Category: Photography

Some of these pictures are just ridiculous! I already downloaded the Olympics opening to watch but after seeing these pictures I am thinking of holding off until I find a proper HD version. [Link]

Very eerie pictures of previously inhabited cities that have now been completely abandoned. [Link]

The other day I posted a video of kites being flown in the Kuwaiti desert. According to a reader the kites all belong to Al-Farsi Kites Team who also have the largest kite in the world. They have an official website and a flickr group with a lot of pictures including my favorites the Winnie Poo like bear and the squid like creatures. Here are the links:

Official Al-Farsi Kites Team Site
Al-Farsi Kites Flickr Pool

The beautiful picture above was taken by M.Ashkanani

After a very difficult decision I went ahead and purchased the Sony DSC-W300 digital camera. It was a difficult decision to make because the other camera options I was considering were all exceptionally good. I really wanted the Canon G9 for its SLR like features, the Ricoh GX100 for its strange look and the fact it took beautiful film like shots while the Sigma’s image quality alone was enough to tempt me to buy it. In the end though I REALLY needed a camera that I could carry around in my front pocket and I wouldn’t be able to do that with the three cameras I just mentioned. That brought down my choices to the Fuji F100fd, Nikon S600 and the Sony W300. The Fuji’s interface and usability I read would be a problem, the Nikon S600 lacked in certain features and I tried the S700 version at a Nikon dealer and didn’t like the feel of it so my final decision was to go with the Sony. I own two other Sony cameras at the moment, the Sony N1 and the Sony cult favorite the F717. Both cameras really exceeded my expectations and I never had problems with them so it only seemed fair I go with another Sony.

I purchased the camera from a store in Muthana Complex. The Sony dealer didn’t have the camera in stock and they were selling it for KD124.900, Carrefour also ran out of stock on the camera but they were selling it for KD123.900. But, I found a Sony reseller in Muthana who had the camera in stock and I managed to haggle my way and get the camera for KD118 with a 1GB Sony memory stick. The store if you are interested is located on the Mezzanine floor of Muthana between Andalus and the official Sony store.

First impressions so far is great. I’ve only taken shots in my office under the neon lights but the white balance did a good job. I also don’t need to turn on macro mode for macro shots, the camera automatically turns it on for me which is a nice little feature. I also shot inside at 1/30 with fairly shaky hands and the steady shot feature automatically came on to help keep my pictures sharp. The camera turns on and is ready to shoot in like under 2 seconds. Powering down takes around 3 which I actually find annoying since with my older Sony N1 I would hit the power off and then straight away put it into my pocket. Now I need to wait a second or two longer which means I have to change my habit. Other than that the only problem I can see at the moment is with the rear screen. With my Sony N1 the rear screen had a raised border around it which helped protect it from scratches, with the W300 the screen doesn’t have this border which makes it scratch friendly. This will only be an issue for me for the next week or two while the camera still has its “new smell” after that I won’t care much about it.

I will try to take a bunch of shots today in various conditions and post my second impressions. For now though I think I made the right decision. The camera has a ton of features and most importantly it fits into my pocket easily.

FYI: The reason I didn’t purchase the camera from Amazon was because after taxes it would cost me around KD100 then if you include shipping it would be around KD105 which isn’t a major saving. I would rather pay KD118 here, get the free memory stick, have a 1 year warranty and support a local store.

Update: This is a random shot I took outside on my way back from lunch. You can download the full untouched straight from the camera image by clicking [Here]. I shot this at the 8MP setting and not 13MP.

Update 2: Here is a shot of Nats MacBook Pro’s keyboard. It was shot at 13.6MP in macro mode using iso 1600. I am really impressed, keep in mind this is a P&S camera not a DSLR. The JPG is 4.38MB so its better if you right click and save as. [Picture 4.38MB]

I enjoy photography a lot and I have a whole range of cameras each serving a different purpose. The problem with most of my cameras is that they are just too big to carry around all the time. While in Munich although I had a lot of fun shooting with my old Nikon FE the fact remains it weighed a ton and I had to carry it around in a shoulder bag.

I currently have two small point & shoot cameras but they’re pretty outdated. I have a cheap Canon A530 camera which I keep in the car and then I have a Sony N1 which I am currently taking when I’m traveling. Problem with the two is that A530 doesn’t fit into my pocket and the Sony N1 doesn’t do well in dim lit situations. Thats why I’ve decided to search for a replacement. What I would like to have in my perfect camera is the following:

– Small size
– 6MP and up
– Bright lens
– RAW capabilities
– Great battery life
– Great image quality
– Great high iso performance
– Camera controls on top (like SLR’s)
– Character
– Metal body
– Needs to look good
– No budget (ok not Leica M8 budget)

If I was going to get a large DSLR camera I would get the Nikon D300 in a heart beat. Its a very easy decision since there aren’t that many high end DSLR’s to choose from. With a point & shoot camera its a different story, there are like a hundred different cameras to decide from and each has a different advantage. I’ve been doing a lot of research the past few days and so far the following are the cameras I am deciding between:

Canon G9
Great camera, shoots RAW, solid build but has decent high iso performance and I don’t think the camera fits into my pocket so it kinda kills the point.

Ricoh GX100
Its got a retro look, very solid build, shoots RAW, bright lens and great image quality. Problem is RAW shots take 5 seconds to save and has poor high iso performance which is a killer for me.

Sigma DP-1
This camera also has a retro look and also has a solid build. It uses the same image sensor as larger DSLR’s which means the image quality is fantastic. It has great high iso performance but the camera costs more than double the price of all the other cameras I am checking out and it only has a fixed 28mm lens which although I am a fan of isn’t really practical for my purpose.

Fuji Finepix F100fd
Not really a Fuji fan but this camera has excellent low light capabilities. Iso goes up to 3200 and the 1600 iso is pretty usable judging by the pictures online. But, I think this camera is really ugly, lacks character and many people have complained about its interface.

Sony W300
This camera and the next one below are fairly conservative choices. The W300 is a great size, looks good and has a durable black titanium body. It also has a pretty decent high iso performance and was the camera I was going to get except for the fact many users have complained about poor image quality.

Nikon S600
The cheapest camera from the bunch. Has excellent image quality, great size and looks plus a very fast start up time. Main problem with this camera is the shutter lag and no manual option.

Which camera am I going to go with? I have no clue at the moment. Its a tough choice and each camera has its advantage, I will probably do a bit more research and then decide what to get but so far I think I am leaning towards the Ricoh GX100. Once I decide I will post again here.

Update: Ok, the Ricoh GX100 which I had my mind set on will NOT fit into a jeans pocket [Picture]. I thought it was smaller than that. So now the G9, GX100 and Sigma DP1 are out of the picture. The Ricoh though looks like a great camera made for photographers. I was flipping through pictures taken by the GX100 on Flickr and all the pictures feel very film like. [Flickr Pictures]

This link contains some beautiful shots from the preparations to the summer Olympics that will be held in Beijing. The picture above is of a remote control car whose duty is to transport javelins back to the athletes. Lots of shots with their descriptions, check them out. [Link]

We always read about Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh in the papers but we never really get to see it. Luckily I met these two photographers the other day called Faisal and Jamal and they had some extraordinary shots of Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh which I found incredible. While browsing their website now I noticed they had 6 of those shots in their portfolio. They had more but I guess they couldn’t post them all online. The 6 they do have online are still interesting and give a glimpse of the living conditions in Jleeb. So check it out, its pretty sad. [Pictures]

I took my Nikon FE with me to Munich as I mentioned before I traveled. The camera is nearly 30 years old and the pictures I shot with the camera also look like they are nearly 30 years old. It’s an amazing effect and I have really fallen in love with this camera. I loved carrying the heavy weight around and then manually focusing on a shot before snapping it. I took 91 pictures in total but here is a link to my favorite ones. Notice it even made the very modern BMW World look 30 years old. [Pictures]

I am taking off to Munich tonight, will be back next Sunday. I am taking my Nikon FE camera pictured above. The camera originally belonged to my parents and when they went to Munich in the late 70’s they took the camera with them. Now thirty years later I am going back with the exact same camera, thats quality!

Awhile ago I passed by Boushahri to pick up some Fuji Reala and Velvia film and it turns out they don’t carry them anymore. So I ended up picking up some Fuji Pro 160’s which I’ve never tried before but I guess I was lucky to actually find any Fuji 35mm film. Sucks. So anyway, once I get back will develop the film and post some pictures up, should be interesting.

I found this very fascinating. Its pictures taken of people with their car decades ago compared with pictures of the same people with the same car today. Unbelievably cool. [Link]

via kottke

Office Snapshots is a website the has snapshots of offices of famous companies like Digg, eBay, Flickr, Adobe etc.. The one above for example was taken from the Digg collection. Tons of offices to flip though all listed on the left hand side one you visit the site. [Link]

A 60 meter wide crater that is 20 meters deep and has been burning since the 1950’s. In some of the shots it really does look like a doorway to hell. Creepy. [Link]

A lot of people have started sending in some pictures of the Hurricane Kuwaitina aftermath. You can check them by clicking [Here]

If you have any pictures send them to [email protected]

Update: Found this news article by AFP

Gale-force storm, hail showers hit Kuwait
KUWAIT CITY (AFP) — One person was killed and several wounded on Friday when a strong sandstorm triggered by gale-force winds and hail lashed the desert state of Kuwait, officials said.

The victim, a man, drowned in the sea while several people were injured at a shopping mall where glass shattered and fell on shoppers, a security official said.

The meteorological department said the storm was caused by gale-force winds that blew in “semi-tornado” fashion at around 90 kilometres (56 miles) per hour and warned that a similar storm is expected to hit the emirate on Saturday.

The violent winds also uprooted hundreds of traffic signposts, billboards, and trees and damaged many cars in several parts of Kuwait, witnesses reported.

Authorities appealed to people to stay indoors.

I needed to get a Polaroid camera today so I called all the Ashraf stores in Kuwait who are the Polaroid dealers and non of them had any cameras in stock except for the one in Salmiya who had two. I ended up passing by them and picking it up for KD20. On Amazon the same camera is being sold for KD43.500 so they are basically selling it in Kuwait for less than half the price. If you are interested they have one more in stock, their number is 5731372.

Today me and some friends including Stallion headed to Abdally with our 4×4’s to do some offroading. It took us over an hour of driving but when we finally got there it was worth the trip. I took a lot of pictures which you can check out by clicking on continue below (yes thats a Camry stuck in the sand). I also have a video of me doing a hill climb in my Wrangler which I uploaded onto YouTube. You can watch that by clicking [Here]