The Dubai Chronicles

Monday, December 31, 2007

2007 year-end report

another year has come to an end and it was a renaissance for me with a lot of first-time experiences this 2007. let's take a recap:

manila. i extended my stay there and made arrangements after the marriage breakdown. still undecided, i went for a photo spree to the places i've never seen such as corregidor island and wawa, montalban. i had an opportunity to do a little charity work at sampaloc street kids eb, covering my "children of manila" series, and portrait/studio sessions. after a month, i decided to go back to dubai and settled.

career. though after years of living in an unconditional state, i finally became a resident of uae. it has kept secret for years and there's no reason to hide it anymore. current work is still stable at the moment.

photography. it was a major breakthrough having opportunities to meet new faces and the network was extended rapidly. the passion became addiction that even the one of the most expensive hobbies were fuelled with provisions. this year, i acquired one of my dream lenses, the longnose and other photographic-related equipment such as manny, vertex 200aw bag, accessories and filters.

timelapse and jumping shots became my trademark.

mideast snipers. it was a simple, usual weekend photo treks. then it grew and became a grand eyeball. during these events, it always have sniper shots (taking a photo of a photographer in action). as a co-organizer and founder, we decided to formalize the group. coming from different affiliations and professions. mideast snipers was born.

friends. you win some, you lose some... but i gained more this year. it revealed some of their true colors and changed my perception of "friends"

new discoveries. i've been in the country for quite a long time now and still there were places that i haven't visited. after knowing benet and her friends for the first time, they took me to places i haven't been to such as the inside of emirates towers, dibba, madinat jumeirah and bab al shams.

i also visited the hatta reservoir, uptown mirdif, marina mall in abu dhabi, dubai autodrome, festival city waterfront, and global village (after four years!)

major events such as the dibs, dubai motorshow, dubai airshow, dubai bride show, redbull flugtag and gitex 2007 were attended once again.

personal. i must say it has been a happy year for me in all aspects. i got myself a room after being evicted from our flat. i was able to upload two personal sites such as bloodwork, rebirth and galleries in multiply. i had two haircuts this year (instead of one last year hehehe). and finally, i found someone. :)

happy new year everyone!