Out At The Beach...

It was one of those fabulous winter's days here in Kuwait. A perfect day to be out at the beach...and ..Oh! the lure of the azure!

In Search of Crowns and Pearls!

Was itching to push the camera to the edge do something strikingly spectacular. So this weekend was it. And the kitchen turned into my studio. Pulled out a black tray that I use to keep my knick knack stationery and a non-stick frying pan. Filled them with water and let some water drip from a polythene pouch hung from the top.

Put to use my new Canon 320EX Speedlight on an off-camera mode (the wireless mode is great for this). The flash was basically bounced at an angle off a white paper placed just behind the tray/pan. Then after a few almost B&W shots, pulled in a blue kitchen wipe that was lying nearby and placed it over the paper to get that blue hue!

Was myself amazed to see these images - of the beauty in the fleeting dynamics of the macro world!

Elegante Milano!

Milan...or 'Milano', as the Italians utter it with their singsong accent, does turn out to be the fashion mecca as it is reputed to be. Beautiful people whizzing about on the cute small cars, scooters and the bicycles! Unlike in the US or the Middle East, people here dont need to cruise around in the huge fuel guzzlers of SUVs or V8's to be cool or hip. These bikes which could be self-rented were on a stand at the Piazza del Duomo overlooking the endearing Duomo Cathedral. This fourth largest cathedral of the world for which construction began in 1386, supposedly took nearly six centuries to build!
Seriously contemplating on getting a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 wide angle lens which could have made such compositions even more dramatic. The actual lighting conditions were pretty uninspiring and I did not carry any flash. So the image did go through a good amount of 'correction' on photoshop. And I am failing to take any sharper pictures. Don't really know where the flaw is. Maybe it was the relatively cheaper UV filter that I was using.

Magnifique Paris

It is interesting how gothic architecture can look even more ‘gothic’ in black white! The Notre Dame Cathedral looming large over me as we were taking the mandatory Seine river cruise in Paris looks spectacular and more so at the widest focal length of my humble Tamron 18-270mm VC PZD. A real wide angle lens of around 10mm is on the wish list and I am sure that could make such shots even more dramatically spectacular.

London 2012

Must agree that the London Eye is a brilliant piece of work added into the skyline of London. Nothing like a sunny bright day around it... and just click away! Loved the cloudscapes all around Europe during the summer holidays. Adds so much drama to the pictures!

Then dusk fell ...and as if the sky went up on flames!!

@ Zafran...

Been a long long time since I had posted anything. That too none after I got my new Canon EOS 60D about four months back! An evening out at the new chic Indian restaurant 'Zafran' roused my senses and I got these shots. The food was good but the decor was even the more enticing. The noise handling is remarkably advanced with the Digic IV image processor of the 60D. Haven't yet gathered the courage (and money) to lay my hands on a real fast lens, a.k.a. F/2.8mm but my new replacement Tamron 18-270mm VC PZD is stretched to its limits and put to good use here. And these are shot handlheld!

Shooting the KPC Building

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

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!