lukeap69 photography blogs

View of Al Sharjah from Al Mamzar

2011-03-20T12:13:00.001-07:00

Al Mamzar beach is just ten to 15 minutes drive from where I live. I have been there many times and it never strike to me that a view of Al Sharjah (neighboring emirate of Dubai) could be this beautiful.

In fact, oftentimes I would just skip this view since the buildings are not properly lit and I still remember the time I went there one night to take panorama of the coast line but I was disappointed rather to see that most buildings lights are off. So when my friend chose to go to Mamzar beach for a shoot, I thought I will bring my macro lens to take flowers and bees shots.

It's good thing I had my trusted 24-70L which plenty sharp for any shoot.

The sky just above where the sun was shining was bluish while the buildings were embraced by the golden lights. The rays of the sun hit the clouds which became golden and created very good contrast with the sky.

And when the sun was up, the sky turned very golden orange.

By the way, I love using velvia50 picture style which I have downloaded from the net. Try to google it. You might like the colours of this picture style. Better than landscape.

Cheers for now.

Mestos L-plate / L-bracket Review (Not Really...)

2011-02-23T10:30:00.000-08:00

I recently purchased Mestos L-plate / L-bracket for my Canon 5D mark II as I find it very convenient using an L-plate for my landscape shoots. Although it is an additional expense everytime I change camera body, I find it necessary for my style of shooting as it makes me shoot fast and confident.

I usually go for Kirk or RRS brand since these are household brands when it comes to L-plates, however I thought of giving the Korea made Mestos L-plate since I was very happy with the Markins Q3 ballhead and plates, which by the way are also made from Korea. Another consideration is the price, since it is around a third cheaper that Kirk or RRS. If this works alright, then Mestos you have a new loyal customer.

I received the L-plate after couple of weeks and was impressed by how small the the seller had packaged the item. There was no instruction included (not that I needed one) and the allen key was included. So far so good.

The first time I held the plate, I immediately noticed the metal used was different from the RRS, Kirk and even from my markins plate. I wouldn't say it is weaker, but it is different. It feels lighter also. I then noticed the screw at the bottom has a sharp thingy which I think was not polished before coming out of factory. Nevermind, I can easily smoothen it by filing. No big drama. So admittedly I was excited to fit it in. The screw hole at the bottom as some play (probably for fine adjustment) which I find a bit longer than what it should be. I struggled a bit in fitting it in my camera as I wanted to make sure I was fitting it the right way.

I did not feel that the fit was precise. I mounted it on my Manfrotto 190XPROB and Markins Q3 and it was alright. No problem. It was like using RRS or Kirk L-bracket.

No problem. I then decided to take it off to see how easy it would mount and unmount to the camera. I suddenly noticed that there were scratches on my camera body. Good heavens! The anti-twist part of the plate scratched my mark II! What the ****! I then realized that the anti-twist part is sharp enough to scratch the camera and it seems that when the plate is mounted into the camera, the anti-twist part pushes onto the camera. Very bad design. Really, very bad design.

See the scratches the L-plate had left on my camera. :(

I immediately contacted the seller and explained the problem. I sent photos to support my issue. The seller informed me that this is the first time he heard of such issue. So he offered refund and for me to ship the L-plate back. And so I did. My payment was refunded back (except his shipping cost) and before the L-plate reached Korea, I was already enjoying the RRS L-plate which I immediately ordered as soon as the seller agreed to refund. Told you, can't live without L-plate :)

Lesson learned. At this point in time, only RRS or Kirk will do for me. Not that I will not try other brands any more. I am not a brand snub but with this experience, Mestos is way, way down my list.

I hope you learned from my experience. I did. In a hard way.

Take care.

Sharjah Lighting Festival 2011

2011-02-18T11:02:00.000-08:00

I don't know how I have missed the same event last year and I am glad my friend who is learning photography as well invited me to see this event this time. The Sharjah Lighting Festival showcased 12 locations with different style of lighting the buildings or area. I must say this is the first time I have seen such event.

Imagine a mosque with colourful but serene lights on its external walls which was surrounded by lots of tourists and photographers, both enthusiasts and professionals. The problem in taking picture of this mosque is people roaming around, coming in and out of the mosque. To add insult to the injury, when we reached the area, it was prayer time. As one would expect, there would be more people during that time to, of course, pray.

So what would you do? Three things came into my mind. One is to use my not so good photoshop skill and remove all people in my photo. Sounds like a plan. But then I would not finish photoshopping even one person and I know that I will stop and forget about it. I am not the most patient person when it comes to photoshop. :)

Second solution I thought was to politely ask the people around to go out of my frame, and ask those inside the mosque not to come out until I have finished taking photo of the mosque. Brilliant plan! NOT so. I am sure that will be the last time I will be seen in that area if i did that! :)

The third solution was to shoot in a slow or long shutter speed. Huh? How will that solve the problem? You see, since the people are not stationary, they will not register very clear in your photo. Yes, there were people standing to see the beauty of the lights reflected to the mosque but they don't stay 30 seconds long in one place. 30 secs was good enough for them not to register in my shots! If need be, I can still shoot longer using bulb mode, smaller aperture and lower ISO. This is where ISO 50 of my Canon 5D (mark II) become useful.

Before we went to Al Noor Mosque, we passed by Al Qasba. There are two shows in this location; first is the colourful fountains in the canal and the other is the very nice light projection in the wall of the building. It was a children show which showcased the new technology in lighting projection. Imagine the wall of the building as one big cinema screen! The details of the lights were actually designed and patterned with the building. It was such an amazing show. I did not take photos of the children show. Why? I sat down and watched. :). Yes, the child in me overpower the will of the photographer. I got photo of the colourful fountain and the eye of the emirates anyway, so it is not a total waste of time - photographically speaking. :)

The normal building lights as well as the lamp posts were switched off so as not to destroy the optical illusion created by the fountain of lights. :)

We also went to the other areas however we did not find them photographically interesting. Not that they are bad, in fact we enjoyed viewing them except we did not have the urge to shoot them. :)

Lastly, we went to Sharjah Chamber of Commerce & Industry. We had a tip from one of the promo boys :) that that is one of the most interesting locations. When we reached the place, the lighting show is not yet on (for that turn). Remember, the show is repeated every 10 minutes (approximately) from 7:00PM to 11:00PM. That gave us time to scout the area, set the tripod and test the security if they will apprehend us. :) We were in the middle of the area, front row! :) Nope, we were allowed to do what we want and got the photos we wanted.

The lighting show is continuous. Hence, you need to understand how long one scene is static. Or appears to be static. Otherwise, you will not get sensible photos. Initially, my camera was set to small aperture for mode depth of field and slow shutter speed as a result of low light scenery. I did quick observation and noticed that one scene can be reasonably register into my camera sensor for 5 seconds. So, I played with my aperture and at f/5.6, my resulting shutter speed is 5 seconds. Bingo!

But that is not the whole story, I have underexposed my meter by 1 stop. Why? My experience with this kind of scene is that since there is considerable area in the scene that is very dark, the camera meter will think the image needs more light hence it will overexpose. Photographers, nowadays, are lucky since they (we) can chimp and make the necessary adjustment as required. On the spot!I have captured lots of beautiful photos of this building (and event). I have fixed my camera setup to take different photos with the same framing. I thought rather than sharing each photo, i have made a short video to show the images I have captured and give you an idea of what the lighting festival is all about.

Note: this is the first time I created a video and uploaded in Youtube just to give you an idea of what I have seen. :) Enjoy!

Sunrise, sunrise and sunrise

2011-01-18T08:47:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been very enthusiastic taking photos of sunrise. Since the weather in UAE is very pleasant at this time of the year, we have taken opportunities to explore the beautiful coast of Dibba and recently Khor Fakkan.

The above photo was taken in Dibba, Sharjah which surrounded by Fujairah. It was a cloudless day but nevertheless the beauty of sunrise on this area is unmatched! The feeling was surreal that I can't help but admire what is in front of me.

My admiration of the place did not stop there. Two days after I went to Sharjah part of Dibba, me and my friends headed up to Al Hisn, Dibba which is a part of the Sultanate of Oman. We had to pass through the border of UAE - Oman and present our passport, however we do not need visa or special permit to go to Al Hisn. There are many western expats who camp and stay overnight on the beach of Al Hisn. And why not, if this is what you will see in the dawn.

And just few days ago, we conquered Khor Fakkan. I don't know how we end up in this place because it is not a known location for photographers and it is not easily found. We had to climb through big rocks and going down near the water is a bit dangerous. Anyway, the trip was worth it and the dark clouds (yes there were clouds :)) gave the photos different dimensions. This is also the first time I used my newly acquired Lee GND filters and holders. This lessen the time of processing as I did not need to combine exposures as before.

And lastly, I packed my gear to head home when I saw this spot where the wave of water was angrily splashing on the face of the rocks near the shore. The path to reach that spot was even more dangerous than the other spots. Oh well, I just got to go there to get this shot no matter what. :)

Obviously, I had to go into the water to get this shot. I experimented with the shutter speed to get the exact effect of the water on the rocks. If my shutter speed is very slow, then the water will look like mist or smoke like the first photo above. By the way, I have used 6 stops B+W ND filters on most of the photos on this blog. B+W filters are top notch and I have no complains using them. I think I am also going to love the rectangular filters especially the Lee GND filters. As soon as the 'big stopper' becomes available, I will surely get one and try if it matches the B+W.

Gear used: Canon 5D mk II, 17-40L, 24-70L, Manfrotto tripod, Markins Q3 ballhead, B+W 6 stop ND filter, B+W CPL, Lee GND and foundation kit

The Boat Painter

2010-06-16T11:32:00.000-07:00

Strolling along the coast of Sharjah and Ajman (UAE) early in the morning with a photographer friend scouting for a beautiful sunrise scene, we passed by an area where lots of speed boats (presumably owned by rich locals here) were 'parked'. We decided to stop by to take photos of the boats on the beach and off the beach. The light is not so good as the sun is already high up. There were no clouds on the dull sky. Not too many people are on the streets and beach since it was Friday morning and most of the folks are are still sleeping. That is the normal scene here in UAE.

Anyway, we were walking along the beach when I saw this old man (from India) painting one of the boats. His eyes look tired and red. He is supposed to be resting as it is very early in the day and it is Friday for Pete's sake. But instead, he was there working.

He asked me whether I am working for a newspaper so I can share his story (his ordeals I supposed). When I explained to him that I do not work for a newspaper, he then became bubbly and told me to come back the week after and he will look younger as he will shave his beard and cut his hair. I smiled. I did not bother to ask his whole story how he managed to go in UAE and how did he land on his job. There are lots of stories like this man in UAE; some very good, some not so much.

Palm Atlantis

2010-06-05T12:31:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you will be surprised when a beautiful scenery will present itself in the places you did not expect. We were supposed to catch good sunrise at Shiek Zayed road. Those high rise buildings on one of the busiest place in Dubai. Unluckily, the sun rised faster than expected and did not not bother to wait for us. Sad.

My friend thought we can go to Palm Jumeirah and find something interesting. We did. Then we got lost. It was a dead end. No, no, no. It was the dead end of the road since it was the start of the sea, creek, whatever it is.

Then I just noticed we were looking at the Atlantis from different view. I was supposed to 'break in' the newly acquired 17-40L on my 5Dc. Since the Atlantis is at the other side of the water, I cannot go further near thus I had to settle to shoot at 40mm.

Since it was Friday, I mean early Friday, most people in Dubai are still sleeping or at home or anywhere except on the road and other public places. Lucky. The reflection on the water made this shot very nice and not dull as I had previously envisaged.

Not bad!

More next time.

Desert Landscape

2010-05-04T12:10:00.000-07:00

I was aiming to 'test' a newly acquired portable 200W/s strobe outdoor but my 'shooting time' was spent mostly with photographers/friends exploring good landscape sceneries in Dubai (and on the neighbor emirates).

One dilemma you will enclounter here is that the sky is always blank - meaning there are no clouds to make it exciting. Well, what do you expect; this is Middle East anyway.

On our third go, we were lucky enough to be graced by clouds and lovely weather. The sky was wonderful. The temperature is very comfortable. It is always nice to shoot with friends and compare notes (if you know what I mean.)

What is amazing in the desert is the formation of lines on the sand and the hill like formations. Here in Dubai, the colour of the desert varies. You will notice that on some portions, the sand is darker or more brownish. Some yellowish.

I brought with me my trusted Canon 5D (classic), 24-70L, 70-200 f/4L IS and 100 macro. This is my light setup as I do not fancy changing lenses on the desert. Been there, done that. It was not a nice experience.

I hope I will have time to use my new portable strobe outdoor but a quick testing with a friend and it was promising. Can easily achieve f/16 to f/22 at full power at ISO 100.

Ras Al Khaimah Desert Shoot (Paint Pole Adapter & Speedlite Softbox Story)

2010-02-21T10:32:00.000-08:00

We had a blast (of desert sand) couple of weeks ago in the desert of Ras Al Khaimah. Our intention was to shoot sunrise on the desert and then shoot a friend model when the sun is up. My side aim is to test the Kacey pole adapter, paint pole and speedlite softbox combo outdoors. My paint pole adapter was purchased from flash zebra; shipping to Dubai was cheapest from Lon and the service is top notch. Paint pole was bought from ACE Hardware in DFC; and the speedlite softbox came from HK through ebay.

This is such a portable and mobile setup and I would not hesitate to recommend the combo to anybody. It’s not all perfect though. There are two issues we encountered during the shoot using this combo. (1) because it was so windy, the pole adapter loosen little by little. So when the manufacturer suggested to apply loctite thread adhesive on the pole adapter, do it! I’ve learned my lesson… the hard way. One of my friends keep minding the adapter to avoid the flash and softbox dismantling from the pole. (2) the ball head of the speedlite softbox is not very strong to withstand the gusty wind of the desert. It was difficult to keep the softbox in place. I thought of changing the ball head holder to a metal umbrella swivel for more strength. I found already and ordered from ebay. I also intend to use it on my beauty dish umbrella rig.

The portable flash of choice was Canon 580EX II. It is powerful enough to be used in an overcast day, even mounted in a softbox. If you wonder why I did not use the Sunpak 120J (which light quality I love) is because it is not very easy to transport. I still need to discover how to easily transport the 120J. The other reason is if in case I wanted to use faster shutter speed (or TTL), 580EX II would be able to do that. I decided to use manual flash power instead. 
So for most shoot, we used 580EX II mounted on softbox and paint pole, CTR-301P as the trigger (love this cheap but reliable triggers from YongNuo). Normally, I would use my RF-602, but since most of my friends own CTR-301P, I used that instead so they can trigger using their own transmitters.

Rim / hair lighting is via Canon 430EX at the back opposite the main light (580EX II). The rim lighting created a separation from the otherwise dull background. The 430EX was handheld by one of my friends alternately for portability. It is so easy to shoot with friends since they all understand what I wanted to do and of course the effect. I am very lucky to have a very fun and cooperative model in Dionne. She almost swallowed a cup of sand when I requested her to pose as crawling on the sand.

A word of caution though, shooting in the desert is no fun for your gears. The very fine sand of Ras Al Kaimah desert can easily get even to your tripod and I spent a bit of time cleaning my Manfrotto 090XPROB. Dust is all over my camera and lens. So when I needed to change lens (24-70L to 70-200 L IS), I went inside the car and did the lens replacement there. It’s better safe than sorry.

Speedlite / Speedlight Spot Grid, Strap & Snoot

2010-02-15T09:24:00.000-08:00

If you're looking for reasonable price honeycomb grids, strap to your speedlite, and snoot and you cannot afford the more popular brand(s), then look at this site. He has also an ebay store if you are an ebayer.

I have purchased one complete set of honeycomb grids 15, 25 & 45 degrees), strap and the 8" snoot. They are very well made and looks very professional. I have no reservation to recommend these products. He also sells corrective gels and color effect gels (complete with velcro) to add to your arsenal.

If you've seen the sample image on my beauty dish rig, the background was lit by 580EX II with grid and spot strap.

Here it is again.

See that very beautiful round light on the b/g. Creative possibilities with light never ends.

Speedlite Adapter for Beauty Dish, Softbox, Snoots, Grids (Bowens 'S' Mount)

2010-01-07T06:32:00.000-08:00

If you are not a DIY person like me and have the bucks to spare, then this speedlite adapter sold on ebay is recommended. For 64USD (excluding shipping - the seller informed me that it is around 16USD to Dubai), you can have this very nice adapter.

It looks stronger than my Speedlite Beauty Dish Rig, easier to use and more professional. The swivel lever is also easier to use (unlike the ball head of the speedlite softboxes.)

When I get tired of playing with my rig, I might get one of these.

Speedlite / Speedlight / Sunpak 120J Beauty Dish Rig

2009-12-31T10:13:00.000-08:00

Bored today , I thought of making a beauty dish rig for my portable flashes, mainly for the Sunpak 120J which is a bare bulb flash like a small studio light. This rig can be used with any portable flashes since it is adjustable both vertically and horizontally.

I used all available materials to me so I had to utilize extra brain power to 'design' the beauty dish rig which in the end turned out to be a very simple. Note that the rig can be paired with all Bowens universal 'S' mount modifiers including softboxes, snoots, reflectors, etc. Here is the rig without the beauty dish.

The materials used are

(1) Mini flash to Bowens mount adapter (I use on my 180W/s mini flash), (2) the L-plate and ball head from my Speedlite softbox, and (3) the bottom plate of my hakuba flash bracket, some bolts and nuts, perseverance, & cafe latte .

Here are some photos with the 41cm beauty dish with grid attached.

Now here is the diffusion pattern and notice the fall off near the edge of the light. Amazing!

This is just like modifying my Tamiya mini4wd cars few years ago. I really missed those days. Now, I need to test this rig with actual models. Any volunteers?

(Edit - photo added.)

Sample photo of my son using the beauty dish rig and sunpak 120J. The light on the background is 580EX II with 25° grid.