Yonder...

Not bad for a nose job, eh?

Well, a busy week that I don't have time even to upgrade and complete the settings of my new laptop here. Health issues are frequent visitors; headaches, nausea, exhaustion, and the like. Despite the hectic life pace I'm trying to have some fun, as you can see above!

G'faal

The most hectic day if I should say was last Thursday when the group agreed to go to a traditional feast celebrating the ships coming back from long journeys looking after pearls and other goods; as it was in the old days of Kuwait. This day is called Gofaal, or Gaflah, i.e. the ending.
The weather and the condition in general was a bit better than miserable, yet it was awkward anyway. The humidity made it a struggle to step every step, and my eyes started to get irritated and it was even hard to look through the viewfinder. The lenses got foggy and some time was needed so the lenses get used to the weather and the image would clear again. At the end, I got a blast from my 55-200mm which I've used for most of the shots, when it got corrupted and stopped responding in the middle of the action; here and at this moment I've decided to leave the place since it was hard to change the lens, specially in such humidity and such heavy burden with 2 flashes and a camera dangling from my neck!

The group's organizer with his nice shorts!
This image was foggy and almost bleached out completely.

However, there were some nice shots here and there I would say. I didn't stay until the end of the event like the others, but I did the best I can to do something. In such events, you can't help but to drool when you see those big lenses used by my teacher!

My teacher struggling with his camera and bazooka

Even though I did take my 100mm Macro lens with me, yet I didn't use it a lot and the fog kept swirling around it and finally for some reason it stopped responding for focusing attempts. The picture of the group's organizer was taken with 100mm Macro.
Then, I got the chance to change the lens from 100mm to 55-200mm, which was foggy in the beginning then it started to be fine and snapped many shots until suddenly, the old corruption stroke again and it stopped responding with a communication error.

Canon EF 55-200mm @55mm, f/5.6, 2000^-1sec, ISO 400

Most of the shots were done in manual mode and by metering the sea itself. However, to do such shots like the one above, the focusing mode was set to One Shot, or else the focus would move as I move the lens. Without any need to change the focusing zone (which by default is at the center), I've centered on the boy then moved my lens away to frame. Other shots were done in the same manner too.

Canon EF 55-200mm @200mm, f/5.6, 2000^-1sec, ISO 400.

I believe the shot above would have been better with my 100mm at f/2.8, as it would give a better blur and isolation for the distant object. However, right after this shot, the lens started to be erratic and since I've realized there is no hope in making it work again, I've decided to leave the place before the boats reach the shore.
One last fun shot I did take before the boats arrival actually, which some people commented and said it is a suitable as a commercial - which is something I've been thinking of for a while beside working on architectural photography.

Contrast
Canon EF 55-200mm @130mm, f/5.6, 2000^-1sec, ISO 400

My attraction was mainly the yellow and the blue pieces here, hence the title Contrast, and I've never thought about it in an advertisement form. Only when people talked about it, I've realized the possibilities here! I've been thinking of buying some EZcube (or tent) with some lighting equipment and keep them at hand for training and for future product photography maybe, anyway, such expenses now are formidable with my traveling date coming closer. Lot of plans are delayed for now until I come back home then.

Yonder Portraiture

Well, they are no real trials for portraits just like those images taken, but along with the techniques workshop I'm already enrolled in, we came across a training session to do the manual metering. I've been already into that and I've been reading volumes and articles about this subject, however the experience is a bit difference. You got to use only the reflective metering of the camera (no light meter) and in a dark room. Most of the images came out shaky anyway but two of them were particularly interesting.

Sleepy Eye
Canon EF 100mm Macro, f/5, 10^-1sec, ISO 200.

Even though shaky a bit, I guess this one was the most stable shot in the stack of dozens of other shots that were taken successively. I've cropped it in a squared ratio since the space and the skin, as I believe, didn't add much criteria to the whole. It is still somehow out of focus in the middle I guess.
The play here is to add Two Black and White adjustment layers. The first one would control the tones of the iris itself alone (with the help of the layer mask), while the second layer on top would convert the whole image into Black and White and control the global tones. The light that was in use here is a monolight brought by my teacher to the class and the light itself was a subject for a snoot, and a bar-door to control the size of the light circle.

Yonder
Canon EF 100mm, f/5, 10^-1sec
ISO 100

Another shot here which was a trial to do the rim-light effect with the help of manual metering using the Manual mode in the camera, but maybe I've exaggerated with the effect a bit. The side facing the light is maybe out of focus a bit, probably I've should have raised the f-number. The light color is more saturated due to the fact that I've used a Daylight WB, which adds a yellow shade to the image. Lot of people commented that the face of my friend here is a critical factor in achieving the impact on the viewer due to the facial hair and the pose.
The shooting angle here is below pointing to the chin, as I got down on my knee and pointed up to his chin trying to break the boring rhythm of shooting directly on the side of the face.
I guess one of the reasons that keeps me away from doing portraiture is the fact that you need a lot of equipments; that is, lot of lighting. Things are delicate. I wish though I do have an arsenal of speedlites like Syl Arena, but thinking about it further, not all lighting conditions and solutions are available in speedlites. At some point, you would still need to have a monolight and the other junkies!

Night Time!

My favorite part is coming along in the current workshop. Night time photography, and all the accompanying hassle of long exposures. The training might have been a burden for some photographers in the group, but all what mattered for me back then is choosing the suitable spot, and whether or not filters are available at hand.
In the beginning, we had a slight training at the Scientific Center; one of my favorite spots already. After some clicks here and there as the sun was setting down and the sky turning blue, I've been fluctuating between my 18-55mm and my 8mm fisheye. Probably the fisheye in that location is more adequate for capturing the architecture of the place. There was also a tiny training for illuminating the shadows with flash strobes; something like light painting but not exactly the same concept - but merely adding light to the shadowed or dark areas to make a balanced shot. Also, our teacher taught us a funny way to partially block the highlight region by moving our hands in that portion so fast and avoid blowing out the exposure in that region (since our metering is done for midtone).

Rokinon 8mm fisheye, f/8, 5sec, ISO 100
No Correction

After correction with DxO Optics

One of the shots that got my teacher's interest is the one above. I didn't name it since most of these training shots were done merely for training purposes and not to be uploaded to stock sites. Anyway, my teacher seems like me, one fond of fisheye lenses. He likes it but wanted me to elevate the camera up a bit (probably to move the small columns level downward). My tripod didn't help in such level, and in fact this shot was taken balancing the front of the lens on a bottle of water laid flat on the ground! The body was on the ground completely. So far, I think the original version better than the corrected one: it's compact and the gate appears larger and occupies a better proportion of the image. However, it was worthy trying it out and compare.
Beside those shots done in the Scientific Center, which were done in a windy weather, we headed the next day to Shuwaikh Beach area to do some long exposures with ND filters. It was training as well but it was helpless for me as the decent angles to shoot the water splashing against the rocks needed some effort to go on down the rocks and concrete barriers; a shaky situation that I didn't like to try with my tight jeans!
However, the evening didn't pass without shots here and there. We tried doing silhouettes and I took the chance myself to goof around with some abstract and some handheld panorama done with Rokinon's 8mm fisheye lens. Amazingly though, the handheld panorama, after stitching, looked more like a single portrait shot!

Brick Art
Rokinon 8mm fisheye, f/3.5, 200^-1, ISO 100

As I was listening to my teacher explaining some aspect of the long exposure calculations and considerations, suddenly these bricks caught my eyes (ADHD?) and I've decided to roam around them taking pictures from different angles, and this angle in Brick Art is the one that I've liked the most, and I've done some cropping on the left side to keep the bricks in one third of the image as much as possible. One of the blessings and curses of using a fisheye lens is the fact that you can get a suitable depth of field with a minimum f-number (f/8 or f/11 would be enough sometimes), but it's hard to get a decent blurred background or a decent isolation for the foreground when you use a low f-number. This is apparent in Brick Art as I've used f/3.5 with a minimum focusing distance of 30cm (~1 ft), and yet the background is blurred, but not in a rough manner. Would I be using my Canon's 15mm fisheye lens in f/2.8, I think the situation would be the same. I've tried the 15mm before as I was trying to do a certain panorama with an idea of isolating the foreground, but it didn't quite work out well.

Now, as I'm typing these words on Wednesday to be posted on Thursday, I'm supposed to go and do some long exposure on my own by at sunset time, and my teacher agreed that I would do it in my favorite location, the beach area in Salmiyah. I don't know what results to expect, as the water will be regressing then, anyway maybe I will have some results to add by next week's post. I'm planning already to use my Tamron 70-300mm, to be at a safe distance from the water and have a higher f-number as much as possible. Yet, I'm not sure what composition I'm running after. I have to be on location.

Well, this is all for now, and I'm waiting for the workshop to be over with soon, in order to have a decent time with myself to prepare and get ready for the travel in October. I've signed for the leave already and boy I do need some cash on me already.
My stuff are scattered around and it's hard to chase after them piece by piece, just like it is with my own life. I think getting busy with such stuff is far better than spending valuable time daydreaming, but I'm exhausted. So damn exhausted...

Ávanúnú

A day that starts with a severe diarrhea is not to be counted in your life span, this is for sure. Now, I think I can make some connection between the dates (food) I take by night, and the diarrhea I get next morning. I think I over-ate those. I still feel some upset in my intestines and my body is just so tired to do anything.
No photo shots for days now, as I'm walking slowly with my life, or trying to at least, with other things on my mind. Seriously, to do everything I wish to I would need the power of 10 men... and the time of course! The traveling time is approaching and I must prepare some stuff already, and a new shoe is a prime concern! You don't wanna go to some foreign airport and the people checking your stuff go "EEEW," right? Yep, that's it.

Today, as usual, I was lucky to translate one verse of the story, but the weird thing is, I was writing down in slow motion. I couldn't speed up my pace! I kept my handwriting small relative to how I used to write down the other pages. This is why I like handwriting analysis. In such situations you wouldn't know what is really going through you, but with handwriting analysis you can discover deep within this brain the true feelings that are beamed through your fingers to your pen. Unfortunately, I didn't device a way to analyze my handwriting with Ayvarith... as I am the only speaker (and not fluent as well) in the whole world! Feels cool somehow, duh!

After I made this "simple" translation, I hit the engine and went on to pick some stuff that I need for my camera and to get a new shoe (as mentioned before). The humidity is lessened today, but the heat in general is still awful. The streets were fine though! I thought I will face such a traffic jam by 9:30 a.m., but I didn't! Ramadhan this year has a soothing effect on people, so I hope it lasts until the end of the month. People usually prefer to stay away from the streets (generally speaking despite the traffic jams in previous years), and would avoid going in this sun, but for me I think it is a sort of a challenge. It is either indeed the blessed mercy of God that befell on me to make me do my stuff today under such a heat, or it is my self-esteem and stubborness, that God bestowed upon me as well, but I felt the urge to go out and finish it even with such weather. I sweated to much and I do feel my throat like a piece of wood, but I feel relaxed in the same time. To me, it is always a matter of mood in fact. When I don't like to go out of work to do my stuff outside in normal days, it is mainly a matter of the mood itself and not the lack of strength or time, but today, I was eager to do it all! Hallelujah. I don't want to strike myself with an evil eye. Unfortunately, I didn't find a CF memory card, but at least I got myself a camera remote and got myself a new battery as well. And now I just remembered that I didn't get a plug-head for my camera charger from the TSC store, after getting my shoes from there. UGH!

On my way from the cameras store to TSC, there were some cops here and there (some in black cars and some in those clown-like cars for traffic). I passed the yellow light while a black police car was beside me, and although it passed with me I was scared that something might happen or so. You don't know the mood of those guys here! Then, Just in the next traffic light, as it turned green, a cop was flashing his lights and turning on the red and blue and the siren, I thought something was going to happen to me personally or that cop reported my pass for the yellow light, but the clown-car passed me by and blocked the way of the other road coming from the right. Did I say I hate Mondays before? Well, today is no exception, but it was that close to my mind. However, I won't feel safe and sound, until the day is completely over!

You might wonder by now about the title and the image on top. This word I encountered in the text that I've written (and forgotten), and it means "his ancestors." I liked the way the word sounded, so I decided to put it here today. Doesn't sound cute? You judge!
When I made this word, I didn't really have some specific conjugations in my mind, but in some way the words just formulate as if by magic in your brain and spelled out. Let's peek a bit into this word, Ávanúnú* [Ankh sequence: aavunwnw]**:
1. Origin: originated from the word "Avvá" [Ankh sequence: auvWa], meaning: father.
2. Singular form: Ávanú [Ankh sequence: aavunw], meaning: ancestor.
3. Plural form: Ávanún [Ankh sequence: aavunwN], meaning: ancestors.
4: Conjugates:

a. my ancestor, ancestors: ávanuwáy [aavunowaY], ávanúnáy [aavunwnaY].
b. your ancestor, ancestors: ávanúká [aavunwka], ávanúnaká [aavunwnuka].
c. his ancestor, ancestors: ávanwú [aavunww], ávanúnú [aavunwnw].
d. her ancestor, ancestors: ávanuwá [aavunowa], ávanúná [aavunwna].
e. our ancestor, ancestors: ávanuwáyun [aavunowayoN], ávanúnáyun [aavunwnayoN].
f. your (plural) ancestor, ancestors: ávanúkun [aavunwkoN], ávanúnakun [aavunwnakoN].
g. their (m) ancestor, ancestors: ávanúm [aavunwM], ávanúnim [aavunwniM].
h. their (f) ancestor, ancestors: ávanúne [aavunwne]***, ávanúnin [aavunwniN].

5. Related words: avvúnah [avvwnuH], meaning: ancestry.

While writing the pervious information I discovered that I might need to add/remove some stuff from the grammar page that I made before! Anyway, I would do it as I do the new page after GeoCities close down!

* The "v" sound in Ayvarith is a labial (done by lips only), like in Spanish.

** Ankh sequence is the sequence used by the Ankh font, which I use to type with Ayvarith. Ask me if you like to have font!

*** The original suffix for feminine plural third person is [-in], but in this case and to avoid the mix with the original plural of the word itself, an "e" is added at the end.

I need a shower... NOW!

Headache, Headache, Headache...

An awful day. The headache just doesn't leave my head. I don't know what pill to take, and the humidity just makes it worse.
After going around as usual on Thursday's night, and after dropping my friend back, I went to the seashore to take some photos finally after delaying the plan for one or two weeks. The humid weather makes it good for light sources, so I didn't want to miss the chance for taking photos that night. I got back home finally at 2:30 a.m., and worked directly on the photos. I'm not so satisfied with the results though. Each snap took some seconds for the shutter to close and open again, and in that time, the camera might have shook a bit, despite the fact that I was using a tripod but there was some breeze in the air. I tried as well to make a panoramic shoot for one building (which I don't know what it was exactly), and like any panoramic shoot, several pics are taken, but this time I had to take 3 shots for every part of the building going all the way up to the top. I could have taken all the building in one shot but with a zoom-in and making a panoramic shoot, you can enlarge the building enormously. Still, I am coping with the noise in these images.

On the other hand, there is always the typical shooting for the Kuwait Towers and this time from afar (and I did this one before as well). The humidity I guess helped to add to some sparkle and halo around the light sources in the image. The image is composed in HDR but also been twisted around with colors and contrast. Otherwise, I think it would be a dull image.

As for now, I have to find something to eat (though I don't feel like it) because it is the beginning of Ramadhan, the month of fasting. With this headache I can't force myself to eat, but maybe some dates and milk would do. I don't know what pills to have now to calm down this damned headache. Maybe some Cataflam would do! Not a weekend that I would like to have again in my life...

More Humidity, and Stupidity...

Well, it is a quiet day relatively, beside the annoying humidity still. I decided to work on some translation and I finished 2 verses so far, and I think this is enough for today. After finishing the first verse, I went on to buy a new rollerball pen as the one I was using started to jerk off. Thank God we have some store in the campus. I got a new one and I'm just so happy about it! I might sound like a baby or a crazy old man (like those who don't believe I'm from Kuwait) but I was so happy about it. I have some passion for pens and pencils. The feel of something smooth going down from your fingers into the paper, and the shiny luster of the ink just before it gets dry over the paper, all of that makes me live in my own world. I like it mostly as smooth black ink. I do write in other colors, like Green or Blue sometimes, but the most precious of all to me is the Black. Writing with Black does give me a sense of writing a manuscript; an old manuscript that is, specially when it comes to write down the Ayvarith alphabet (abjad if I should be precise and not alphabet) on paper.

I wrote some lines for my story... but the ideas are progressing so slow and I can't think of something to complete the story with. I think this what happens when you force yourself to write something without having the mood to write in the beginning. Just a blank sheet of paper filling your brain.

I was surfing through some of the old photos and I found out this:

It was taken with my old Sony. When small, the picture looks good, but I don't know about the real size. I think I would find the original somewhere in the old DVDs I have made as back-ups. This plant is sacred in Hinduism, and it is used and planted for its smell. The Indian call it Thulsi as I was told, and in English I think it is called Bagel or Bagil (?) while in Arabic, it is Mashmoom. Ironically, the Arabic name tells about the usage of the plant, since "Mashmoom" means (the smelled one). As simple as that. This image sparked in me the love of winter again (the image was not taken in winter in fact), but winter and spring come together hand in hand, to me at least. The plant still exists in my house right now although there is more brownish parts right now after the seasons that passed along already. A sensation of hope of happiness goes through, as I look at it... but when...

Humid...

Today is so DAMN HUMID. These are the simplest words that I can describe it with. Let's see what other beautiful things I had in this day:
1. Pick my sister from the garage (her car's battery went dead last night).
2. Going back home of course and dropping stuff (along with my sister).
3. Aftre coming back to work I had a little rest then went on with my friend driving him here and there to do some paperwork around the campus.
4. I got a heavy dose of unuseful blabbering as usual.

All of that was in a nice, romantic humid weather. Needless to say what happens to my hair in such situations! Made me really uneasy with myself. I'm at home as I'm typing and I'm planning for my next BIG shower. The main problem now is that, in such weather, taking a shower can prove really fatal and you won't be dry again til September comes!
All of that made me really uneasy and I was coping to stay awake and type something for my story. I typed few words but after all I had to give up and take a nap in the office for like 30 minutes at least. On the road, I had to play Twister again, not only because of my absent mind from the tiresome weather, but also for the stupidity and the amazing driving of some people. I had to slow down on the left lane just because I had the mood to make the guy behind me fly off the handle... and guess it worked.

One of the latest discoveries recently, is that Stupidity started to spread over the internet with me finding out that some guys think I'm lying about my identity when I say I'm from Kuwait. Moreover, when I tell them the weather is humid today, they laugh and act the know-it-all and ask "Kuwait? Humid?." I do feel sorry for them really, but I can't help it with such weather today and such mood except to curse them all the time. Let's hope their tomato sauce won't get deeper into their minds.

Away from all of this stupidity, I made ready some of the photos that I took already in the past few days.

The topmost photo is, of course, for the Kuwait towers. This image was combined in HDR and some contrast play is applied after that. To smooth it even more, I had to apply a "surface blur." The final touch, and the hardest, was to blur the front and make the towers show firmly at the back. The idea sounds a bit weird to me because it is typical to see the subject against a blurred background, but not a blurred foreground. My eyes isn't used to it.

The lower image was one of the images I took in the morning of my birthday, where I combined the HDR image and then applied the dramatic effect. A larger image is better to be viewed here, because of the complexity of the subject.

Finally, and because of this MARVELOUS day, I couldn't translate anything in my story. I was planning already to do something, at least one verse if possible, but with all that running up and down I just couldn't do anything at all. Needless to talk about my screwed mood already.

THURSDAY! HERE I COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!