The Dubai Chronicles: Rebirth

about dxb chronicles

The saga of Jeff living in the City of Gold. Presently living in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, unravel his journey throughout the city with memoirs and everyday life stories.

i've been bugged

shutter speed: 1/100 sec, aperture: f13, iso: 100, focal length: 55mm, manual setting

bug macro taken at the bastikaya with fellow members of treklens this morning. first time meet with eric fajut aka fadge14.

it will still be a busy weekend for me after the 5-day event, photoshoot sessions in queue plus print project from a client/colleague.

discoursed by jeff @ 12:36 PM | 2 comment(s) | permalink

Monday, May 22, 2006

simplest things

tagged by duke.

instructions: name ten (10) of life's simple pleasures that you like the most, then pick ten (10) people to do the same. try to be original and creative and not to use things that someone else has already used.

- walking in the rain
- ice cold water or beer
- having a good night's sleep
- i love you
- my kids sitting beside me
- hot shower
- being naked
- taking pictures
- sinigang
- m & m's

ten people: you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, and you...

discoursed by jeff @ 2:55 PM | 2 comment(s) | permalink

Saturday, May 20, 2006

hole

shutter speed: 1/6 sec, aperture: f/5.6, iso: 400, focal length: 18mm, timer setting using tripod

"it's been an all-time low. i've never felt this loneliness in my entire life..."

discoursed by jeff @ 9:04 AM | 4 comment(s) | permalink

Friday, May 19, 2006

third leg

got my reward from my past photoshoots. i bought this manfrotto monopod yesterday at wafi city mall around dhs250 (monopod and head included). more portable and lighter than the tripod, i've tried this baby on a nearby fashion show and worked well.

another addition to my arsenal in pursuit for a full-scale digital photography.

yipee.

discoursed by jeff @ 1:35 PM | 2 comment(s) | permalink

Thursday, May 18, 2006

moo madness

i was in the mood for cooking. the tenderloin beef we bought two nights ago was still "fresh" and decided to try salpicao for the first time. i've been a fan of that foodie since i was working at a resto management company in 2000. chef rob, the head of r&d department that time, usually treated me with beef salpicao and have seen the process of doing it.

although didn't know exactly the ingredients, i managed to experiment with the help of internet and my instincts.

here's the recipe:

1kg beef tenderloin cut into cubes
3 bulbs of garlic
3 tablespoons of olive oil
dash of salt, pepper and paprika
1/4 cup butter
2 teaspoons of oyster sauce

procedure:
toss the garlic over the heated pan with olive oil and fry to a medium heat. set aside the garlic when it turned golden brown. using the same pan and oil, add butter till it melts and toss the meat. stir the meat and add salt, pepper, and paprika till the outside looked golden brown. i cooked the beef from medium to medium-well (about 15mins). toss it back the fried garlic to the pan and add the oyster sauce. mix and wait for another five minutes then serve.

serve it with steamed rice and red wine. :)

the salpicao

shutter speed: 1/25 sec, aperture: f/4.5, iso: 200, focal length: 24mm, manual setting using flash

discoursed by jeff @ 9:33 AM | 2 comment(s) | permalink

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

sense of irony

shutter speed: 1/13 sec, aperture: f/5.6, iso: 800, focal length: 33mm, manual setting using tripod

"what do all men with power want? more power."

- the oracle, matrix reloaded

onting pose for me and played with batteries. it reminded me of the matrix trilogy. converted to bw due to noise. i forgot to set my iso setting that time.

discoursed by jeff @ 10:00 AM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

booty call

using an internal flash on a digital camera is very difficult especially for product and macro shots. it washes out (too much bright) the subject. with the departure of my flashgun, i searched thru the internet for a solution. i got it from sxc and one of the members posted a tutorial for an alternative.

the softener

shutter speed: 1/20 sec, aperture: f/2.8, iso: 800, focal length: unknown, auto focus using sony ericsson k750i camera phone

based on the tutorial, i made a cone-shaped funnel from an a-4 sized paper, taped it and put tissue paper on the wide end. i put my subjects on white background with flourescent lighting. i put the lights close as i could since our room was quite dark and it helped to reduce shadows when flash was fired.

in the making

shutter speed: 1/20 sec, aperture: f/2.8, iso: 800, focal length: unknown, auto focus using sony ericsson k750i camera phone

as for shooting, i went to prone position since tripod is too high for the shot. i put pillow underneath not just only for comfort but as a little elevation and steady ground for the session. here's the outcome:

final product

shutter speed: 1/15 sec, aperture: f/5.6, iso: 800, focal length: 33mm, manual setting using internal flash

see the large version on treklens.

i would like to thank onting, my roomie, who assisted me in doing this little project plus the camera phone we used. thanks buddy.

discoursed by jeff @ 9:27 AM | 4 comment(s) | permalink

Saturday, May 13, 2006

ap - s n o b

shutter speed: 1/80 sec, aperture: f/5.6, iso: 200, focal length: 280mm, manual setting using ef 75-300 f/4-5.6 iii lens

bob the mountain cat was doing his catnap during my visit there, unmindful of the visitors watching him. the position he had is the same but i wanted to take a photo of bob with his eyes opened. putting my lenses closer to the wirecage, i snapped my fingers and whistled just to wake him up and get his attention in which it went according to plan and snapped this shot.

no pp work done except resizing it to frame.

discoursed by jeff @ 8:38 AM | 5 comment(s) | permalink

Thursday, May 11, 2006

ap - h o r n y

shutter speed: 1/250 sec, aperture: f/5.6, iso: 200, focal length: 255mm, manual setting using ef 75-300 f/4-5.6 iii lens firing built-in flash

"i'm horny. i'm horny, horny, horny tonight..."

pp talk:
- adjusted levels, saturation
- tilted and adjusted to frame
- sig and submitted

discoursed by jeff @ 9:28 AM | 4 comment(s) | permalink

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

ap - s t a r t l e d

shutter speed: 1/200 sec, aperture: f/5.6, iso: 200, focal length: 300mm, manual setting using ef 75-300 f/4-5.6 iii lens

"at first, kumar enjoyed the luxury of living in a solitary confinement. they feed him like a king but they isolate him with his kind. he didn't realized this and he was exploited. a celebrity prisoner."

meet the tiger, one of the residents of dubai zoo. it is the oldest zoo of its kind not only in the uae but also in the arabian peninsula. unfortunately, the animals there are unhappy and bored due to lacking space and not suited for their environment. the government are doing the relocation and redevelopment of the zoo in the near future, allowing animals to live in areas designed to be as similar to their natural environment as possible.

the cages, uneven shadows and uneasy movement of the tiger made it difficult for me to get a clear shot.

pp talk:
- adjusted levels, saturation
- sharpened 1 click
- resized to frame, sig and submitted

discoursed by jeff @ 10:26 AM | 4 comment(s) | permalink

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

ap - j e a l o u s

shutter speed: 1/40 sec, aperture: f/4.5, iso: 200, focal length: 75mm, manual setting using ef 75-300 f/4-5.6 iii lens

"roger had a crush on polly the moment he have seen her. as he watched from the other side of her flat, he saw the romance of polly and her boyfriend thru the window. feeling hurt, he turned his back and ate his rations after a long-time wait."

taken from the dubai zoo last weekend. i've been careless in not knowing the what type of species... just taking photos was my aim. taking shots is difficult because of the barriers, glass and cages that obstructs the subject. i took my chances by using a zoom lens and tried to move closer to the wire mesh of the cage in order "to eliminate" the focus concentrating only on the subject on the far side.

pp talk:
- autoleveled (ctrl+shift+l) and adjusted saturation
- resized to frame, sig and submitted

discoursed by jeff @ 8:34 AM | 4 comment(s) | permalink

Monday, May 08, 2006

ap - l o n e l y

shutter speed: 1/80 sec, aperture: f/5.6, iso: 400, focal length: 155mm, manual setting using ef 75-300 f/4-5.6 iii lens

"mimi thought of commiting suicide by plunging herself to the sea. tom just left her for another furry and sexy feline. she can't bear any longer..."

taken from the breakwaters of jumeirah open beach while waiting for the sunset. stray cats such as these lurks under the rocks for confinement. i've seen only two. the other left the scene probably looked for something to eat.

no other pp work done except resizing it to frame.

discoursed by jeff @ 8:41 AM | 3 comment(s) | permalink

Sunday, May 07, 2006

ap - s a s s y

shutter speed: 1/640 sec, aperture: f/5.6, iso: 100, focal length: 55mm, manual setting

this would be the first of animal portraits for this week. i portrayed them as people for their emotions they show.

meet moo, the camel (sorry i have to name something) i've stumbled upon the heritage village in bur dubai. he/she is enjoying and relaxing the sands and the rays of the warm sun.

no pp work done except resizing it to frame

discoursed by jeff @ 1:10 PM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Friday, May 05, 2006

latest acquisition

shutter speed: 1/15 sec, aperture: f/4.5, iso: 400, focal length: 18mm, manual setting

i'm addicted to electronics especially computers and i'm craving for this in months. this dvd-r/rw drive will suffice in reducing my clutter in my hard drive of pics, p**n and other valuable documents. this cost me less than the actual price sticked on the box. i got it for dhs160.

now, i have to look for a 8.5gb dvds to burn my photos.

discoursed by jeff @ 8:49 PM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

vespa

shutter speed: 1/250 sec, aperture: f/11, iso: 100, focal length: 27mm, manual setting

one of my dream scooters, the vespa, parked near our office along sheikh zayed road. it's still included in my wishlist. :)

pp talk:
- duplicate layer and desaturated it
- open layer mask and erased the bike part
- adjusted levels of desaturated layer

discoursed by jeff @ 11:14 AM | 5 comment(s) | permalink

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

a slice of luxury

shutter speed: 1/800 sec, aperture: f/7.1, iso: 100, focal length: 18mm, manual setting

burj al arab, one of the finest hotels in the world situated on an artificial island in the persian gulf, 280 meters away from the jumeirah coastline. it stands at 321 meters tall and currently the tallest hotel in the world.

the helipad on the top right became a playground for celebrities wherein tiger woods used it as a tee-off for driving range practice and tennis court for superstars' andre agassi and roger federer.

it characterized as a 7-star hotel and staying in the most expensive suites for $15,000 / night. for tourists and non-guests, entrance fee will be dhs200.

and i got in for free... many times. :) taken at the entrance during a conference there.

no pp work done except cropping and resizing it to frame.

discoursed by jeff @ 1:29 PM | 2 comment(s) | permalink

The Dubai Chronicles