real players in the game or some pros. Really don't know if these are good enough.

Photographing Architecture: The Museum of Islamic Art, Doha

2010-11-30T11:15:00.000-08:00

Photographing architecture is yet another area of specialization in photography. The Museum of Islamic Art at Doha, Qatar does seem to be an interesting piece of Architecture to raise the creative energies in a photographer. It’s interesting how the creative genius of an architect generates and can culminate into yet more expressions in photographs. Tried my hand at this aspect of photography here. Of course, with no formal training whatsoever.

The museum is an interesting piece of architecture designed by the renowned Chinese American architect I.M. Pei, coaxed out of retirement at 91, to work on this project (petrodollars??). The museum houses some of the rarest and precious pieces of Islamic art from across the world, including India.

Wonder what a pro might have to say about these shots!

Guitars!

2010-08-27T07:41:00.000-07:00

Guitars have always been a part of my life. The association with the six strings has seen me through the thick and thin of life. No matter however little I may have excelled at performing with it, the guitar has helped me gather friends, sail through the 'ragging' period in college with relative ease, getting invited to parties where lesser mortals like me would have been forgotten about otherwise and of course, the opportunity to play with a band which actually 'got paid' for its performances! Picture above was taken at the store 'Guitar Center' in Las Vegas.

The one below was taken at a rather a unusually decorated Ozzy store 'Kosmic Sound' in Perth.

But the fascination with this instrument for an enthusiast does not remain to playing and listening. The myriad models of the guitar out there in the market is simply mind blowing! As a matter of fact merely learning about and following the numerous styles, makes, 'editions', technologies, etc. of the instrument in itself can be an engrossing past time or hobby. And only a genuine enthusiast and connoisseur can understand the value of a $25,000 Eddie Van Halen Frankenstein replica or a $17,000 Fender Custom Shop Stevie Ray Vaughan Lenny Tribute Stratocaster (one of which I could touch at a Las Vegas 'Guitar Center'!)

There is even a parallel art form of making miniature scale replicas of guitars which are interesting collectors' items for guitarists as well as non-guitarist enthusiasts. The pictures below are of such beautiful and spectacular hand made scale models of various 'famous' models and 'editions' of guitars at one of those colourful 'bazaars' in Fremantle, Perth Australia.

The little girl in the frame will give you an idea of the scale of the miniature replica guitars.

Smart Young City on Gas-Lift – Doha, Qatar

2010-04-13T12:12:00.000-07:00

In petroleum engineering parlance gas-lift is a method of lifting oil from wells which do not have enough natural pressure in the oil bearing reservoir to bring it to surface.

Doha, the capital city of Qatar has risen from the Arabian desert sands bolstered by a skyrocketing economy driven by revenues from the huge natural gas reserves. It’s a brand new city with strange and spectacular skyscrapers that are products of the imaginations of the haute architects of the modern world.

And as with the rest of the Arabian countries of the gulf, the traditional ethos yet survive amongst the rising steel and concrete edifices.

The Waqif Souk is an interesting place to spend some of your time in Doha. You can soak in the traditional flavour of an Arabian 'souk' or bazaar, browsing through the little souvenir shops, lazying in one of the cafetarias or have a nice meal in one of the upmarket restaurants. No matter how hip or modern the inside of these places are, the facades are done up in the very traditional aesthetics.

Jal Tarang: Music from Water

2009-11-07T01:33:00.001-08:00

That's the Jal Tarang. An ancient Indian concussion instrument comprising of a set of porcelain or bronze bowls (cups) of different sizes filled with water (coloured spectacularly here). The set consists of 15 or 22 bowls (cups), mostly only china bowls as preferred by artistes today. Water is poured into the cups and the pitch is changed by adjusting the volume of water in the cup. The number of cups depends on the melody being played. The bowls mostly are arranged in a half-circle in front of the player who can reach them all easily. The player softly hits the cups with a wooden stick on the border to get the sound.

Must be quite a task to tune this instrument!

This was in a Mumbai mall on Indian Independence Day 2009 and I was perched up in a higher floor to catch that 'top view'.

Las Vegas Surprises

2009-08-28T13:51:00.000-07:00

In this age of Information Revolution it’s easy to become a ‘Mr. or Ms. Know-it-all’. You just have to spend some time on the internet and you can almost be there even before you are anywhere near it. Be it Youtube, Wikipedia, Googlemaps, or any such website, they can feed you with almost anything you want to know about a place. These days with the streetview option in googlemaps you can even take a virtual ride along almost any street in the developed world, specially the USA. So, well, almost nothing remains unknown when it comes to travelling to a new destination.
Yet Las Vegas surprises. Inspite of having heard, read, surfed so much about this place, it still held me in awe.

The Little Mermaid

2009-08-19T00:09:00.000-07:00

From The Little Mermaid show at Disney Hollywood, Orlando. A lovely stage show with spectaular 4D effects. Flash photography was not allowed and so put my SLR to good use! I have often noticed that good stage shows can be photographed pretty effectively with high ISO settings (800-1600) with little loss of resolution. Guess this is mainly because of the high intensity stage lightings used. And even though I was seated at least 50 meters away from the stage and had to zoom-in quite a bit, I was more than happy with the results here!

Life Is A Highway...

2009-08-18T11:29:00.000-07:00

The highways in the USA is a different world altogether. And for these truckers the highway is life. It was great to see this foundation of the US economy...I mean the highway system.

Tickin' Away

2009-05-29T12:52:00.000-07:00

Time, the most ruthless of all. Never stops for anyone - ever.But again, also the greatest healer of all...

Our Petunias On A Rainy Day

2009-04-03T00:50:00.001-07:00

The chill that descended with the rains reminds me so much of Shillong...

Ikea Kuwait in HDR

2009-03-27T04:30:00.000-07:00

Would love to create more of such images. It's an HDR created on Photomatix.

Barbie Turns 50

2009-03-08T07:33:00.000-07:00

The almost eternal companion of the young girl, Barbie, turns 50 today. And she remains so eternally young and attractive! The picture is taken at a beauty pageant hosted by my six year old daughter. But just have a closer look. You will find a 'browner' Barbie taking the limelight. And why not? The the world is getting flatter (ref: Thomas Friedman's "The World is Flat") and with the power shift from the West to the East this is very well expected anyways!

National Day Colors - Kuwait

2009-03-02T07:56:00.001-08:00

Auspicious Metaphors...

2009-02-14T01:02:00.001-08:00

Emirates Palace - Abu Dhabi

2009-01-05T08:15:00.002-08:00

The Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. Quite a symbol of Arab Opulence. Built at a cost of $ 3 Billion, the Palace occupies 850,000m² of floor space. Underground parking allows housing for 2,500 vehicles. Built as a Palace but now converted to a super luxury hotel. Wonder if I can ever make it to stay there...

This picture below is of the lobby area and if you look at it twice you will find it a bit surreal! You can see the elaborate ceiling and the reception counter on the same plane! Well actually, I did some 'photostitching', i.e., put together about 5 pictures to create it! I so wanted to capture the whole ambience out there!
Most digital cameras come with some or the other 'photostitching' software these days. Of course, you can use one of those wide angle or 'fish eye' lenses. But again they have their limitations too.

The 'Mekhala Chador' Comes of Age

2008-12-01T10:56:00.000-08:00

During the last trip home it was a pleasant surprise to see the new avatar of the Assamese ‘Mekhala Chador’, the two piece form of the saree. It was in the newly done up silk store of ‘Silkalay’ in Guwahati, Assam that I came across these lovely new designs of the Mekhala Chadors put up in a very professional display on mannequins.
The unique blend of the traditional and modern made out of the finest Assamese silks of ‘Mugaa’ and ‘Paat’ is indeed impressive and will go a long way in preserving the affinity for this ancient attire even among the younger generations.

Okay, okay, I will try to get hold of some lovely live models to do the shots next time!

Xewali (Night Jasmine)

2008-11-09T08:52:00.000-08:00

The 'Xewali' or 'Parijat' or The Night Jasmine... I wished I could write in Assamese to express the divine enchantment this fragrant flower brings with the onset of winter in Assam. The private ritual of the ladies of the household to pick up the dew soaked foliage and bringing then into the home in the morning for offering the deities or merely for the fragrance is something which, I am sure, every Assamese holds close to his/her heart.
Folklore and mythology has it that this is one the five divine flowers brought into the earth from the gardens of King Indra of the heavens and believed to be eternally so pure that it can be offered to the deities even if fallen to the grounds. No wonder, it has been inspiration to so many a poets and lyricists in Assam and around.

'Bokakhator Puri' - Simply Irresistible!

2008-11-09T08:35:00.000-08:00

Any feeling of extreme urge to splurge on this exquisite cuisine (sic) is purely intentional. I am sure, dead sure that 90% of Assamese or residents of Assam simply cant resist this!
This 'puri' and watery potato curry served with a chilly chutney served in a particular non-descript restaurant on banana leaves in the town of Bokakhat in Assam is an irresistible favourite of any traveller passing by.

My Fender Stratocaster

2008-09-06T01:02:00.000-07:00

The iconic Fender Stratocaster electric guitar. Signature companions of legends like Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Mark Knopfler, Robert Cray, David Gilmour and so many others. A dream possession of every guitarist. I too have one. So what if it's just a miniature replica! Anyways, was never that good a guitarist to own one. Nor that rich to buy one just for the heck of it!

Lure of the Azure

2008-08-30T12:38:00.000-07:00

The love of the seas is enduring in Kuwait. Pearl diving and sea trade with the ‘dhows’, as the traditional wooden ships are called here, were central to the Kuwaiti way of life. Those were the difficult yet adventurous ways of life here before oil. But the lure of marine life survives in the contemporary ways among the young Kuwaitis though not particularly for any commercial purposes.

Dashing young dudes with the coolest hairstyles and worked out bodies whizzing about in the seas on jet skis or sailing into the horizon on the snazzy modern yachts with all the paraphernalia like GPS navigation systems, entertainment gizmos, angling gear and other cool stuff I may not even have an inkling of!

And contrary to popular beliefs, you can even find girls speeding away on these mean jet skis.

The slightly older generations are ardent fishing aficionados and good at that too. Like, I saw this gentleman on the marina at the Khiran Resort waiting patiently with a bare fishing line (without a rod) and pulling out that wriggling silver prize, and the pride showed!

My Experiments with HDR

2008-08-25T10:45:00.000-07:00

My first HDR images for you.

High Dynamic Range (HDR), as it is called, is a new technique in photography which can create outstanding images by merging multiple images of a photograph taken at different exposure settings. The resulting images reproduce a very high range of tonality and detail.
Generally while taking a picture with a very high range of lighting and illumination, it is extremely difficult to capture all the details as the highly illuminated highlights may get burnt out (washed out) due to over-exposure while the darker details of the shadows may remain under-exposed. So to get over this dilemma we can take the photograph with at least three different exposure settings to capture maximum illumination and lighting detail in three different images. These different images can then be merged with HDR software to create a resulting image reproducing maximum tonal range and detail.

The best thing about this technique is that we can create images closest to the resolution of the human eye in terms of response to light and may be even beyond. On the other side, with the liberties of creative expression of the modern day, one can take it to extremes and result in creations of very surreal and ‘ghostly’ images. Some artists also create images that have an interestingly peculiar painting-like effect.

"Camera Writing"

2008-07-16T04:21:00.000-07:00

While sitting in a restaurant, waiting for the orders to arrive, I came upon this idea of writing and drawing with my camera. Set my camera to very low shutter speeds of 3-5 seconds and moved the camera in small shapes as I snapped away at the coloured lights on the ceiling of the restaurant. Frankly speaking, the results were pretty amusing! As I kept repeating the thing, I could already feel myself getting a better control on the images and even started writing words!

Till the time I have posted this on my blog I am not aware if anybody else has ever tried something like this anywhere else. Neither have I googled about it yet. Nonetheless, it feels pretty good to have ‘discovered’ such an amusing form of photography.

Simply put, the practice is quite like moving a plain paper against a stationary pen to draw or write. And interestingly enough, the results are actually inverted – you just need to rotate them 180 degrees around!

And mind you, just plain old photography here. No digital manipulation whatsoever!

Learning to 'Photoshop'

2008-06-14T00:37:00.000-07:00

Images like this one always impressed me and often wondered how difficult it might be. But now that I have started exploring Photoshop, it all seems so easy and simple. Its amazing how the entire intensive concept of developing and processsing photographic films in darkrooms and labs have been simplified into one 'little' software. This indeed gives you an immense sense of freedom and control over your images.

The plethora of learning material on the internet and specially on the modern day cult of 'youtube' makes it possible to learn it all - sitting right here at home.

Picturesque Silk Shop

2008-04-14T08:57:00.000-07:00

Here are a few images from a beautiful silk and souvenir shop in Bursa city of Turkey. The whole place is done up so quaintly and the colours were so pleasant that I had to share them with you.

The rooster and the hen pictures were an interesting way to mark the washrooms for gents and ladies!

Turkish Delights

2008-04-09T11:49:00.001-07:00

Istanbul… amazing Istanbul, erstwhile Constantinople. The colours, the sights and the people! Indeed a cauldron of cultural confluence. Crossroads of religions, continents and races. Capital of the Byzantine, then the Romans and then The Ottoman Turks. A confident civilization, teeming with national pride. Stylish beautiful people. Asian flavours in an European atmosphere.

The ‘Cay’ (Chai or Tea), Turkish Coffee, Kebabs, ‘Raki’ (local alcoholic beverage), ‘Mezze’ (Turkish appetizers). Turkish carpets (remember flying carpets?) and silk from Bursa. Beautiful, mesmerizing, graceful Turkish Belly Dancers. The legacy of the legendary ‘Rumi’ and the whirling Dervishes…and the list goes on.

The whitish beverage in the picture is ‘Raki’, the customary local alcoholic beverage, an anise-flavoured apéritif. (anise: Indian-‘saunf’). You can also see people holding little glasses of 'Cay' in the background.
This guy, a waiter in this hip ‘Turquoise’ restaurant, in serving a kebab dish prepared sealed in an earthen pot which is broken open in front of the diners and served. Mmmm...Delicious and spectacular!

Seagulls over the Bosphorus

2008-04-05T06:07:00.000-07:00

The ferry boat ride to the Princess Islands from Istanbul through the Bosphorus Strait into the Sea of Marmara is a spectacular one. The sights of the Istanbul City and its major monuments from the sea and the beautiful views of the islands as you approach them is simply unforgettable. And the seagulls! They follow the ferryboats in huge droves! And the reason? Passengers of these ferries toss pieces of bread at them and enjoy watching them catch the pieces of bread mid-air.

It was exciting to watch these birds swoop down and catch the food mid-air and sometimes even picking them up from the open palms!

The Artificial Intelligence Focus system in my Canon EOS 400D did a real good job in keeping the focus steadfast and gave me unexpectedly good firm shots of the birds.

Contrail

2008-02-17T11:00:00.001-08:00

Contrails or vapor trails are condensation trails and artificial cirrus clouds made by the exhaust of aircraft engines or wingtip vortices which precipitate a stream of tiny ice crystals in moist, frigid upper air. Being composed of water, the visible white streams are not, in and of themselves, air pollution. However, vapour trails or contrails generated by engine exhaust are inevitably linked with typical fuel combustion pollutants.

The main products of hydrocarbon fuel combustion are carbon dioxide and water vapor. At high altitudes this water vapor emerges into a cold environment, and the local increase in water vapor can push the water content of the air past saturation point. The vapor then condenses into tiny water droplets and/or deposits into ice. These millions of tiny water droplets and/or ice crystals form the vapour trail or contrails.
(courtesy: Wikipedia)

Was fortunate to capture this on a clear bue sky. When the trail is far away in the sky, can be mistaken for some kind of UFO stuff!

Dubai

2008-01-16T12:17:00.000-08:00

Burj Al-Arab, Dubai – probably one of the most photographed manmade structures of the modern world and a symbol of Arab opulence. Could not help but put my budding photographic skills to test. The night time low light conditions seem to have caught on my fancy. Maybe the greater challenges involved makes it more exciting.

The desert safari, a modern day concept of negotiating desert lands on 4X4 automobiles. Also called ‘Dune Bashing’, this exhilarating adventure of riding up and down sand dunes brings in unusual moments of thrill amongst the otherwise barren desert lands. It was difficult to photograph considering the fact that I was getting thrown all around inside the 4X4 all the while! Truly, it’s been quite a journey for mankind from the desert safaris of crossing hundreds of miles of deserts merely on camels to these modern day beasts of burden – the 4X4’s!

At one of the stops there was this interesting little desert lizard posing so smartly for all of us to take its pictures!

Go Shwarma!

2008-01-04T03:43:00.000-08:00

'Shwarma' or 'Shawarma', a very common snack seen and eaten around all over the middle east. The tower of chicken meat rotating against a heater is a common sight in the road-side eateries and restaurants. The chicken is shredded and wrapped in flat wheat bread(like 'rotis', also called 'Khabutz' around these places) with vegetables, potato fingers etc. Quite cheap and delicious!

Kuwait Cityscapes

2007-12-28T09:32:00.000-08:00

Some amazing cityscapes can be seen out there in Kuwait. Mainly along the seaside where most of the landmarks are built. The Liberation tower and the Kuwait Towers stand out among the highrises as the national landmarks. If you look closely at the horizon seen in the picture of the Marina with the boats, both these landmarks can be seen (lucky that my lens was wide enough at 18mm). The pictures of the Liberation tower were taken in a cold wintry evening from the seaside near the KPC corporate headquarters in Kuwait City. Had to clone out lot of specks on the pictures created by the splashes of sea water landing on the lens.

Muscat

2007-12-16T09:21:00.000-08:00

Capital of Oman, an unusual departure from the concrete jungles growing at frantic pace everywhere else in the Middle East. There seems to be an apparent endeavor by the Omanis to conserve a pristine way of life without overwhelming the beauty of nature. There is no indiscriminate construction of high rises and almost all buildings and houses are predominantly painted in various shades of white, which as a mater of fact even reflects the austerity and warmth of the Omanis.

This is one of those rare places where expatriates always have a word of praise and appreciation for the natives.

Oman is supposed to be a paradise for geologists because of the ubiquitous geological outcrops which also form amazing backdrops to the city of Muscat. These are basically subsurface geological stratifications exposed in almost mountainous dimensions. These are formed by tectonic plates striking each other in this area over millions of years.

Being a traditionally seafaring community most of the hustle and bustle of the city is along the coastline. One can also find some of the most scenic and unexploited beaches here nestled among the reefs. The sea waters here are teeming with life and one can enjoy the sights of marine life in trips on boats of various types. Sights of the ‘spinning’ dolphins, orcas, seagulls and many others can make for some very mesmerizing experiences off the shores of Muscat.

The Shangri-La Barr Al-Jissah Resort and Spa is an outstanding beach resort located in one of the most amazing locations in Muscat. A few shots below through my lenses.

All this and the thriving business associated with the oil and gas industry attracts numerous visitors, for business and tourism alike, to this quaint little city of the Middle East.

Exploring the visual world

2007-11-24T07:52:00.000-08:00

Got hold of a real SLR in 1998, a Nikon FM10. The next graduation took place only this year (April 2007) to a Canon EOS 400D, a dream come true. So doing my best to push the 400D, my imaginations and creative instincts to their limits.

Sunrise

2007-11-13T11:57:00.000-08:00

A beginning. After being a netizen for about a decade and exploring literally all the horizons of the internet it had become pertinent to graduate to this next, more meaningful, frontier - 'blogging'. So, blogworld, here I come!