DWTC Photography

Getting together again

2009-01-18T13:28:00.002+04:00

Dear all.

I see there is no activity at all! When are we going to get together again?

Dubai Safa Park - Scenery (With Comments)

2008-12-30T14:42:00.008+04:00

This collection of photographs contain some good ones and some "good examples" of "not to do" while taking pictures. Comments are provided beneath most of the pictures below. Comments of the Club members are welcomed also.

There is some similarity between the branches of the trees in the foreground and the stem of the trees to the left.

This picture will look better if the small boat is between the tree trunk to the left and the small palm tree in the middle.

This pictures looks very crowded, and the light pole does not add any value to the picture but actually distract the view. This is on "good example" of "bad photography"!!

The angle of the sun is too high to get a good water reflection.

Compare the two pictures above. The one below has more tree branches as foreground filling more of the sky area above. In my view it looks better.

Showing the building in the back ground to the right resulted in more sky area in the picture. The hazy weather did not allow the camera to have sharp focusing when set in Program mode. Try to find a near sharp and clear image and small aperture to obtain a better picture.

The back ground building to the right is eliminated resulting in larger tree images and less sky. The composition and colours are better but still have the focusing problem in the hazy weather.

Any comment from any one?

This is a "good example" of "not to do" photography. The composition is good with its foreground (the gentleman), a main object (the trees) and Burj Dubai in the back ground. The camera was set on auto focus and centred on Burj Dubai during the hazy weather resulting in the images not to have good sharpness. The solution is to focus on a nearer and sharper object and use a large depth of field to capture all images.

The tree in the middle of the picture has created a balance between the flower bed, the back ground and the sky.

The black area at the top corners are the edges of the lens hood. This happen when using a long focal length of a telephoto lens while the hood is on. Remove it if necessary, or adjust the focal length slightly to eliminate this Shadow. The hood itself may be rotated to have the shorter edges towards the top.

Depth of field not enough to give a sharp image!!

Any comments??

Any Comments??

Pick your favourite!!

Dubai Safa Park - Water Fountain

2008-12-29T17:22:00.011+04:00

These pictures were taken from two different angles, one angle from the side subjected to directed sun light and the other angle from the shaded side. The water drops appeared better when captured away from direct sun light while the full view appeared better when under direct light as the steel pipes became more obscured by the water.

Dubai Safa Park - Members in Action

2008-12-15T17:33:00.012+04:00

Dubai Safa Park - Flowers

2008-12-15T17:00:00.013+04:00

A Day Out for DWTC Photography Club

2008-12-10T12:05:00.023+04:00

The moment finally arrived for the first photo-shooting day-out for DWTC photography club. Now although we started the day at 9:30 in the morning with little disappointment concerning the total number of people who attended, those who actually showed up have made the day for everyone else. So I start this thread with a big THANK YOU for everyone who was able to attend and joined us on this exciting endeavor, and I strongly hope that everyone would be there next time.

Al Safa park was the target for our day out. It was my choice for our first gathering because it represents a good location for operating on our first assignment i.e. shooting flowers and people like the pros! Shooting landscapes was on the agenda, but we skipped it due to lack of time.

It was a beautiful day. The sky was clear blue, the birds were singing everywhere, and as you slowly close your eyes, you can feel everyone's smiles crawling in front of you.

We kicked-off by hunting down flowers to shoot them. Mind you, shooting flowers this time employed a different technique than the traditional one known to many of us. This time, we shoot the flowers from an angle we do not see everyday.

Lots of flowers, contrast of colors, this location marked a very good spot for our assignment.

Moments after we arrived to the location, everyone engaged in taking pictures using their cameras. It was also an opportunity to learn about using the Macro mode for some of us, and a reminder to read those manuals we left at home.

Some took the statement "shooting from an angle we don't see everyday" to the extreme, but hey, all is good as long as the final product is a good photo.

Moving on to the second part, shooting portraits. One of the main keys here was to find an area with shade (behind a tree), focus on the subject, make sure fill-in flash is active, and shoot!

It was an exciting endeavor, and we all enjoyed it. I am very happy we were able to reach this far, and hope to take it forward more with each one of you. Looking forward for our next endeavor.

Till then, take good care, and Carpe Diem!

Photos by Laidback

2008-11-21T20:29:00.002+04:00

Dubai Safa Park - Plants & Leaves

2008-11-18T12:17:00.014+04:00

2008-11-17T11:28:00.004+04:00

Jumeirah Beach - AFTER the Ecoli Water Poisoning Warning

2008-11-08T22:30:00.004+04:00

Session two - Assignment for next class

2008-09-03T10:31:00.001+04:00

This is the assignment for next class. The deadline is not specified yet, but make sure you work on them before the 10th of September. You can email me all your work to my email.

1) Take 5 photos without considering cropping and view angle, then try to take the same 5 photos while bearing cropping and view angle in mind.
2) Take 5 photos without bearing the rule of thirds in mind, then try to take the same 5 photos while bearing the rule of thirds in mind.
3) Take 2 photos that represent the depth-of-field concept, that is, one photo should have a shallow depth of field, and the other should have a deep depth of field.

Take care

First Session

2008-08-21T14:52:00.001+04:00

Dear all,

Thank you all for attending today’s class, it was my pleasure making your acquaintances, and I look forward passionately to more sessions with everyone. Based on what we discussed today, I would like to remind everyone who has not participated as a member on the club’s blog (http://dwtcphoto.blogspot.com) yet, please do so today. We will be posting lots of communication and feedback over there, and remember, you’ll be uploading your photos there in the near future. For now, we are set to meet next Thursday, same timing, until further notice. I’ll update your calendars accordingly.

Next week’s assignment

Browse to the following URL: http://www.shortcourses.com/use/

Read and prepare the first chapter. This will recap on almost everything we spoke about today in terms of Camera’s main controls and features. Read, and relate to your camera accordingly.

Buying a Camera

There are so many resources out there to guide you on buying the best camera that suits your needs. Visit the following two links to get a better and clearer vision of your future camera. You can always ask me about anything you find confusing.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/125645/how_to_buy_a_digital_camera.html
http://www.betterphoto.com/digital/buying-best-digital-cameras/01-intro.asp

Thank you, and see you soon!

Welcome to DWTC Digital Photography

2008-07-24T21:02:00.000+04:00

Prelude

Cameras don’t take good pictures, the photographer does. You can spend a lot of money on the latest, state of the art photographic equipment. You can own a wide variety of lenses, filters, and even several different camera bodies. But if you don’t know how to see the picture before you take the picture, you won’t be happy with the results. The camera is the tool to help you capture exactly what you want to capture. But the process begins with your eyes, remember that. In this course, I will be providing you with the mere tips and advises, including live demonstrations, of how to see a picture before actually taking it.

Course outline:

Month one - Introduction Review fundamental aspects of photography, and understand what makes a great picture. Holding the camera (trust me you need to know this one), clean optics, pressing the shutter, Aperture, tripod, depth of field, composition, exposure. We will also be examining why certain pictures stand out, and others do not
Month two - Dive into further intermediate aspects of photography: Understand flash, focus, white balance, ISO, depth of field, and exposure compensation. Recognize all factors responsible for the final outcome of a picture.
Month three - Advanced photography techniques Learn how to frame your picture, take beautiful night photos, portraits, and landscapes, and other advanced photography techniques.

Frequency and duration of meeting

Around 50 people signed up for the course (I am very flattered), and all of them were asked choose their preferred course meeting time. The results came as follows:

45% Chose Evening Timing (preferably 5-6)
22% Chose Weekends (preferably anytime on Saturday)
31% Chose Lunch time (I think it is the ideal time. Common, you will miss your golden mean once every two weeks only, get real!)

Material and Estimated cost

You are required to bring your Camera to class, no other or special equipment is needed. Any digital point-&-shoot or DSLR camera is fine, almost all modern cameras share the common features needed for this class.