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.

migrate and prenup

i've been experiencing server problems with my blog that i had to migrate my files earlier than expected. temporarily, i transferred my files to my new hosting which the layout and engine will be resolved later on.

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now back to topic, it was a great opportunity for my colleague to his upcoming wedding that we covered their prenup for free. the only thing that hinders this shoot was his fiancee were too shy. and so i let them simmer for a while im far away and used a zoom lens for the occasion.

discoursed by jeff @ 8:40 AM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Monday, March 26, 2007

uptown mirdif

waking early at six on friday, we headed to mirdif and visited a newly constructed place called uptown. since we got there too early, the shops were still closed and became a great opportunity for us to take snaps before the presence of human traffic increased.

european style apartments

f5.6, 1/640sec, 10mm, iso200, cloudy

just another quiet fountain

f5.6, 1/160sec, 105mm, iso200, cloudy

pisser's eye view

f8, 1/60sec, 12mm, iso200, cloudy

desaturation

before the guards caught our attention and told us to ask permission to the administration (too late for him), i was able to mount my tripod and made a panoramic shot using a wide angle lens.

f5.6, 1/500sec, 20mm, iso200, cloudy, tripod mount (large version)

what i forgot about it was wide angle focal lengths distorts the frame no and only small portion of the midsection of each shot can be used. to get the ideal panorama with less correction and easier stitch, usually it goes at 50mm.

instead of stitching it, i did my previous experiment wherein i combined all most of the shots and connecting it by lowering each of the layer's opacity to 50% using photoshop. i used the ground level as the guide for "merging" later on i desaturated the leftmost part from zero and increasing the saturation level by 20% each frame up to mid. finally i merged all layers and added the vignette around the edges for mood and the usual sig.

next up, colleague's prenup

discoursed by jeff @ 8:02 AM | 9 comment(s) | permalink

Sunday, March 25, 2007

e-e-e-e

it was another busy day-off for me and finally finished the freelance projects before the start of the weekend. here's the recap...

emergency

the client's emergency call... few minutes before the big night

f4, 1/8sec, iso1600, 10mm, tungsten

we were called by the two clients on the same evening on different locations. one was revising the presentation and the other was the animation. we were lucky that the vicinities of the clients are not far away from each other.

expedition

f5.6, 1/125sec, iso200, 210mm, cloudy

the usual friday morning call from fellow photo enthusiasts (addictus) and ventured forth and discovered a new place in mirdif. i made another experimental panorama around the place and prenup portraits. breakfast at the lime tree afterwards.

experimentation

f11, 6secs, iso100, 14mm, tungsten

ed and i switched cameras and i tried his nikon d80 with the same settings as nikki (my d70s). he was having a hard time getting the right mix with his camera and asked to try mine. we later went out in the evening in the busy 2nd interchange road and in the construction area near burj dubai.

evaluation

f5.6, 1/320sec, iso200, 170mm, cloudy

then it was another adventure of the weekend wherein i was asked by pabs to accompany him and try out his new camera (another d80). we visited the gold suoq and busy naif area, crossed the creek thru abra, met another addictus and went for another street spree at bur dubai.

last but not the least, i got a new gizmo that solved all my hard disk space problems. i named her "wanda" to accompany "lillian." :P

discoursed by jeff @ 7:26 AM | 1 comment(s) | permalink

Saturday, March 24, 2007

dream lagoon

dream lagoon is an expedition yacht made by atb shipyards. i dont know the main specs but from the photos i've taken, it has four rooms, a lounge and living area in the midsection. two rooms for crew and another small cabin for guest/captain, kitchen, laundry and mess area in the galley. finally, the bridge, dining area, sunbathing area at the upper deck.

by the entrance, an outdoor lounge

from "bow" where bridge and sunbeds can be seen

dining and barbecue area on the upperdeck

the living room

one of the four big rooms on the middle deck

the captain can relax on the upperdeck as well...

one of the two rooms for the crew

mess area for the crew

i wonder how much this boat would cost... by the looks of it, it's much more expensive than the previous adventures.

discoursed by jeff @ 7:22 AM | 0 comment(s) | permalink

Thursday, March 22, 2007

compact comfort

i got curious in checking what's inside the boats and how did they fit almost the essentials when out to the sea. looking into it, taking snaps of boat interiors were very hard. you have to use either fill flash, or mount your cam on a tripod/monopod. an ultra-wide angle or fisheye lens is essential for these.

from the bridge

and going down inside

who could imagine that luxurious looking room could be this small sport yacht?

it looks deceiving from the outside. :)

small or big, im still struck-awed into the interiors... some rooms are much bigger than my apartment flat! (umm quite exaggerating? but that's a fact...) here's another from a 70-footer green boat. from the outside, it looked like an oversized powerboat but from the inside... it looked like a dream home to me.

main bedroom

living room

dining

the bridge

no wonder these toys are expensive! next, dream lagoon...

discoursed by jeff @ 3:52 PM | 4 comment(s) | permalink

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

d i b s

we were invited to see the last day of the dubai international boat show (dibs) by a fellow photographer and friend. with no time to lose, we hurriedly to al mina seyahi to the last minute and gave us complimentary tickets. :) the usual entry price is dhs35 (usd10).

we have no real purpose there but to snoop around (and of course shoot) since we don't know anything about boats. i recently discovered that some of these floaters have fancy interiors, looking like you're staying in a hotel or lush home in a restricted space. they also showcased equipments, gears, engines, and other boat related construction (docks, jetties, etc.)

we got there almost sunset and the weather's not good that time... we hurriedly to the docks instead of browsing the exhibition halls. some of the shots:

showcased sport yachts

f7.1, 1/80sec, 10mm, iso400

normal parking lot at the marina

f4.5, 1/320sec, 14mm, iso400

"motorbikes"

f4.8, 1/60sec, 14mm, iso200

purple speedie (looks like a coffin isn't it?)

f5, 1/160sec, 14mm, iso400

next, inside look of boats.

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someone nominated this blog (yeah this one!) and became one of the finalists, photoblog category at the philippine blog awards 2007.

thanks for the support and visit... and i'll whack whoever nominated this site again.

discoursed by jeff @ 8:25 AM | 4 comment(s) | permalink

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

szr morning fire

f8, 1/160sec, 20mm, iso200 (large version)

i still have morning glory in my eyes when i saw this scenario. i quickly grabbed my gear shoot from our apartment window. few moments later, i washed my face, get dressed and ran to the scene... the construction of a building is on fire!

zoom view

f8, 1/125sec, 300mm, iso200 (large version)

20 minutes later...

f8, 1/250sec, 10mm, iso200 (large version)

wide angle view

f8, 1/250sec, 10mm, iso200 (large version)

blazing

f8, 1/200sec, 120mm, iso200 (large version)

mixed-up traffic

f8, 1/125sec, 70mm, iso200 (large version)

the aftermath

f8, 1/250sec, 180mm, iso200 (large version)

the news of the day. now back to work...

discoursed by jeff @ 8:24 AM | 11 comment(s) | permalink

Monday, March 19, 2007

portrait light painting

do you want some eerie portraits? candid shots are usually fun but you can do it in a darker mood and setting. this can be done indoors or outdoors with no or very less lighting. i put off a dark blanket as backdrop and prefocused the cam to the subject and turned off the lights and set the cam to bulb setting, mounted the camera on a tripod. this can also be done on a timer mode with longer shutter speeds (usually 25secs)...

...then flash the subject with a flashlight. i asked the model to keep still for a few seconds and "painted" him by lighting him and surrounding areas in strokes (just like brushing in a canvass). this was the outcome:

keep the subject still

f8, 25secs, 50mm, iso200 (large image)

next was making the subject more eerie by allowing him to turn his head back and forth. i told him to stay still for 15secs while im painting him then asked him to move back and forth for a secs more. this is the result:

ask the subject to move for an eerie effect

f8, 48secs, 50mm, iso200 (large image)

changing the white balance settings (set to cloudy for warm colors)

f14, 45secs, 50mm, iso200 (large image)

you can play around with movements and lighting techniques as well. just keep on experimenting! :)

behind the scenes

unknown exif (sucky vga camphone..hehe)

discoursed by jeff @ 12:37 PM | 4 comment(s) | permalink

Thursday, March 15, 2007

szr @ night

walking from office to home with a full battle gear (laptop, lenses, tripod, etc.), i managed to take a few snaps only due to back-breaking burden im having. i was supposed to venture from trade center up to shangri-la but i have to stay put to one spot... the day job has already drained my energy.

the images were only resized and sig except the third pic which im trying to crop it into square on how it looked like. what do you think? well here they are...

f22, 20secs, 14mm, iso200

f22, 40secs, 20mm, iso200

f22, 11secs, 14mm, iso200

all were taken last night at about 7pm along sheikh zayed road.

next, portraiture with light painting...

discoursed by jeff @ 12:49 PM | 3 comment(s) | permalink

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

unrevealed beauty

f2.8, 1/40sec, 50mm, iso200, flash fired

we had an impromptu workshop last weekend and i was invited to shoot with fellow femme photo enthusiasts. i didn't realize that i am going to conduct one (together with japs) with "revealing" poses that they (and i) like! whewwww....

with the request of not posting their faces, i post this back shot of the model. i particularly fond with this shot due the contrast of her skin tone to the denim, its proportions and the cute tattoo.

it's been a pleasure sharing and enjoying the few moments with you guys. (you know who you are..hehe.)

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also, i transferred my jeffvergara.com to a new hosting we bought and hopefully launch my personal portfolio site. tdc will be moving as soon as the migration is finished.

next, nightscapes. :)

discoursed by jeff @ 8:19 AM | 10 comment(s) | permalink

Sunday, March 11, 2007

night drive

another impromptu experiment, we went outside to play with movement shots during at night. on our way to the airport to take our friend's luggage for early check-in, i asked my friend to let me mount the tripod in the front passenger seat. i asked her not to minimize her movements since it's going to be a long exposure shots. wide angle lens was the choice and set the camera to bulb setting and fired via remote.

some pointers when taking this experiment:
- clean your windows as much as possible
- mount the tripod firmly and make sure it doesn't obstruct the driver's movements and view (ie. side mirror, stickshift, etc.)
- always, always fasten your seatbelt even you're just a passenger
- don't show what you've taken during the trip...it will distract the driver
- ask your driver to switch lanes, go for tunnels, underpasses, etc. for dynamic movement
- enjoy the ride

no further pp done to the images except resizing and sig.

our driver of the night

f14, 14secs, 10mm, iso200

front view

f14, 7secs, 10mm, iso200

rear window view

f14, 18secs, 20mm, iso200

swerving and turning to curves

f14, 27secs, 10mm, iso200

night shot of dubai international airport

f14, 6secs, 20mm, iso200

discoursed by jeff @ 1:25 PM | 5 comment(s) | permalink

Saturday, March 10, 2007

beach party

taking the usual streetwalk during fridays, i managed to attend to a birthday picnic/swim party of a friend in jumeirah beach park. accompanying my roommate to get a taste of swim in the beach of sandlands, it's gonna be his first (after two years) and last (going home to philippines for good).

the water is freakin' cold even the sun is already streaking and we were trembling... we managed only a few minutes and we did the rest of the day either eating or taking snaps.

where's the food?! we're hungry!

f4.5, 1/320, 12mm, iso200

onting finally got a taste of beach

f9, 1/1200sec, 70mm, iso200

the celebrant and the cake

f2.8, 1/1000sec, 50mm, iso200

the local band

f5, 1/160sec, 95mm, iso200

pursuit of happyness - beach edition

f9, 1/500sec, 112mm, iso200

the traditional group hug

f5.6, 1/500sec, 12mm, iso200, flash fired

after the party, my hands got itchy and got a new audio speakers for lillian (my laptop). it didn't stop there... i did also a night photo experiment in a car and met a new (and sexy) friend...

stay tuned.

discoursed by jeff @ 3:10 PM | 2 comment(s) | permalink

Thursday, March 08, 2007

h a p p y n e s s

download the large version (800x600)

finally, i was able to watch the movie "pursuit of happyness" non-stop with having no glitches. the effect of watching thru pirated stuffs make you want to watch it more. still having the hangover of chris gardner's (starred by will smith) life story, i got inspired from this movie. while waiting for the barrage of work and instead of doing nothing, i got time to practice my designing by putting a rubik's cube as symbol and related to movie.

im not going to discuss about the movie itself but somehow it goes similar with my life(though mine's not that complicated). all of us have one goal and that goal is to make us everybody happy. no matter how hard life it is, if you have patience, determination and courage... you'll get what you want to achieve.

if you gonna ask me now if i'm happy? yes i am. :P

discoursed by jeff @ 12:43 PM | 3 comment(s) | permalink

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

l i g h t

without it, there's no photography because they heavily rely on even at a small fraction of it... we can either use natural source such as the sun and the brightness of the moon or we can do it artificially.

here are some shots i took when i was on vacation in manila.

natural light

f1.8, 1/60sec, 50mm, iso400

one of my "godsons" during the outreach with the streetkids, we found a rusty and old galvanazid roofing in the alleyway and used it as a background. the only light source was from the entranceway and i asked my subject to position sideways. no further pp treatment done except crf, sig.

silhouette using studio light

f13, 1/100sec, 105mm, iso200

margaret is an aspiring model-to-be. we're having an x-deal shoot between her manager and hobbyists to take a photo of their model aspirants in return for their photos as portfolio and practice. having the usual standard flat lighting, this was accidental. only one strobe flashed due to sequence firing of my fellow photographers. it didnt recycle in time but eventually i liked the silhouette effect. i enhance further using photoshop.

creative lighting system (wireless flashes)

f18, 1/250sec, 50mm, iso200

it was an outreach program event when chris got his carplate removed for illegal parking. with the help of the authorities, he got his plate back and we got a chance to do a little workshop using cls (creative lighting system). using two speedlights and set to slaves, we positioned the flashes on top and below him pointing towards the head. setting the camera on commander mode, we take the shot. image undergone minimal post processing (resize, sig).

long exposures

f11, 60secs, 16mm, iso200

this was taken during the first day of world pyro olympics in manila. while waiting for the barrage, my colleague, ricky played around with a flashlight where he's sitting on while the moon is in full view. i pp-ed the image later on by using selective desaturation (converting certain parts to black and white). the movements of clouds and silhouetted figures are unedited.

discoursed by jeff @ 7:58 AM | 1 comment(s) | permalink

Monday, March 05, 2007

manny

i recently included "manny" in my arsenal. a tough brute, he can hold nikki(my camera) anytime even in an uncertain positions. you can make him high, spread his legs, turn him upside down, tiptoe... almost anything. his head can spin at any angle with an ease of your grip to his "neck"...

finally, i introduce to you my new manfrotto 550b tripod and 322rc2 heavy duty grip ballhead

hooo-wee! now i can do long exposure shots with relative ease.

discoursed by jeff @ 8:36 AM | 2 comment(s) | permalink

Saturday, March 03, 2007

hitched

doing it as a usual habit, we went out again and this time we scouted an industrial area in al quoz for a glamour shoot. unfortunately, the lebanese photographer-model didn't showed up. luckily, one of our female photog friends is sport enough to be a model... here's some.

hitchhiker

industrial setting

behind the scenes

the usual trademark...the jump

i can't get out of the haywire of work and more projects came (which is good!) that almost killed my blogtime. i try to keep myself afloat for a while and post from time to time and hopefully i will launch my new site this month...

time will tell, dude.

discoursed by jeff @ 12:44 PM | 3 comment(s) | permalink

The Dubai Chronicles