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Jumeirah Beach Residence
On the DXO website, the Nikon D4S gets an overall score of 89. The Sony Alpha A99 gets 89. The Canon 5D mark III gets 81, the EOS 6D gets 82. The Leica S2-P ($30,000) gets 76. The Phase one P65+ medium format ($40,000) gets 89. DxOMark is the trusted industry standard for camera and…
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Dubai after the rain
When you spend the whole year in the desert, it’s a treat when the rain comes. This shot is slightly soft (hand held) taken from close to Al Wasl looking towards Sheikh Zayed road, the last few weeks of good weather just before the Summer comes. Oh!! And this is the first post of the…
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National Day
I was unsure what to title this post… National day or Satwa, or proud to be Emirati… It is taken in Satwa, originally, its residents were mainly of the Bloushi tribe. Notable features include the Iranian Hospital and the Al Satwa bus terminal. Al Satwa is known for its large South Asian community and now Philippino community,…
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Jumeirah Mosque at Ramadan
If there’s one thing you should do before the holy month ends, it is visit Jumeirah Mosque at sunset. It is draped in pretty fairy lights and it is the only chance you get to see it this way all year. Jumeirah Mosque, is one of the cities most beautiful mosques, it sits on the…
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Sunrise over Dubai marina
Shot at F9, with the 24-70mm, 14th February 2011, sunrise over Dubai Marina, the biggest Marina in the world. In order to create the man-made marina, the developers brought the waters of the Persian Gulf into the site of Dubai marina, creating a new waterfront. There is a large central waterway, excavated from the desert…
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Labour Camp – Al Quoz
You may have heard about the labour camps in Dubai? Some have been written about not so positively, at other times, they get positive news. However, they are here to stay and the men, mostly from the Indian subcontinent and surrounding areas, are transported from labour camp to building site every day and back again,…
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Forts – Al Ain
For those of you that know me, you’ll know one of my favourite places by now. There’s quite a few old Forts for you to visit, this one taken at Al Qattara Oasis, lying to the north of Al Ain, the oasis has a number of historical buildings dating mostly from the beginning of the twentieth…
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Jumeirah Lakes Towers
Sunset shot, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, facing the sea, in the distance you can see the Address Hotel, Dubai Marina. JLT which consists of 79 towers being constructed along the edges of four artificial lakes, sits across from Dubai Marina, rent is cheaper here and the roads are a bit of a mess, the one way system…
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Date harvesting season
This is F5 at 1/200. Some of you may know that presently the date palm trees are straining under the weight of the juicy dates ready to drop. Dates are one of the staples of the Bedouin… many years ago, dates and fish and the odd locust if they were lucky along with some tasty…
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Burqa for sale
Hoods are called “burqa” in Arabic falconry and come in many beautiful and different designs for your falcon. This shot at 1/200 at F4.5. The Arab hood is marked by the circular pattern to make the hood fit the contours of the eyes and head. These are typically molded on a block and have a flat…
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Tile factory worker, Al Quoz
Lens 24-70, 1/160 at F11 and a 1,200 W strobe. Such a great subject, happy to pose for me, they all told me they don’t make tiles any more at this place in Al Quoz, they simply sort and stack coal, all day long and live and pray at the back of the yard, along…
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Quran tuition available
Quran tuition available. This shot taken in Sharjah, the more stricter Emirate next door to Dubai. Hand held, 1/200 at 5.6. Sharjah is the only Emirate in which the sale, possession and consumption of alcohol is banned. It also maintains the strictest decency laws in the UAE, introduced in 2001, with a conservative dress code required…
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Heritage Village, Dubai
Dubai Heritage village, have you been? In Bur Dubai, next to Carrefour, also now with a new Metro station. The recent UAE national day celebrations were held there, some beautiful original houses with wind towers. Go at sunset, enter Creek side. Hand held at F11, shot at 1/200.
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Together
Yes, the beautiful Dubai winter skies are back, I thought they’d never come This image is hand held, shot with my Nikon 24mm wide angle, PC lens can’t say enough good things about this lens! Also – 1/250, F9, ISO 100, taken at 4.02pm. – Downtown Dubai, Emaars beautiful glass buildings opposite Dubai Mall with the Burj…
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Aaaah… Winter is here!
1/200 at F9, hand held, in PS i straightened the lines a little (it was shot with the 14-24) and pushed the blacks and the vibrance a tiny bit. Dubai Marina, early morning. The 14-24 is as wide as can be, doesn’t keep lines straight though, but it’s very nice glass. Oh, how i’ve missed…
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Burj Khalifa Sunset
This image shot of Dubai skyline and Burj Khalifa from Al Khawaneej, just the other side of Mirdif in the desert, 1/40 of a second at F9 with my 24-70, tripod and cable release. Summer skies still killing the clarity a little. 10 minutes after this, the jeep wouldn’t start, dead battery, we were losing…
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God’s Own Country
This image is shot at F9, shutter open for 6 seconds, ISO 200, 24-70. I’ve pulled the fill light a tiny bit in Lightroom and boosted the saturation slightly, that is all… The blue us amazing isn’t it?! I’m just back from a week in Kerala, the land of rivers and backwaters. A few days…
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Jumeirah Mosque in Ramadan
Are you enjoying the holy month?! I have friends that have prepared gift packs for some of the citys Labourers (Google it if you want to get involved, there are a number of charities helping), I have so far attended a couple of very enjoyable iftars. Have hand picked ripe dates at Al Ain Oasis.…
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Opening night
Emaar’s flagship project, the Burj Khalifa tower, was officially opened on January 4, 2010 on the anniversary of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s accession. It tops out above 800m tall – making it now the world’s tallest tower, this image I shot opening night. Some 10,000 fireworks helped mark the topping-off of the $1.5 billion…
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Abra Driver
Abra’s will take you across Dubai Creek for a Dirham! Historically, the creek divided the city into two main sections – Deira and Bur Dubai. It was along the Bur Dubai creek area that members of the Bani Yas tribe first settled in the 19th century, establishing the Al Maktoum dynasty in the city. Whilst parking near to Bur Dubai…
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Cultural Iftar during the holy month
If you’ve ever wondered around the lovely Bastakiyah area, near the Creek, you will most definitely have come across the Sheikh Mohammad Centre for Cultural Understanding. It is a non-profit organisation established to increase awareness and understanding between the various cultures that live in Dubai. Operating under the banner of ’Open doors, Open Minds’ the SMCCU strives to remove…
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Hili Oasis
Grass growing wild, natural running water, palm trees left to grow any which way, dates hanging, nearly ready for harvest, where could it be?!!? Certainly not Dubai, the grass would be all the same length, the palm trees would be perfectly tall and straight. Drive out of Al AIn towards Dubai and Hili Oasis is…
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Beware the djinn
Jazirat Al Hamra, a haunted village – an undisturbed picture of life before oil. It appears that few people these days know about Jazirat Al Hamra, the little deserted village south of Ras Al Khaimah town. It’s the ancestral home of the Zaabi family (or tribe) who left Ras Al Khaimah following an ongoing dispute with…
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Emergency Services
Emergency Fire service in Dubai is facilitated by the Dubai Civil Defence, under the Ministry of Interior. This shot was taken at a huge fire in Al Quoz. As you would imagine, the city that is home to the worlds tallest building, also has a fleet of emergency vehicles to shout about, including Corvettes, Hummers…
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Camel for sale
Do you have a camel for sale, do you have a camel truck? If you do, then Al Ain camel souq is the place you want to be! Located in the garden city, close to Bawadi Mall. Short camels, tall camels, young camels, old camels, ugly camels, beautiful camels, camels from far off places, every type…
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Gotham City
Dubai, sunset shot, Rolex tower still under construction on the left, new monorail station dead centre, winding its way parallel alongside Dubais main artery – Sheikh Zayed Road. The 10 lane highway runs parallel to the coastline from Trade Centre Roundabout in Dubai to the border with the emirate of Abu Dhabi, The road was formerly known as…
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Dancing chefs
If you have ever visited the Fruit and Vegetable market, situated in Ras Al Khor, close to International City, you may have come across Muzareen Restaurant, hiding away, right at the back. A busy little eaterie where workers can come and grab a spot of lunch or a bottle of water. You won’t find a restaurant manager…
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Dhow builder
Jadaf is the main boat building area of Dubai and home to the original dhow building yard. A dhow is a traditional Arab sailing vessel with one or more lateen sails. Construction of them in the region is now a fading art, construction of more modern boats costs less and can be done quicker. Even to the present day, dhows…
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Quiet moment in Bastakiya
Bastakiya, one of the oldest and most beautiful parts of the city at the side of the Creek. One of the few areas of Dubai where you can still see original wind towers. It is quiet and peaceful. A little oasis at the side of the Creek, but away from the hustle and bustle of…
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Mosque Visitors Only
I shot this as I was driving away from the Desert Saloon last week, where i get my hair cut in Satwa. We’re touching 45-50 degrees right now and if you’re out in the mid-day heat it’s a killer. I think Satwa is probably my favourite place in the city, you can get anything you need,…
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Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Abu Dhabi
Sheikh Zayed mosque Abu Dhabi shot 14th of February, early evening shot. The majestic Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is probably the most imposing religious and national landmark in Abu Dhabi to date. It is also arguably one of the most important architectural treasures of contemporary UAE society – and one of the most beautiful in…
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Burj Khalifa
This image shot at 7.04pm local time, we’re getting some lovely light evenings at the moment, it was pretty hot, I was sweating buckets and dodging tourists, I also had a battery failure at one point, but I was determined to get the light – the 10-15 minutes of sunset ‘right’ light – the blue/black,…