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.

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Tuesday, October 31, 2006

the walk - car hunt

i wandered around the city and decided to do what i usually love, photography. except for the mercedez benz amg, all of the shots were taken from my 50mm 1.8 lens to see how my foot zoom will work in street photography. it's been a hard task but it's also fun and exciting too. here are some of the "usual" cars around:

porsche brothers


benz amg


hummer 3


lexus suv and bmw
discoursed by jeff @ 11:15 AM  |  3 comment(s)  |  permalink

Monday, October 30, 2006

life goes on...

first of all, i would like to thank you for the prayers and support. i have bled and suffered enough. but now, it's time to move on. i cleanse myself from grief and hatred.

i may stop my adventures here in dubai but the passion of photography will always be there. i have decided to stop my daily job and go for an indefinite leave from "normal" life. wherever my feet will take me, i'll let you know and show the world thru my lens.

as for tdc, it shall stay because these will never be erased from my memory.
discoursed by jeff @ 11:23 AM  |  4 comment(s)  |  permalink

Sunday, October 29, 2006

an open letter

Dear All,

I just want everyone to know that our marriage is a lie. I've been living in a dream world. Things were seem perfect and the reality came out from my ex-wife. I went to abroad for the reason of keeping my kids at school and let my family live a normal life. It seems to be there's another purpose, keeping me at bay to be alone and live free by herself.

She was given a CHOICE by someone of either stay in a living hell with her kids or marrying me. She had no choice but to choose the latter. I was hurt deeply by knowing this and realized the pain i bear... the good and bad memories. Sad part here was she lied before the eyes of the law, our families, friends and, most of all, to God.

Love was given a free choice, even at an expense of pain and suffering. I chose to endure this because I loved them. Now, love has taken away from me. I had no choice but to end this and there's no other reason. I've been too much forgiving in giving her freedom all time along.

My responsibility as a father will be the same providing what they need. As a husband, no more. I may forgive, but not forget. May God bless them and your prayers would be grateful.

Now, i must move on and start rebuilding my old self. Thank you for your kind consideration.

Jeffrey Permejo Vergara
discoursed by jeff @ 9:35 AM  |  21 comment(s)  |  permalink

Saturday, October 21, 2006

i . g i v e . u p . . .

discoursed by jeff @ 11:05 AM  |  2 comment(s)  |  permalink

Monday, October 16, 2006

w a n t . 2 . p l a y


shutter speed: 1/400 sec, aperture: f/3.8, iso: 200, focal length: 27mm, wb: auto, af-s nikkor 18-70mm dx, flashed fired using wire trigger to a strobe bounced on a white umbrella

"teddy needs a hug..."

pp treatment:
- cloned out the metallic wall mounts
- crf
discoursed by jeff @ 10:59 AM  |  0 comment(s)  |  permalink

Saturday, October 14, 2006

v e i l . t o . s i l e n c e


shutter speed: 1/400 sec, aperture: f/4.5, iso: 200, focal length: 70mm, wb: auto, af-s nikkor 18-70mm dx, flashed fired using wire trigger to a strobe

trish loves to show her eyes only because she's shy. i asked her to cover her face and parts of her forehead and imitated a niqab where muslim women use to wear for modesty, privacy and morality.

the light used was one sided, firing only with a strobe and light bounced to a white umbrella.
discoursed by jeff @ 8:58 AM  |  5 comment(s)  |  permalink

Friday, October 13, 2006

m a s q u e r a d e


shutter speed: 1/1250 sec, aperture: f/1.8, iso: 200, focal length: 50mm, wb: auto, nikkor 50mm f/1.8d af

"people just wear masks, letting others believe how colorful their lives must be. what's inside maybe the opposite."

one of the series modelled by trish, flight attendant and a new found friend. this was my first real deal shot with the 50mm and still practicing with it. flash was used using a strobe with umbrella.

pp treatment:
- converted raw and adjusted exposure
- added black fade from bottom
- crf

see more of her this week.
discoursed by jeff @ 1:41 PM  |  2 comment(s)  |  permalink

Monday, October 09, 2006

prime lens

prime lenses, in photography, have a fixed focal length. unlike the zoom lenses in which it has variable focal lengths, prime lenses lets you do the "foot zooming" to get the desired distance into frame. although these lenses are not much versatile, most of the prime lenses have superb sharpness and focusing. since there are few moving parts, it is also relatively cheaper in the market.

the answer to sidney's query with regards on which prime lens to get (see here), it would depend on the situation. he is usually into street photography and going to use it for portraits (he have excellent shots in his blog, very interesting!)

i made two instances with regards to focal lengths. don't mind the aperture setting because i don't have 85mm 1.8 and just imitated thru my zoom. i took this shot almost two meters from where i am sitting from and took this pabx system nearby (everybody's busy that's why i don't have a people subject).

taken from where i am sitting using 50mm f1.8, uncropped

shutter speed: 1/50 sec, aperture: f/3.5, iso: 400, focal length: 50mm, wb: auto, nikkor 50mm f/1.8d af

taken at the same distance using 70-300mm f4-5.6 set at 85mm, uncropped

shutter speed: 1/50 sec, aperture: f/4.2, iso: 400, focal length: 85mm, wb: auto, nikkor af 70-300mm f/4-5.6 g

note that the 85mm can be very persuasive for a closeup portrait from a distance. that way, it will keep the subject less intimidated and more at ease. however, doing an overhead shot, let say from a chair or ladder pointing downward, it will be a little difficult. in this case, a 50mm will suffice for that kind of situation just like what i did to mac-mac few days ago.

batang red bull

shutter speed: 1/40 sec, aperture: f/1.8, iso: 400, focal length: 50mm, wb: auto, nikkor 50mm f/1.8d af, flash fired using nikon speedlight sb-800

in conclusion, both have its pros and cons. getting a 50mm is ideal for closeup and limited spaces while the 85mm are for people who wants to keep at bay while enjoying... and that 85mm is next in my hunting list. :P
discoursed by jeff @ 8:50 AM  |  2 comment(s)  |  permalink

Thursday, October 05, 2006

a breather...

tons of work just fell on me in the office, including the clients, new and old, that i'm holding that caused a stall in my posts. not only that, gilids came in a flash which left me cutting my sleeptime to 4-5 hours everyday. but every hard work has it's price. and so i indulge myself to the rewards. :)

latest arsenal to my gear

shutter speed: 1/20 sec, aperture: f/4.5, iso: 400, focal length: 50mm, wb: auto, af-s nikkor 18-70mm dx, flashed fired using nikon speedlight sb-800

i recently added two new lenses for my gear which suitably fits my needs. the af nikkor 50mm f1.8d gives an excellent soft focusing on the background at widest aperture (1.8) which are best for close-up portraits.

50mm prime lens.. best for portraits! :)

shutter speed: 1/40 sec, aperture: f/1.8, iso: 200, focal length: 25mm, wb: auto, nikkor 50mm f/1.8d af

i also added a zoom lens (not the best though but able) which is the af zoom nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6g, good for shooting subjects at long distances. it is also ideal for my portraiture.

testing the zoom lens

shutter speed: 1/500 sec, aperture: f/7.1, iso: 200, focal length: 300mm, wb: daylight, nikkor af 70-300mm f/4-5.6 g

aside from filters attached to the new lenses, i also got an additional cf card with a capacity of 2gb and an external laptop hard disk drive for photos... a relieiving shopping spree after a hard day's work!

now, back to my regular day and night job to get the next set of gears for a fulltime photo career...
discoursed by jeff @ 7:24 PM  |  10 comment(s)  |  permalink