Alexander 6, V2.

Dried tuna that turns into a sauce... not a pleasant thing to imagine, really. In fact, I didn't imagine it. I saw it!
I keep trying on snapping my censer, yet the experiments are always going astray from the way I intend to take! This time, I fixed the black background as usual, but I did not do the box just yet. Also, I used the halogen light that I bought some days ago and did not work on it before. The light was so strong and the room's lights were like they were on (in fact you wouldn't notice any differences whether they are on or off). The halogen wasa daylight type, thus it produced a yellowish. And despite the many trials, 2 images must come almost the same in exposure value. More to my agony, the violet hue of the censer's body was not obvious at all and I was not able to retain the color easily (if not impossible) without "painting" the HDR image.

Two-images, manual tone-mapped HDR.

Two-images, Photomatix tone-mapped HDR.

As you can see in the previous examples, the violet hue of the censer (if you saw previous posts) is not visible at all because of the yellowish hue from the halogen light. Another trial I would say, and to avoid the similar-exposure shots, is to use the method of changing the shutter speed (time). I am mainly using the Av (aperture priority) and for this, the maximum time for the shutter speed for some shots (if not all shots) is 30 seconds, and hence, with the static aperture value (f-number), the exposure is calculated to the same value always. It would be useful to do this with a FEB, but thinking about it, you have a changing shutter speed and a change in the Flash value, so if we settled to down on the number of shutter speeds that we are to use, then we will have mainly (number of speeds x 3) images. I would settled for 3 speeds too; 1 sec, 1/100 sec, 1/200 sec, although I'm not sure there would be much difference between the latter two. This said, I would settle with 9 images, and probably, going to merge them all together as one set! That would be with the flash, but another trial is worthy with halogen light as well. I need to find a tripod for this light, or I'm going to burn something in the room!

__________

25. while his supplies were going to finish
26. he decided to walk to the three sisters lake
27. the lake where he used to hunt and drink
28. away from Caqubdarius, his place
29. and on the way to there he passed by the hermits
30. some people who forgot life and its agonies
31. and he wondered could it be the Ayvars
32. he spent some time with them and they fed him
33. they gave him water and food like a guest
34. and after three days of hospitality they asked
35. about his story and his name and his destination
36. with some fear he answered hardly
37. and told them about his real identity
38. and to where he is heading
39. they stood with respect after hearing that
40. and amid the crowds came an old man
41. so old that his eyebrows fell on his eyes
42. and said with weak voice: welcome O Faithful
43. whose name is Alexander, Alexandarús, Vuqurnún
44. you are the bound between this world and the other
45. you are the promised in the book of Burhutiyyá
46. welcome amid your family
47. welcome amid your servants
48. and feel safe for no one shall hurt you

Alexander 5, V2.

I'm almost sure now that a Sunday, must be a bad day regarding anything related to driving. I had to pick up my brother from a garage and yet, I was going to make an accident as I was going to pick him up! What is left for Monday as a typical bad day? I don't know!
This said, and beside some tiny lab work, made me exhausted somehow to complete the usual translation of 2 verses. I made one so far only.
I spent a big portion of the first hours at work trying to organize and figure out a way to send over the pictures from Ireland to many contacts. The HTML work and the copy-paste routine was exhausted and yet, I had to flip from one program to another trying to figure out the best fit and how to copy contacts. After all, I settled this down in FrontPage and sent it over from my Hotmail account. An option that I don't like so much, but most of my contacts are saved there.
However, since I did not do much of experiments yesterday with my camera and not new stuff are to be put in here, and since I don't make this post plain, I decided to put the images here. This is packet 4 (IV), and I don't think it would be the last yet. Some folders are waiting to be processed yet!

Click any thumbnail to view a larger version of the image, and to read a comment or description for the image.

__________
25. in the morning he was still thinking
26. how to come down to people like this?
27. and who are they and where do they live?
28. he remembered then the word Ayvar
29. some where it was in the middle of Earth
30. should he turn back or head to the south
31. when suddenly a light arrived from heaven
32. and stroke down the earth and made glass
33. and when Alexander wanted to take the glass
34. the glass moved further away from him
35. and he kept moving after it with his men
36. until it disappeared before an old village
37. it was so old that like time forgot about it
38. and the fence barely stood up in face of winds
39. and the hero thought that God drove him here
40. amid the adversities he did not lose his faith
41. he went to the wooden great gate of the village
42. so huge that it counted the length of thirty men
43. and its width was the count of fifteen men
44. then he kocked on the gate by the knocker
45. so heavy was the knocker that it needed ten men
46. and they knocked several times but no answer
47. and they almost gave up hope for a living there
48. and when they moved away, the gate was opened

Alexander 4, V2.

Waking up late is, a very bad idea. And it is a very bad day after all. I realy don't know if this is the beginning of my week or the middle of it or just a day not counted in my life.
After bringing back my sister's laptop yesterday from the damn workshop, we discovered that the Windows is not original AND it is an Arabic version, after telling the damn guy 3 times that I want an English one. Thus, I had to pick it back again today.
Waiting there as usual for 15 to 20 minutes just for the store to open up (in Kuwait people respect the time indeed... NOT). He argued that I have to pay another 35KD for the Windows and for his kindness he settled that down to installing an original Windows without paying. So generous. Out of the damn place I just had the heck out of the cars who seem to be driving like they've just been awakened at 10 O'clock, A.M. Because of this and that, I do feel just so down that I can't concentrate on anything. Beside waking up late and having to go out just go get me breakfast (and cat food). Cats are far more better than human beings. As for now, I'm wishing to close my eyes and wake up to see the weekend in front of me.
Amid the harsh flow of feelings and the confused mind, I couldn't resist my Notepad and started hitting some non-sense keystrokes all over the keyboad to finally give up with Singing Wind. It had been some long time since I've made a poem or wrote something. I hope this event is the initial spark for a continuous work on that side. I hate to leave the field just like that. I need to work again on my story "Blackened Image" as well, but how to collect my thoughts, this is another story.
And just when I thought my day (or whatever left of it) will pass easily, the devices in the lab did not work properly, and yet, the quantities of the samples are not enough already. Bravo. I survived the day at least!

__________
25. three days passed and Alexander was waiting
26. he organized the bulughmans into an army
27. now they can defend themselves by themselves
28. after the passage of three days, Heavens got ready
29. and sent the signals to him by the skies
30. where every cloud pointed like an arrow above
31. here, Alexander shouted to his men with amazement
32. "O men of valour, North shall we be heading,
33. I knew it before and I am sure of it now. So here we go."
34. and the horsemen and foot soldiers gathered
35. behind their leader and started to march
36. to the North where they never been before
37. amid the rumble of the dissatisfied men
38. while some of them are tired of the journeys
39. and the weight of metals broke their backs
40. and on the way they encountered villagers
41. some joined them and some sought their help
42. while some abandoned their villages with fear
43. thus Alexander had more men for his army
44. but some of them were not trained or weak
45. but they were happy to seek for glory
46. with a just man like Alexander, the hero
47. and fifteen days passed between the valleys
48. until they arrived to a thick black forest

Alexander 3, V2.

So tired at work that I just don't find much words to say for today in here! Not much photographic experience for the past few days but yet I'm keeping on reading some texts here and there to enhance my knowledge about some aspects of the exposure.
I barely made a transliteration today for 2 verses and now after this post I think I will nap for 30 minutes until it's time to move out of here...

__________

25. Alexander wondered for the name
26. he never heard of it in the pages of history
27. but so he obeyed the commands and got back to his camp
28. and kept the words for himself as a secret
29. and in the next morning he raised up with his men
30. and to the roots of the sun they were marching
31. until the Earth swept its green cover and the water
32. and with sands filled the ground and salt
33. there, they glanced many a tribe from afar
34. barely cover themselves and barely live
35. running after insects of the desert
36. and drinking the dirty waters
37. their looks were miserable
38. their poverty pulls out the tear
39. Alexander then approached them with peace
40. and they gathered together with fear in the eyes
41. their action amazed Alexander
42. he announced the peace before them
43. but they kept their silence with fear
44. the hero then offered them some food
45. and they attacked the food with their teeth
46. fierce was their hunger
47. fierce was their thirst
48. and their tongue was not comprehensible

Alexander 2, V2.

A day that begins with a headache is not a day, it's a hell. This is my first day of the week and its start. Beside that, I did wake up a bit later than my usual time, so I had to go in a hurry to my work place.
I had to grease little bit and do some work with the now-working freeze-drying machine and check if the samples were already dry or not... for my luck they were;


The headache did not give me much chances to do anything but at least I started my transliteration with Alexander's story, part 6, doing the usual 2 verses as before. Two verses with such a headache is a miracle, I tell you. As for the time being, I go around wherever I walk and try to concentrate as much as possible for new ideas of photography. Maybe this is what is causing me the headache? Nah, I don't think so. I might need to nap in the office. I'm expecting a way to go to DHL today, as one shipment arrived and the other had just departed from Bahrain. Hope I can manage...
__________

Days passed and the journey was to the west
they marched into different lands and villages
Some joined them and some resisted them
and some hosted them as friends and brothers
And the march continued amid day and night
between the plains and the forests so dark
Until the limits of the western horizon glanced
where the sun sets in the cold sea of Échalán
And there lie the lands of the pagans so fierce
idolators, and for the stone they bow and heed
Worshippers of nature, and forgot Who made it
thus cruelty got planted in their hearts and eyes
Their children they gave for nothing but mere myths
and their own earnings for the bless of the unknown
Geltáns they were called and named in records
the guardians of the western paths to the sun
Thus, the command from the Almighty came down
O Alexander, teach them who Am I, The Lord
and let them praise Me and worship Me as well
If they insisted with cruelty then your sword shall work
and you are a faithful man, thus punish or have mercy
My grace endowed you with the sense of justice and mercy
Then, the news of the hero approached the borders of might
and the hordes of Geltáns were made ready for the new comer