Well the promised "full blog" approaches - and here it is. I started the week trying to think of new things to shoot and wondering if any if any of the potential bookings in the pipeline would come to anything... The weekend is nearly upon us and although some bookings have come in, the most lucrative is still in the air with little chance of resolution for at least a week... Hummmm...
So we kicked off the weekend with the apartment getting back to normal after our friends had left for the chilly UK. It was great having them here to stay - maybe I will become a tour guide?! The pictures taken during their visit are on my Face Book page - the most popular being...
Now, whilst I like this (love the colour, contrast and the sharpness) I am not sure why so many people seem to like it but hey, what do I know, I'm just the photographer...
Their departure allowed me to prepare for my new tutorial - coaching a young lady with desires to be a pro. She does have a talent, particularly when it comes to children - when she is ready to go public I will let you all know...
After the tutorial I had a meeting in Dubai to discuss a job shooting a dance recital at the end of May. This is a pretty lucrative job for me and I would love to do it - I have a test shoot next Saturday so wish me luck on that one... I also in the process of negotiating to do some real estate photography - it's all about narrow profit margins so we will just have to wait and see with that one...
And so I come to the main topic - fishermen and the ones that don't care... I know many do so it's not all of them - but some just, well get under my skin...
I went out to take some wildflower shots earlier this week, and in the process found myself down by a creek at the back of the Formula 1 track on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. It's all man made out here but I was interested in seeing mangrove starting to colonise the margins...
You can see the new plants moving in - a great example of nature taking over. However, the more I explored this area the more I became disappointed with the obvious lack of care the people who use it have for the site... For example...
Graffiti on the walls of a bridge... in English and Arabic...
Litter scattered liberally amongst the rocks forming the flood banks...
A dead fish lying in the dirt road - almost as if it had become part of the road itself. A few ants picked their way along the sand-covered flanks... and it was accompanied by the more usual jetsam of humans - cigarette ends and plastic ties... A sad end indeed.
I looked for the items that most annoy me - the ones that harm many birds and mammals each year. It took less than five minutes...
Lead weights...
And fishing hooks... both left discarded on the banks waiting for a gull, or a wader or even a feral cat to come along. I was saddened by this - the country is clean, very clean; yet where the armies of cleaners don't reach, there is no pride, only laziness... I took the line/hook/weight home - at least this one won't snag anything...
The rest of the week was spent trying out a "new" lens - one that has been in my bag for ages but not used... It has a poor reputation which is why I didn't really use it (I picked it up cheap); but I have found it excellent - really sharp and full of contrast. Take a look at these for example...
Canoe detail - Nikon D2Xs + Nikkor 28mm f2.8 AFD
I love the clarity of colours, the vibrancy and the tack-sharpness this lens gives... It will be on my camera for a while...
And this one...
I am really impressed with the contrast on this - really faithful to the scene... A much better lens than its reputation allows...
Finally, I have another booking in today - some more shots for a local school - their prospectus in fact; which should be fun (I hope) - briefing meeting set for Sunday morning. Incidently, the star pupil portraits I took have been framed and put on the wall along the main corridors... they look really good and many people have commented on them... Nice way to finish the week...
My personal favourite... Ice hockey playing brothers...
So ends the first blog in a new style - please let me know what you think - comments at the bottom of the page if you feel fit... Also keep watching on Face Book and following my tweets - and I shall see you all next week..
TTFN
So we kicked off the weekend with the apartment getting back to normal after our friends had left for the chilly UK. It was great having them here to stay - maybe I will become a tour guide?! The pictures taken during their visit are on my Face Book page - the most popular being...
Now, whilst I like this (love the colour, contrast and the sharpness) I am not sure why so many people seem to like it but hey, what do I know, I'm just the photographer...
Their departure allowed me to prepare for my new tutorial - coaching a young lady with desires to be a pro. She does have a talent, particularly when it comes to children - when she is ready to go public I will let you all know...
After the tutorial I had a meeting in Dubai to discuss a job shooting a dance recital at the end of May. This is a pretty lucrative job for me and I would love to do it - I have a test shoot next Saturday so wish me luck on that one... I also in the process of negotiating to do some real estate photography - it's all about narrow profit margins so we will just have to wait and see with that one...
And so I come to the main topic - fishermen and the ones that don't care... I know many do so it's not all of them - but some just, well get under my skin...
I went out to take some wildflower shots earlier this week, and in the process found myself down by a creek at the back of the Formula 1 track on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. It's all man made out here but I was interested in seeing mangrove starting to colonise the margins...
Graffiti on the walls of a bridge... in English and Arabic...
Litter scattered liberally amongst the rocks forming the flood banks...
I looked for the items that most annoy me - the ones that harm many birds and mammals each year. It took less than five minutes...
And fishing hooks... both left discarded on the banks waiting for a gull, or a wader or even a feral cat to come along. I was saddened by this - the country is clean, very clean; yet where the armies of cleaners don't reach, there is no pride, only laziness... I took the line/hook/weight home - at least this one won't snag anything...
The rest of the week was spent trying out a "new" lens - one that has been in my bag for ages but not used... It has a poor reputation which is why I didn't really use it (I picked it up cheap); but I have found it excellent - really sharp and full of contrast. Take a look at these for example...
I love the clarity of colours, the vibrancy and the tack-sharpness this lens gives... It will be on my camera for a while...
And this one...
I am really impressed with the contrast on this - really faithful to the scene... A much better lens than its reputation allows...
Finally, I have another booking in today - some more shots for a local school - their prospectus in fact; which should be fun (I hope) - briefing meeting set for Sunday morning. Incidently, the star pupil portraits I took have been framed and put on the wall along the main corridors... they look really good and many people have commented on them... Nice way to finish the week...
My personal favourite... Ice hockey playing brothers...
So ends the first blog in a new style - please let me know what you think - comments at the bottom of the page if you feel fit... Also keep watching on Face Book and following my tweets - and I shall see you all next week..
TTFN
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