Westward…

It seems that I will always be pressed with time to do posts on here, however earlier I try to start. Anyway, this post is a continuation for my strolls outside during the last winter (as if it was last year!). Actually, first, I was planning to talk about 2 strolls done on the February 1ˢᵗ and 2ⁿᵈ, all in one post, because they are somehow connected. However, I thought then it would be such a long post (and probably won't have the time to finish it all in time), thus it would be better to take things by chunks. I'm not sure even if this one will be a long post or not!

West We Go

Before I head out to this stroll, it came to my attention that there is some corner that I didn't visit before in my previous strolls to that direction of the neighborhood. The spot is actually a narrow alley between 2 houses, and on the map, it showed some kind of strange building at the outlet of this alley. Usually, I would skip this alley (which leads north actually) and head further west (on different paths) but this time I've decided to "investigate" this alley.

سَحَرْ
(morning twilight)

This stroll was done, again, using my Sigma 12-24mm lens and also with that flare filter fitted on top (stuck it into the lens hood from the inside). Also, I was aiming at working with HDR here as well. As usual, my first shots were trial shots to gauge the exposure a bit (to add or subtract EVs as I was shooting in Av mode). The first shot in this stroll was (ironically) pointing southward into some road that I've visited a lot before (where the haunted house in ruins lie). To stabilize the camera, I've placed the camera on the asphalt directly and put my finger on the top just to let it stand still while shooting using the 2-second timer. Actually this was the final shot, Morning Twilight, but many shots were made before this one and many of them were shaky, and this is why I've decided that I should placed the camera literally on the asphalt for stabilization. The atmosphere was not quite as dark as it appears in Morning Twilight, but the mode was created when tone-mapping the HDR, and with the help of using Fluorescent WB in-camera when shooting; My favorite WB in blue-hour times. I remember posting Morning Twilight on Instagram as well and used the available filters there to increase the blue tones and make it more fluorescent like. It can look too dark, but on a large scale there are still some details to be seen in the shadows.

My World

That day was my lucky day somehow, because some rains poured down the night before and it was a chance to shoot some reflections for sure. However, as I entered the alley, things were muddy and busy, with some construction workers at work already since the very early morning hours (even before sunrise time). I had to tread carefully here as the ground was really muddy and I was not wearing any protective footwear or anything (so chances of slipping were high) and I've put the strap around my neck just in case. I came about some reflection upon a big pond of water that formed in the middle of the narrow alley and it was inevitable to step somewhat in the water, but before I step in, I had to take my chances to shoot something. In the horizon, there was a building and a lamp post (or a street lamp) and I thought this would be a good chance to put the flare filter to some good use, beside taking a picture of a reflection. After many failed trials and getting so down and close to the water, I've managed to shoot something out of the mess (and I had to endure some thigh pains here after squatting for a long time). I think My World was not processed in HDR (because the shots in the bracket were shaky most of the time so I had to pick whatever stable image I could work with). In the process, I've reversed the image just for fun and thus made the reflection on top instead of below.

The Portal 2

At this point, I've reached that building that I was wondering about and it turned to be some housing for an electric generator for the area AND it had some graffiti too. At this point, I didn't take any pictures of it, but this is a subject for the next post hopefully. I'm not sure why I didn't shoot anything here at that moment but probably because I wanted to discover the area more than just shoot the building at that point of time. Anyway, I've continued moving northward at this point and then I had to move eastward as if I was going back home but passing in front of the houses that are at the back of my house (if that makes sense). The smell that morning was fresh and reminded me of my morning walks in the Irish countryside when I traveled there 3 times before. I've seen some nice things (home facades) but as usual, I was afraid to shoot something and been called for privacy violation or something of that sort. Some simple homes and structures were really interesting with the trees growing around such houses or on their fronts. Anyway, I've reached around the end of that back road where I encountered a pond of water again.

The Portal 3

At that pond, I've decided to take my chances with some speed shooting, but not in the conventional way like using speedlites set to HSS of course, but rather trying to just capture a specific moment here as I throw a stone into the puddle. The shutter speed was in the range of 125⁻¹s to 160⁻¹s (I was on AV mode still) with ISO160. It sounded fair, I just needed to try my luck and hope for the best. However, what makes the task harder here is the fact that I'm not using any tripod or a remote, but simply my rwo hands to hold the camera and throw a stone. Of course focusing here was a hurdle so things were fixed with the hyperfocus principle (or hyperfocal distance) at f/8 and switching the camera to burst mode to take successive shots. Despite the cumbersome, I've got somewhat good shots here as seen in The Portal 2 and The Portal 3 (the titles are in reference to a shot of the same name taken back in January and posted in my previous post). I call myself lucky here to have such clouds. Of course, in the post-process, I had to do all sort of things to create some interest in the image as much as possible, specially with The Portal 2, where the splash occurs somewhat closer to the corner rather than around the center and cropping was somewhat hard to be done while keeping essential elements.

A Stranger Like Me 2

Keeping on the track (and now I'm walking southward trying to reach my neighborhood and back to home), I've encountered one of my favorite subjects on such wet grounds; A single leaf. I've always expressed how much I like single leafs. In fact, I've posted my thoughts about it on Instagram (A Stranger Like 2 and A Stranger Like Me 3, but the title was changed into Russian there). Anyway, even though I took these shots in brackets for HDR, but the shaky hands didn't allow it, so I processed single RAW files, which, to me, look just fine; Absolutely fine. As for the titles, they are a reference to one shot I've made months ago with my Huawei in the yard for such a falling leaf wandering alone. Thus, just for the similarities here, I've decided to make it like a series. In the future, if I get the chance to shoot something like that, probably I would keep on with the series. It's not a new thing really; I remember shooting something similar in Staten Island back in 2012. 

A Stranger Like Me 3

In the process of these 2 images, I've tried to sharpen specific details instead of sharpening the whole image and to pronounce the details of the leaves more, with sharpening as well as with colors altogether. Hence, it was a work for layer masks for sure. I liked these 2 images that I've even made several monochrome versions of them as well (and I might check channel swaps later on), as I think monochrome conversion would emphasize the details, specially for the leaves. I've tried to cast some color on these monochromes, but seems the golden color (#FFD700) works best.

A Stranger Like Me: Monochromes

At this stage, the stroll was over and I walked back home with no new "image hunting," but I had to pay a visit the next day to that wall with graffiti, and along the way I did make some shots that are better than wall actually. I'll keep those for the next post, hopefully. However, it seems I will be revisiting these RAW files again and again to see of possible edits still, this is beside re-processing those HDR slides in different styles and tone-mapping; The creative possibilities with HDRs are almost infinite, I'd say! Despite that, I don't want to get in a rut and re-process images from the past and forget about shooting new images. Things should be balanced regarding that perspective.

Finale

Well, it's Ramadhan already, and times fly so fast, as we are already in the middle of it (or passed that at the time of posting this). My sleeping pattern, of course, is more scattered and random than before, but I'm grateful for the fact that I'm retired right now. However, the issues of home are still roaming in my head and just exhaustive. I remember that I used to go out in some mornings of Ramadhan to shoot something in the neighborhood(s), but I don't think I'll be able to do that this time. It would such a waste, since the weather is still somewhat nice in the early hours of the morning and the neighborhood won't be active and alive till about mid-morning, which gives a plenty of time to walk around and shoot (without being harassed by the sun rays into my eyes or the LCD). Yet, talking about it is easier than doing it for this year.
I'm even thinking, at the moment, to put my mirror lens (Rokinon 800mm f/8) to some good use in some way, but of course that won't do itself and don't be possible in the house periphery; I do have to get out and walk around to try it out. What I fear with this lens is the bulky shape which is quite the "attention grabber" that I just don't need in such hunting for pictures around. Adding to that, of course, the weight, which makes me unsure of my capability of shooting handheld (I definitely don't plan to shoot with a tripod!). At the time of writing this blog post, some ideas for some indoor work also occurred to me, so I might try my luck with that before I can even take my mirror lens out. We'll see.

Meanwhile, I'm still thinking of some good topic for my Arabic blog. Yes, my plan for "a post per month" is way beyond ruins. Unlike this blog, I don't talk about my photos much, and I focus on putting new info (and "arabizing" terms when needed). My last post there was indeed about the making of a photo, but I don't want to repeat that topic often. Until I find a topic to write about there, then I guess that blog will be dormant for a while.

Home-wise, things feel like being in the middle of a sea or an ocean; Waves raise up and dip down, splashing over my mental health, and always on the look for any beam of wood to hang on to keep afloat. I don't know how long I'll be afloat, but I'm praying things would enhance a bit after Ramadhan, when things "slightly" get back to the normal schedule. If only I can ditch my whole past behind me without feeling it…