Friday 26 April 2013

Listen, do you want to know a secret...

News, breaking news!!! Yes, that's right, today I have to announce that from July 2013 Alex JP Scott Photography will be moving back to the United Kingdom. Our stay in Abu Dhabi is drawing to a close so Blighty here we come...

The reason is this - my beautiful, clever wife has been offered a great job in Cambridge and it seemed the right time for us to take this step. Come the end of term, we shall be packing up and moving out... Now all I have to do is sort out the logistics of packing and moving our gear back - forget all the the clothes, books and toys, the real problem is going to be how to get all my camera gear back safely... The restrictions on cabin luggage mean most of it will have to go into the hold but with bags like this...
Not to mention two camera bodies, numerous lenses, speedlights, two laptops etc. ensuring it comes through the journey unscathed will tax my mind for the next two months.  I also have to think how I can physically move this gear easily through airport departure and arrival gates... answers on a postcard...







So, after last weeks trawl through the archives I can start to plan the subjects for my lenses back home... Of course I shall miss photography out here - I am starting to build up a client base and work, although irregular is becoming more reliable and I have to say the contracts out here have been enjoyable and creatively testing... Do you remember some of these?



The pictures taken for the school to illustrate certain subjects - here are Business Studies, Music, Geography and History. This was a great commission - testing the imagination as I was asked to be contemporary and different from the usual images - client was happy and so was I...

In addition to these I have also enjoyed shooting the new cultures out here and during the next few weeks, this blog will feature my favourite shots from the past year... Stay tuned...

Well, what can I look forward to in the UK? Well slightly more approachable wildlife for a start!!! And a return to some proper Natural History observations...  My favourite subjects are plants and insects which are tricky to find out here. Before we came out here I used to delight in taking shots like these...

Demoiselle...


Common blue butterfly...


Forget-me-not...

Hopefully I can find many locations near Cambridge where I can find suitable subjects like these again... (I don't think I will be disappointed...)








I am still learning how to shoot macro wildlife out here - my most successful attempts were this week -

 One of my favourite subjects at the moment - I love this feathery grass...

Both of these taken with mu trusty Nikon D2Xs + Nikkor 60mm f2.8 AFD macro lens. Hand held...

A bit of fortune with the fly, but I love the back-lighting...









The week has been interesting apart from the news of our impending departure... Some new bookings have come in - a Primary School Year 6 Prom in June, some promotional shots for a new hotel in Abu Dhabi and a school prospectus.

On top of that I am still thinking about the Mosque Photography competition with the deadline in mid May.  I have now decided on an approach which is different to the majority of shots out there - you will have to wait to see what I come up with. Even if I don't get any where, the whole process of entering this competition has been really enjoyable and will help in further commissions and competitions.

I also have a tutorial to prepare for - my star pupil is approaching the end of this sequence - this Tuesday is the last one - however, she has indicated she may want a further course - I await her decision with breath suitable baited...

So UK, here we come - 2 months and counting - daily news can be found HERE so don't be shy in paying me a visit...

Hope you have enjoyed this weeks blog - wish us luck back in the home country...

TTFN











Friday 19 April 2013

...beware the competition...

An interesting week - the weather is turning so soon it will just too darn hot to venture out during the day - maybe some clever heat shield is in order, but day time temps are now pushing 40C and soon will be dragging it behind... Drive to a shoot, take the camera out of the air conditioned car and wham, it gets all misty...

So, tutorial on Tuesday - some great shots from the young lady - when she finally decides to shout to the world that she wants to shoot professionally I shall shout her name so you all look out for her...

With my wife away on business I was able to start thinking about the Sheikh Zayed Mosque Photo Competition again - still not sure what I'm shooting - had some ideas; took some images... started to think...

HOLD IT!!! before I could do any of that, I was asked to go into a school and shoot some images of some Design Technology Projects for submission to an external examiner... this sort of thing...

 A cloth book made for babies...

It wasn't until I was half way through the shoot that I was told they needed the images that afternoon... so a race back to the apartment, download, pp, email...(whilst looking after Quinn after school...)

So once, that was done, I could THEN concentrate on the Mosque Photography Competition...









The real problem, is that I haven't yet decided on a suitable approach yet - or more accurately - "How am I going to shoot this?" And that is the real key... If you check online there are literally thousands of images of the Mosque some beautiful, some awful but the point is to have a chance of winning the competition I have to come up with shots that are DIFFERENT - and at the moment my shots just ain't different enough... you have seen some - here are a few more...



These taken this week are great as they stand - sharp, well exposed and as I was working there before the place officially opened, devoid of tourists. (I love the soft light on the top one... another advantage of shooting early morning).

 My problem is that they look like countless others...























So a new approach is needed - shots that look different... now the next image has potential...

simply because a friend said - "...it is obviously the Mosque, but it is different to others that you see." Now that had me thinking - is this the way to go - candids of tourists but obviously in the Mosque? The only problem with that is that the theme is the Art and Architecture of the place... does this type of shot play to that brief? I'm still not sure...















So I started on the different tack... I decided to look at the details of the place - looked at the exquisite mosaics on the pillars of mother of pearl, amethyst, lapis lazuli and agate and try to create a blend of colours -

But the problem here, is that instead of showing the delightful detail of these inserts, the viewer can now see the imperfections - where the pieces haven't fitted exactly for example...










As you can see the pearl doesn't fit exactly... the purpose of the competition is to show off the mosque not illustrate the short comings... so maybe this isn't the way to go either...

so we are back to square one...

I sort of like the candids of people - after all that is more my style than the super-composed, meticulously created landscape type of image that fills the web; but on the other hand, it is a pretty conservative society out here and they may well be looking for more of the same when it comes to showing off their gorgeous mosque...


I like the candid approach...


But maybe the traditional is more likely to get somewhere...




...maybe monochrome...




I'm still in a quandary about this, but have some time to decide - of course anyone out there who reads this can chip in with comments - either here or HERE - the latter will also have new images everyday if you are interested...

In addition to this it has been a bit slow for Alex JP Scott Photography - several jobs in the pipeline but as yet no firm bookings - possibly a wedding next Friday BUT the bride hasn't made up her mind about anything yet - methinks she is leaving it a bit late... In addition some staff portraits and a commercial building shoot are also out there somewhere, just waiting for the call on those... (hello?)

Keep an eye open for news and hopefully I will see you next week - let me know what you think of the competition photographs..

TTFN

















Friday 12 April 2013

Well now... It's been a year...

February 2012 - the month we moved out here to the UAE (Abu Dhabi) - we flew into Dubai on 15th so an odd Valentine's Day was spent in the air after having left York in deep snow...

Quinn in our garden in York days before we were due to fly out to the desert sun...



















We couldn't have left a more different place - climate, society, natural history, history, politics - you name it, it is totally different... Hopefully, here I will chat about my impressions of this extraordinary place...

The first thing you notice is the warmth... Of course coming from the cold of a UK winter most places feel warm, but the Gulf is different; it is warm here all the time - even in the winter the average day temperature is about 26C and the sun shines nearly all the time...

How the day begins - a glorious Arabic sun glowing over the desert - promising warmth...










So, once you recover from the unrelenting heat the next assault on your senses is the space... The UK is crowded, cities and towns are clustered around rivers or roads, houses jostle for space and in the urban environment, nowhere can you feel uncluttered. That feeling of closeness is actually comforting... here there is so much space - it takes an age to move around simply because the distance between places. And the buildings...

Well they don't do anything by halves... whether it is the iconic Aldar building (HQ of the major developer out here)...


















or when they design high-rise in the city centre...


or the monument to the founding father Sheikh Zayed...


or the new artistic venture on Saadyat Island...

                                                                                       The UAE pavilion...

These buildings take your breath away, but you can't help thinking that all this is superficial - compared to the great buildings of North West Europe...

 ...like York Minster













or


Chartres... buildings cast from the very stones of the earth...

the grand designs of the Gulf appear plastic and temporary... Will they still be standing in 500 or 1000 years as monuments to a way of life and core beliefs of a nation and a cohesive people? I think not but only time will tell...















In addition to the buildings and of course the endless sun, are the beaches - they make a big deal about beaches out here - and with the occasional exception most are man made... As a consequence they spend an awful lot of money dredging the manufactured channels between areas of claimed land to prevent silting... the world's oceanic currents pay no respect to wealth or the desire for land and beaches where nature didn't intend them...

Dredger at work clearing a channel less than 4 years old...










But when they are stabilized (in a way) the beaches can look pretty inviting - if you like beaches...


...and of course there are the shopping malls if you like shopping and the amazing restaurants if you like eating - that seems to be all there is to Abu Dhabi really... the Weekly Time Out in AD promotes things to do in Abu Dhabi and nearly all of those tend to be "where to eat" or "where to shop" promotions; it's like they can't think of anything else.

But saying all of that, you can't help but like the place - it's the melting pot of nationalities, of cultures, of people. We are in it together really - working for the feudal lords who rest in luxury, sitting on silken cushions, resplendent in bling-inspired finery. Ferrari's, Lamborghini's and Maserati's cheek by jowl in the drive. We do their bidding... and enjoy the sun... Some aspire to be as our oil-rich lords, employing staff - maids and nannies - where they would never have thought of it "back home" in an attempt to disassociate themselves from the rest;  but the truth is they are just like the rest, only with less housework...

In the course of the year we have visited most of the other Emirates and seen some amazing things...


The creek at Dubai...

 Bull butting in Fujairah...

Wildlife in the mangroves of Ras al Khaimah...

 The fascinating Museum of Arabian Civilisation in Sharjah...
 Roadside markets in Liwa...
and the amazing design of desert hotels, this one just outside the oasis at Liwa...








All these experiences are of course educational and our son has seen things he would never have seen had we stayed in the UK and despite the misgivings about many aspects of life here, I can't see us leaving just yet... We still have many other things to see and I have this fledgling Photography Business to build...

See how that goes next week on Facebook page here - Click this link... and let me know what you think about anything...

Tutorials begin again next week after the Easter break and I am looking forward to seeing how my star pupil has got on (I do hope that all the set homework has been done...)

SO another blog ends... hope you enjoy it...

TTFN



Sunday 7 April 2013

Rules of Engagement...

Well, as promised this blog will highlight the "engagement" shoot I did on Saturday - 6th April - an interesting day to say the least and one that provided me with several good images and a lot of experiences...!

It all stated a few weeks ago when a friend on Face Book (just can't escape social media) suggested I contacted a couple who were looking for cheap photographer to photograph their wedding... Although I don't consider myself cheap I dropped them an email offering my services. They finally replied on Thursday and we made a deal - although with language difficulties I was not 100% certain of what they wanted. I drew up an agreement based on what they said they were looking for - basically an engagement shoot of just them for about 3 hours at a hotel just outside Dubai followed by a limousine ride and a cruise. I quoted my usual hourly rate for this.

Now any good event photographer should always try and visit the shoot location before hand so I decided to arrive early and have a look around - checking for locations etc. (and bemoaning the dust storm that was blowing through).  As I pulled into the car park and hour before the agreed time, my client phoned me to ask where I was... "Hummm" I thought... "interesting". I was told to report to reception and they would let them know I was there. I did this and after half an hour sitting in reception they phoned again asking me to meet them by the pool. I dutifully found the pool and sat around for another half an hour waiting again... Finally I get to meet the couple - lovely Egyptian couple, full of life and fun... They had this idea of having the wedding certificate made in to tea-shits and were wearing them for this part of the shoot...

"OK" I think, I can go along with this... So after these shots were taken, they went off to change again... 40 minutes later I was joined by the groom and after a further 20 minutes by the bride...








So having quoted for 3 hours work based on the clients' description of the day I have now used up 2 of them...

They finally reappeared in their finery and I took some lovely shots of them...

 Diffusing filter used on this shot...

This final one came from a sequence taken amongst some trees - I love the lighting here..

I shot exclusively with my Nikon D2Xs with a SB-600 speedlight mounted on top and alternated my Nikkor 20-35mm f2.8 AFD and Nikkor 35-70mm f2.8 AFD lenses. For this shot I used my third pro zoom - Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 AFD ED...













So after this we headed off to their car and the trip up the road to Dubai... They have a lovely car - Ford Mustang - and a soft top as well. I am now sat in the back of a two-seater sports car with my large camera bag as we zoom off down the highway to - well I had no idea...

We arrived at the hotel and after some phone calls we got into a stretch Limo and went for a drive around Dubai. The cruise had been cancelled due to the bad weather (here? bad weather? how unlucky can you be...? more of that later).


I loved the mirrored roof in the car - gave great light and reflections...


 After a this drive which lasted about an hour we stopped at a couple of locations for other photo shoots - Atlantis on the Palm Jumeirah and the Dubai Marina Yacht Club...

We then set off back to the original hotel and then home - driving through Dubai at 140km per hour with the top down in a sand storm and spotting with rain.... The bride was delighted with the rain as it is good luck in Egypt for it to rain on your wedding day... (they ought to move to the UK!!!)

A 3 hour shoot had taken 5 and when you add the 2 hours of travelling that's 7 hours work... for the 3 hours I'd quoted... Still the pictures have come out nicely...























So I emailed a small selection last night and received a favourable reply although the bride did say the ones taken through the diffusing filter were a bit hazy (some people!!! :) ) and maybe some "Photoshop" was needed - I haven't yet had a reply as to what "Photoshop" she means...  Remember the original quote for 3 hours allowed for a small amount of post processing...

So that's it for the Engagement shoot that turned into a wedding shoot and took longer than expected. A great experience and fun to boot...

More pictures will be appearing HERE so keep your eyes open... any comments on the blog will be gratefully received...  Speak to you all next week...

TTFN