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.

f r e e d o m

shutter speed: 1/600 sec, aperture: f/7.1, iso: 200, focal length: 18mm, wb: auto, sigma 10-20mm dc ex

release thyself from the shackles of pain and suffering.
live life to the fullest.
be free.

i'll be leaving in dubai indefinitely. i have to fix the mistakes i've done and stay in my native land (philippines) and live my life all over again. it's been a good (and bad) experience living in the sandlands and i'd say it's a wonderful rollercoaster ride.

now, i have to go adapt once again to a totally different but familiar environment. it's a matter of when will freedom last...

image crf (cropped, resized and framed) and sig only.

until then, there's no such thing as goodbyes.

discoursed by jeff @ 3:01 PM | 3 comment(s) | permalink

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

3 days to go...

...and a lot of things happened from the last 48 hours.

first off, my hostess nikki, got her gift from me as a token of appreciation in letting me squat in her hosting. in return, she gave me a new domain... jeffvergara.com. this new addy will be my portfolio site and hopefully be up and running on first quarter of 2007.

next, was the cram packing. i've been looking for a suitable box to fit my things before i leave home and still in vain. my stuffs won't fit. i also realized that i got a lot of rubbish in my stuffs when i was sorting my things out. tsk tsk.

the office btw gave me a one way ticket to manila. they're up to something but i don't mind. i'm a free man anyway. i just wished that they won't screw up my salary and vacation pay.

gilids are still coming even they know that i'm leaving...

and few minutes ago, ex just informed me that her best friend died...

discoursed by jeff @ 7:59 AM | 1 comment(s) | permalink

Saturday, November 25, 2006

f o r s a k e n - v i

shutter speed: 1/10 sec, aperture: f/4, iso: 200, focal length: 29mm, wb: auto, af-s nikkor 18-70mm dx, wireless flashed fired using nikon speedlight sb-800

llustrious.

"his ambitions made him the architect of his own demise. now, nothing is left but greed..."

another self-portrait and addition to my forsaken series. i installed the background using black cloth and blanket. using a ball night lamp with flourescent lighting, i removed the stand and installed it on the floor and lit. next was setting the wireless flash as slave and pointing towards the white ceiling to serve as fill light. last was mounted the camera on a tripod and fired via remote.

pp treatment:
- converted raw to workspace in photoshop
- converted image to bw
- added layer, blurred (6.0), softlight (40%)
- unsharp mask the original layer
- added sepia layer
- crf and sig

other info:
- iso 200
- focal length: 29mm

discoursed by jeff @ 9:56 AM | 5 comment(s) | permalink

Thursday, November 23, 2006

b u r j . i n s i d e

shutter speed: 1/50 sec, aperture: f/4.5, iso: 200, focal length: 10mm, wb: auto, sigma 10-20mm dc ex

interior of the tallest and one of the most prestigious hotel in the world.
taken from the lobby at the widest possible angle (10mm).

discoursed by jeff @ 9:39 AM | 3 comment(s) | permalink

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

the rose

shutter speed: 1/2 sec, aperture: f/5.3, iso: 200, focal length: 240mm, wb: tungsten, nikkor af 70-300mm f/4-5.6 g

we had a little hiccup in the setup last friday at the burj al arab where the giveaway bags were missing. we found out that the guys who delivered it were lost below the basement of the hotel. after inquiring some directions and assistance to the employees, we finally saw them near the flower/bouquet area. while waiting for the lift to pick them up, i saw this rosebud lying amongst the trash. the flower it seems unspoiled that i decided to pick it up and bring upstairs with me. even if i felt uninspired, i decided to take a shot to the best i could.

back in the ballroom, i placed the rose on a textured tablecloth and mounted the tripod and used a zoom lens to throw off the details of the background with flash to fill up the low-light condition.

though i was giving her flowers before even if i'm far from home, i still dedicate this rose. i gave my love to the best i could and never regretted it.

now, you said you didn't need me in your life. i guess you were right.

ps. re:loose cannon. i went into diplomacy and apologized to the guy (he's iranian btw) for being a hotheaded person and he did the same for me. everything went cool.

discoursed by jeff @ 8:50 AM | 5 comment(s) | permalink

Monday, November 20, 2006

v e r t i g o

shutter speed: 1/4 sec, aperture: f/5, iso: 200, focal length: 10mm, wb: auto, sigma 10-20mm dc ex

the rush hour along sheikh zayed road. taken from the top of our office building, i positioned the camera on the edge of the fence and guessfired. i'm really afraid of heights but i managed to peek a little for the sake of you know what.

it's an unusual day to go upstairs and look below... full frame, resized and signature only.

discoursed by jeff @ 3:23 PM | 4 comment(s) | permalink

Sunday, November 19, 2006

loose cannon

things are getting worse by the day... i had a heated argument with my colleague and almost whacked him in front of my officemates. small b told me to finish the pending job before i go on vacation else it will get delayed... but i told him that the delay wasn't mine but to the big b. i did finish the magazine (300 pages) since last week but changed his mind (big b) to add more since we have events. the events just started yesterday and small b wanted to complete it fast.

before that, he came to the office closes and started bullying others. after making fun and had enough, he went to next...then it came to me. i know that he's joking about delaying my flight but somehow i felt i've been harrassed. he accused me of not doing anything during the day except downloading stuffs and chatting instead. furthermore, he was telling it to others behind my back. that snapped me.

big b was present the whole day and saw me finishing another magazine in which i'm really having a hard time since the language is purely arabic. i did finish it but waiting for the arabic guy to proofread... when i decided to contact my friends in ym for my planned arrival.

was small b there at that time? no. does he know what i was doing? no.

i had enough of crap and politics inside office and this was the last straw for me. i maybe wrong in some way but after all these years, they've been wrong all the time. i haven't recovered yet and this made my wounds go deep...

i didn't realized what i have done till this morning and that might lose my job early and possibly revoke my perks.

i'm losing it.

discoursed by jeff @ 7:28 AM | 7 comment(s) | permalink

Saturday, November 18, 2006

truth in me

as promised, here are the answers to my "lie to me" meme:

"i bumped into photography by accident"
false. i've been fascinated by my parents' film cameras ever since i was a child. i usually loved to play with my mom's point-and-shoot whenever we went out to travel. i just got serious into digital photography when i went overseas.

"i'm not good in drawing by pen (pencil if you want) and paper"
in a freehand drawing sense, yes. although i was part of the art club during my high school years, i was never been good in freehand drawing. as long as there's an edged guide, template, or something to trace, i can handle it easily.

"just recently quit my job"
i did at least for an indefinite leave. legally, it's false.

"suplado (snob) in person"
most friends seem to tell me tend to snob whenever im outside or pass by. i maybe like that but in fact that it's either my mind is somewhere else or my contacts are fuzzy. i considered this as true.

"a quiz bee champion in during my high school days"
not much an achievement but i did prove myself that i am a geek. i surpassed my rivals when i was in sophomore in a local school event.

"certified beatles fan"
false. though they're considered one of the best and liked some of the songs, i'd go for hetfield's metallica.

"religious"
used to be. false.

"afraid of heights and flying"
true. scare the hell out of me.

"loves burger mcdo"
i'm not into fancy stuffs like caviar or steaks. a simple burger will do for me and happy with it. :)

"i'm just a jealous guy"
true. i like that lennon's song, by the way.

"wannabe artist"
true. frustated to be exact.

"kind of a person who don't want/start to end a relationship"
true. it never was me who started to breakup and end any relationships. i prefer them to say the last word.

"regretted of coming to dubai since i'll be away from my family"
true but i have no choice but to sacrifice for their sake.

"i'm fine now and i have moved on with my life"
false. i'm also human.

discoursed by jeff @ 11:28 AM | 1 comment(s) | permalink

Friday, November 17, 2006

lie to me

it's been a while since i haven't visited my favorite and friends' blogs. there were lot of changes since i left the blogosphere and last night i had the chance to read them. one interesting post was a meme which i snatched from naomi in which you must say things about yourself and include some of them as lies. the numbers in other blogs varies but i sticked to fifteen in which five of them are not true. i also based myself from the present situation (check the past posts if you're not aware).

now, it's up to you to spot which is which...here they are:

1. i bumped into photography by accident.
2. i'm not good in drawing by pen (pencil if you want) and paper.
3. just recently quit my job.
4. suplado (snob) in person.
5. a quiz bee champion in during my high school days.
6. certified beatles fan.
7. religious.
8. afraid of heights and flying.
9. loves burger mcdo.
10. i'm just a jealous guy.
11. wannabe artist.
12. kind of a person who don't want/start to end a relationship.
13. regretted of coming to dubai since i'll be away from my family.
14. i'm fine now and i have moved on with my life.
15. i love her.

the answer to this meme will be next. stay tuned.

discoursed by jeff @ 10:11 AM | 3 comment(s) | permalink

Thursday, November 16, 2006

f o r s a k e n - v

shutter speed: 1/8 sec, aperture: f/1.8, iso: 200, focal length: 50mm, wb: tungsten, nikkor 50mm f/1.8d af

the downfall.

"whoever holds the ring, makes him strong. it makes him rule in any position. without it, he's nothing."

last night, i can't concentrate to the work at hand, i decided to shoot for the fifth installment of my "forsaken". trying to avoid post-processing as possible, i experimented moving objects with low-lighting. since you will be needing a faster shutter speed for action shot such as a falling objects(1/150 sec above), this will be a problem to portray.

what will be the solution? the answer: a hair strand.

we attached the two sets of hair to the ring, one for my hand and the other to counterbalance to minimize movement during the shoot. i taped the other end of strand to the back of my palm and the other near the light source (night lamp). unable to use my right hand, i used tripod, manual focused and fired via remote. i used healing brush and clone stamp tool in photoshop to remove the hair strand seen in my palm.

discoursed by jeff @ 9:05 AM | 7 comment(s) | permalink

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

dreams of a heartbroken father

i've been haunted by past memories since the breakup even if i am awake or asleep. last night, it was unbearable to remember. trying to keep myself awake from the projects im doing, i surrender myself to go to bed early and finish the project at dawn (a fresh start to think, i guess).

the darkness went back and the past reappeared, in a hospital. i can hear the scream of my little girl, julia, near the nurses' station. she was lying down in a table where doctors are figuring out where to put on the syringe for the dextrose. the only difference in this dream was she's not a baby anymore. the doctors cannot find a suitable nerve on her arms and they've been trying to pierce her delicate skin many times. then one of the pediatricians asked me if they can try it on the leg instead.

i turned my back and there she was... silent and teary-eyed.

i looked back at the doctor and said, "do what you can do best for my daughter..." and the doctors did and little julia cried and screamed from the agony once again. "mommy! daddy!"

i can bear any nightmares on any nights whether the apocalypse, death, plane crashes or even breakups. last night was not.

discoursed by jeff @ 9:09 AM | 3 comment(s) | permalink

Saturday, November 11, 2006

zabeel night

i was able to do some long exposure shots last night with my friends on a picnic in zabeel park. we had barbecue and did a little shoot with my new lens (sigma 10-20mm). im quite happy with the results.

i apologize for blurriness of the faces... we cannot stay motionless for more than one minute of exposure. this was done on a long exposure (bulb setting). i setup the tripod and asked my friends to stay motionless as much as possible to get the clearest possible shot. i fired the camera via remote.

(download the image, right click, properties to see the exif data)

barbecue night

boy band

girl band

surreal

discoursed by jeff @ 5:20 PM | 7 comment(s) | permalink

Friday, November 10, 2006

f1 dubai

yep, one of the fastest race on earth is in dubai, right inside our room! i've bought a present for my son and tried and tested it before packing things ready for my vacation. i remember this when my dad coming from ksa giving me this kind of presents. now, it's my turn to keep the tradition. the race track is almost ten feet long!

shots were taken from my new sigma 10mm-20mm lens. i used wireless flash on the right of the image and flourescent lighting as ambient light.

the track

excited

pit stop

intense

discoursed by jeff @ 11:31 AM | 7 comment(s) | permalink

Thursday, November 09, 2006

venturing out...

let us see and taste our capabilities very soon. :)

discoursed by jeff @ 11:54 AM | 1 comment(s) | permalink

Sunday, November 05, 2006

prenup: edmund and irene

this was my first try on wedding photography. taken at the isolated beach of jebel ali, dubai. the session took only 15 minutes since the client came after work and we had to travel far to get to the location shoot... sun sets very quickly. second day of the session was taken inside zabeel park, dubai.

silhouette

sunset kiss

carry on

framed

discoursed by jeff @ 10:27 AM | 5 comment(s) | permalink

Thursday, November 02, 2006

the walk - old dubai

during the car hunt, i was able to capture some of the beautiful scenes out the scorching but bearable afternoon sun. this was the only time i've been walking to the old dubai (bur dubai) area and seeing a lot of tourists shopping and taking photos. as tourist myself, i did what i have to do but without the shopping part (no money yet). to add excitement to my depressing state, i only used my 50mm 1.8 lens and let my feet do the zooming. here are some pics...

cinderella must be having a hard time looking for the right shoe.

ahh, people in the old souk. at last, i captured it.

since bastikiya is nearby (sorry for the mispelled title below), i managed to visit the place in a five-minute walk. the municipality was trying to renovate the area when i got there but open to public. i've been here many times but tried to discover the places which are open during these timings. whenever i visited this area, it's either a holiday or evening which most of the structures are closed.

an entrance to an unknown building

from the courtyard, minaret above

the 50mm walk was fun and exciting to do. i wonder how it would look if i do portraits on a fish market with this lens? we'll see...

discoursed by jeff @ 11:19 AM | 3 comment(s) | permalink

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

f o r s a k e n - i v

shutter speed: 1/4 sec, aperture: f/2.8, iso: 200, focal length: 50mm, wb: auto, nikkor 50mm f/1.8d af, tripod mount, manual focus

"sins have been committed, i should be ashamed for the crimes which i didn't do."

self-portrait. latest addition to my forsaken series.

while puffing sticks of ciggies in the stairwell, i've noticed that i haven't tried this location for my shoot. for me, stairwells are the best places to be alone since it's the least place for human traffic (people like elevators or escalators instead). it's dark, quiet and you can hear your heartbeat if you listen closely. i stripped, put on a small blanket, setup the tripod and fired the camera via remote. the image later was adjusted thru photoshop and added textures for more "dark" feel.

i'd be hypocrite if i say i'm doing fine. thanks for viewing.

discoursed by jeff @ 9:49 AM | 3 comment(s) | permalink

The Dubai Chronicles