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.

t e c h . i d e a s

i was commissioned to do an IT conference ads for our company. instead of buying stock photos, i have decided to think of something tech but with a little taste of humor.

here are the draft ideas:

c o m m u n i c a t i o n

shutter speed: 1/80 sec, aperture: f/5.6, iso: 200, focal length: 25mm, wb: auto, af-s nikkor 18-70mm dx, kaiser 67mm uv filter, flashed fired using nikon speedlight sb-800

the idea here is to communicate in different kinds, ways and time. i gather my colleagues' mobile phones and pda and placed in the same setup as the tour.de.mouse (see below) photo and arranged the subjects almost at random.

m o u s e . m e e t i n g

shutter speed: 1/160 sec, aperture: f/4.2, iso: 200, focal length: 35mm, wb: auto, af-s nikkor 18-70mm dx, kaiser 67mm uv filter, flashed fired using nikon speedlight sb-800

"executive mice president held a meeting of IT managers to tackle the issues and how to improve their industry..."

just erased the brand names of the mice to avoid lawsuit. :P

t o u r . d e . m o u s e

shutter speed: 1/160 sec, aperture: f/6.3, iso: 200, focal length: 25mm, wb: auto, af-s nikkor 18-70mm dx, kaiser 67mm uv filter, flashed fired using nikon speedlight sb-800

this is one of the ideas (and my favorite) that i can think of... like racing through the best technology. i placed the mice in a white plastic material and fired flash towards the ceiling.

discoursed by jeff @ 11:07 AM | 5 comment(s) | permalink

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

new tricks

lillian has a few tricks up on her sleeve and it made me feel impressed. the reason i got her is due to the video capabilities. i'm nitpicky when it comes to specs and usually go for a whopping memory allowance. most of the competitive laptops i've canvassed were shared in memory between the motherboard and it's video card. she's exclusive in terms of this having an alloted 256mb on her video and 1gb for processing use of the mobo.

shutter speed: 1/8 sec, aperture: f/4, iso: 200, focal length: 18mm, wb: auto, af-s nikkor 18-70mm dx, kaiser 67mm uv filter

i decomissioned my desktop and sent back home but the case and monitor was left behind. i realized that i can use the monitor as a 2nd screen. lillian has a monitor socket that can be used for projectors and external monitors but didn't know that can be "extended" for added workspace. you can use it either as a dual screen, clone as the main desktop, and horizontal or vertical extension. since it has a dedicated video memory, i didn't worry about watching movies while doing my work on the other.

hp has a pre-installed multimedia software known as quickplay

shutter speed: 1/3 sec, aperture: f/4, iso: 200, focal length: 22mm, wb: auto, af-s nikkor 18-70mm dx, kaiser 67mm uv filter

speaking of movies, lillian was preinstalled with quickplay that serves as a media center. it can play dvd/vcds, music, photos at a click of a remote. the software can be customized in which i configure to use my favorite players on each format to suit my needs. the look of the remote is so thin that can be popped from the right side and enjoy the show from a distance.

remote in

shutter speed: 1/60 sec, aperture: f/4.5, iso: 200, focal length: 70mm, wb: auto, af-s nikkor 18-70mm dx, kaiser 67mm uv filter, flashed fired using nikon speedlight sb-800

remote out

shutter speed: 1/60 sec, aperture: f/4.2, iso: 200, focal length: 38mm, wb: auto, af-s nikkor 18-70mm dx, kaiser 67mm uv filter, flashed fired using nikon speedlight sb-800

i guess my decision in getting a nice lappie over a high-end desktop was fruitful. although upgrades are limited, the usage of this to my work/play is ideal since i'm always on the go. now, if only i can get a good bag for both nikki (my camera) and lillian...

it's hard to carry two bags! :(

discoursed by jeff @ 8:50 AM | 4 comment(s) | permalink

Sunday, September 24, 2006

c a r . w a s h . d a y

shutter speed: 1/80 sec, aperture: f/8, iso: 200, focal length: 18mm, wb: auto, af-s nikkor 18-70mm dx, kaiser 67mm uv filter, auto focus

just a lazy friday morning picked up by a fellow treklens member and showed-off his new car. this was taken in a car wash shop in satwa. i took lillian for a ride on her first day trying the wifi in a coffee shop along jumeirah road.

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

this baby is sooo cool. i'll post tomorrow her new tricks on her sleeve. :)

discoursed by jeff @ 12:41 PM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Thursday, September 21, 2006

l i l l i a n

shutter speed: 1/30 sec, aperture: f/4, iso: 200, focal length: 22mm, wb: auto, af-s nikkor 18-70mm dx, kaiser 67mm uv filter, manual focus

just sharing that i acquired a new baby. usually, i called my precious gadgets with female names just like us military flyboys or shipowners name their machineries. i just derive the brand names such as nikki (nikon) and sonia (sony ericsson). now, this hp pavilion called "lillian".

she was a product of hardwork earned most especially gained from photography. never cease to inspire and work hard to get and achieve your dreams...

...aim high, indulge the rewards.

no pp work done except sig and resizing.

see the full specs of lillian.

discoursed by jeff @ 3:08 PM | 9 comment(s) | permalink

Monday, September 18, 2006

f o u n t a i n . o f . w e a l t h

shutter speed: 1/5 sec, aperture: f/4.5, iso: 400, focal length: 18mm, wb: auto, af-s nikkor 18-70mm dx, kaiser 67mm uv filter, manual focus

taken at the entrance lobby of burj al arab.

it is one of the most expensive hotels in the world to stay in. The cost of staying in a suite begins at $1,000 per night and increases to over $15,000 per night; the royal suite is the most expensive, at $28,000 per night.

source: wikipedia

pp treatment:
- tilt correction
- crf

more of the burj al arab shots to come.

discoursed by jeff @ 11:40 AM | 1 comment(s) | permalink

Sunday, September 17, 2006

r e t r i e v a l

seagull in action.

shutter speed: 1/160 sec, aperture: f/14, iso: 100, focal length: 55mm, wb: auto, manual focus, canon eos 350d

pp treatment:
- merged three images into one and made the background seamless through clone and healing brush tool.
- adjusted levels and usm
- added line to distinguish as frame by frame shot and resized to frame

large version

i'm back with new set of postings but it will be short since i was reassigned to a new position (no adjustment in salary though..prfft). i now handle all of the company's design of print collaterals namely from stationeries, brochures, tons of letterheads, posters and others and it's a very busy task. i'm doing it by myself but in full control over everything from design to approval (of course you cannot negate the big b's divine intervention).

also, i'll be losing my ever-loving desktop since my kids will be using them. it will be shipped soon and i'll be "unplugged" from the wired world for a while...just me and my nikki around the city...

...and waiting for my new baby in a few days. :D

discoursed by jeff @ 1:38 PM | 4 comment(s) | permalink

Sunday, September 10, 2006

k e f f i y e h

shutter speed: 1/25 sec, aperture: f/5, iso: 200, focal length: 70mm, wb: auto, af-s nikkor 18-70mm dx, kaiser 67mm uv filter, manual focus, wireless flash using nikon speedlight sb-800

keffiyeh is a traditional arab headdress, made of a square of cloth ("scarf"), usually cotton, folded and wrapped in various styles around the head. it is commonly found in arid climate areas to provide protection from direct sun exposure, as well as for occasional use in protecting the mouth and eyes from blown dust and sand.

it is also became a symbol for palestinian nationalism. although this attire is usually associated with arab maculinity, this was worn by leila khaled, former member of the popular front for the liberation of palestine (pflp).

source: wikipedia

christine wearing the keffiyeh... too busy to explain (work's killing me).

discoursed by jeff @ 10:07 PM | 2 comment(s) | permalink

Friday, September 08, 2006

c h r i s t i n e

shutter speed: 1/25 sec, aperture: f/5, iso: 200, focal length: 44mm, wb: auto, af-s nikkor 18-70mm dx, kaiser 67mm uv filter, manual focus, wireless flash using nikon speedlight sb-800

i was tired from work, few friends dropped by to my place later and asked me if i can help to fix their laptop. meet christine, a filipina nurse working here in uae. tin-tin has few hours left before departure to manila for her vacation. while busy fixing the laptop, i was asked to do some portraits of them (she and her sister) and obliged since i didn't have any portfolio of them yet. though i saw signs of stress and weariness, i still went for the shoot and hopefully i could loosen them up a bit.

setup:
the models' faces are beautiful but they were conscious of their bodies. instead of the full shot, i decided to use my computer chair as props for her to cover the body. hands were also managed to conceal the upper part but show a little of the shoulders. i used wireless flash on the upper left and flourescent lighting on the lower right. the background was my usual black cloth highlighted with flourescent lighting.

pp treatment:
- removed the "stress" marks such as wrinkles, facelines, pimples and scars thru healing brush tool
- whitened the white part of the eye (20% opacity) to remove the redness
- adjusted levels, saturation
- crf

more to come...

discoursed by jeff @ 11:48 AM | 3 comment(s) | permalink

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

n i r v a n a

shutter speed: 1/800 sec, aperture: f/11, iso: 200, focal length: 35mm, wb: daylight, af-s nikkor 18-70mm dx, kaiser 67mm circular polarizing filter, manual focus

"punk is musical freedom. it's saying, doing and playing what you want. in webster's terms, 'nirvana' means freedom from pain, suffering and the external world, and that's pretty close to my definition of punk rock." - kurt cobain

pp treatment:
- converted to bw (image>mode>greyscale) then reconvert to rgb
- adjusted levels, curves
- added gradient layer on the bottom image (black to transparent)
- added noise on top layer (fill with black color, filter > noise > add noise) and change opacity to 10%
- added sepia touch (ctrl/command + u, colorize checked, adjusted to sepia tones)
- crf

my tribute to one of my favorite bands during the early 90's.

discoursed by jeff @ 2:49 PM | 4 comment(s) | permalink

Monday, September 04, 2006

h a l l u c i n a t i o n

shutter speed: 1/50 sec, aperture: f/3.5, iso: 200, focal length: 18mm, wb: cloudy, af-s nikkor 18-70mm dx, kaiser 67mm circular polarizing filter, manual focus

panorama on steroids... taken from my apartment window.

i set the camera mode to manual including the focus and white balance(cloudy). looking for a focal point (the middle building called fairmont) as reference, without moving from my position (just the upper body) i took the first shot. keep shooting in a random manner and make sure they're overlapping. after twenty shots, i finally called it as a wrap and ready for post process.

pp treatment:
- batch resizing without adjusting levels, saturation
- putting all resized images into big canvas with black background
- all layers were set to 50% opacity (see screenshot)
- transforming the image by rotating it without scaling and connecting it like a jigsaw puzzle
- it doesn't need to be perfect since the barrel distortion affects each picture
- merged all the image layers, adjusted levels, saturation
- crf

other info:
- iso 200
- focal length: 18mm
- large version here

discoursed by jeff @ 9:11 AM | 3 comment(s) | permalink

Sunday, September 03, 2006

l i g h t . p r o j e c t

l u m i n e s c e n c e (full version)

shutter speed: 20 secs, aperture: f/29, iso: 200, focal length: 50mm, wb: auto, af-s nikkor 18-70mm dx, kaiser 67mm uv filter, manual focus, tripod mount, fired via remote

"essence of light... paint with it."

feeling bored and waiting for next project, i decided to give it another try with long exposures. i setup and mounted the camera to tripod and set to 20secs with smallest opening (f29) and lit up the candle. then in total darkness i pressed the remote and used my cellphone's flashlight with red cellophane and played around with it. no further post-processing was done except resizing it to my usual frame.

i r r a d i a t e (full version)

shutter speed: 20 secs, aperture: f/29, iso: 200, focal length: 35mm, wb: auto, af-s nikkor 18-70mm dx, kaiser 67mm uv filter, manual focus, tripod mount, fired via remote

"shed rays upon the darkness. give us light."

playing with long exposures again. the setup was the same as the luminescence photo but a different approach. i tried not to move but it is hard to keep since my full arm was rotating fast. started from big circle near me then extending my arm towards the camera on a circular motion.

these shots can be achieved you have full manual capabilities to your camera and a tripod mount. if you don't have a remote, you can always go for a timer setting. keep on experimenting and have fun!

discoursed by jeff @ 10:41 AM | 6 comment(s) | permalink

Saturday, September 02, 2006

a n t i - g r a v i t y

shutter speed: 1/250 sec, aperture: f/12, iso: 200, focal length: 24mm, wb: daylight, af-s nikkor 18-70mm dx, kaiser 67mm uv filter, manual focus

"defy the rules. it's me against the world..."

there's nothing we can do really with the weather this season (summer). worse, it's high noon and the most unpleasant time to shoot. on the breakwaters of al mamzar park, i asked pabs to jump like the air jordan but improvise. well, he did in a notorious way. i stayed low to add elevation.

pp treatment:
- adjusted levels
- crf

the price of good and dynamic shots... losing my lens cap. *sigh*

discoursed by jeff @ 9:01 AM | 4 comment(s) | permalink

The Dubai Chronicles