New Galleries

Do you have a pBase or Flickr gallery? Stage your show here with links.
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braeside
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New Galleries

Unread post by braeside »

I'm putting together a set of galleries from my recent trip to the Middle East, North Africa and Greece.

Please visit:

http://braeside.zenfolio.com/may2009

From Jordan
Image

From Delos
Image
David
braeside
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Re: New Galleries

Unread post by braeside »

If you do visit the galleries, feel free to add comments or sign the guest book, thanks. :D
David
aster
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Re: New Galleries

Unread post by aster »

Welcome back David,

The new galleries are rich with good photos and I like them all. I'm sure there are many more. :D
Looks like you used the A900 extensively in almost all weather conditions and photography types. Was it a trying task to carry the camera and the lenses in these situations?

Yildiz
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Dr. Harout
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Re: New Galleries

Unread post by Dr. Harout »

David, I'm amazed.
Just to be brief, There are few photographer's websites that I bookmark. Yours is in it. :D
A99 + a7rII + Sony, Zeiss, Minolta, Rokinon and M42 lenses

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braeside
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Re: New Galleries

Unread post by braeside »

aster wrote:Welcome back David,

Looks like you used the A900 extensively in almost all weather conditions and photography types. Was it a trying task to carry the camera and the lenses in these situations?

Yildiz
Thanks for you comments, although the equipment was a bit heavier than my previous A700 APS-C system, I didn't find it too much as really I was not having to carry it around all the time. I tended to take only a couple of lenses out with me, so a small lightweight camera shoulder bag was all I needed.

A lot of places had restrictions on cameras or bags, so I had to be careful what I carried on a trip by trip basis anyway. The rules seem to change on the whim of the officials on the day, sometimes no cameras allowed, or no flash and then another time you can do anything. In Alexandria Library we were told we could use the camera inside no problem. As part of the tour we got entry into an exhibition and I saw a notice about NO Flash, so I just took available light photos, then an official approached me and told me there was no photography allowed without a special ticket. I apologised and offered to delete my photos, but they kindly let me keep them. A lot of the restrictions on photography were for practical reasons, like very busy monasteries where there were hundreds of people with point and shoot cameras who did not know how to turn off their flashes, so the easiest thing to do was to ban ALL photography.

The most annoying thing for a still camera photographer is a guy with a video camera, because he stands in front for ages zooming and panning around, getting in the way of those who want to take a quick snap and away.

I mainly use the CZ 24-70 for walking around. I also had my Tamron 17-35 for wider angle - it is nice and light, quality is reasonable if stopped down - plenty of light most of the time so not a problem. For reasons of weight and space I did not take a telephoto zoom, instead just taking the 135/1.8 Zeiss - I loved using that. A longer telephoto would not have been much use as the heat mirage and dust in many places would have limited it I feel. I did get a few dust spots on the sensor, but they only showed up on over f11 shots, so relatively few shots affected and I can easily clone them out. I was changing lenses quite a bit outside in the dusty conditions.

I would have loved to have been able to take more people shots, but I'm a little too shy to ask permission in many situations, so I mainly did candid shots, but the large A900 attracted too much attention, where a small point and shoot camera would not have. Quite often others would be taking shots of camel drivers with their tiny camera with no problems, but as soon as I pointed the Zeiss anywhere in their direction they covered their faces or demanded payment for a photo. We also had to pay baksheesh to the tourist police in Alexandria to take pictures of a Mosque (outside).

Also we travelled long distances in coaches and saw some great mountain and desert scenery, but didn't get a chance to stop and photograph it. I did get some reasonable shots through the windows even though we we going fast and the windows were tinted, sometimes with enough shutter speed and camera close to the window to eliminate reflections they came out.

I left the A900 on Auto ISO (200-800) and that worked well, especially in Petra where the gorge is quite dark and next moment you are in mid day sunshine. I took a few bracketed sequences as well, just in case I wanted to do some HDR. I shot cRAW all the time.

I bought a bunch of 8GB cards before I went - when I put the second one in I was puzzled why it had only a quarter of the capacity of the first - I discovered that the dealer had sent me a 2GB by mistake (same colour and I had not noticed.) When I got home I emailed and explained the situation - the dealer said I had solved their puzzle - the stock-take had shown 1 extra 8GB card and 1 lost 2GB. They gave me a refund AND let me keep the 2GB - very good honest dealing I felt.
David
braeside
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Re: New Galleries

Unread post by braeside »

Dr. Harout wrote:David, I'm amazed.
Just to be brief, There are few photographer's websites that I bookmark. Yours is in it. :D
Thanks for your kind words Dr :oops:
David
Javelin
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Re: New Galleries

Unread post by Javelin »

it's interesting the story about people hiding from the A900. I've been hearing a lot of this sort of thing recently on the forums and about other restrictions, maybe there is somethig to this "smaller is better " push. I Really liked going through your gallery. is there more to come from your trip?
braeside
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Re: New Galleries

Unread post by braeside »

Javelin wrote:it's interesting the story about people hiding from the A900. I've been hearing a lot of this sort of thing recently on the forums and about other restrictions, maybe there is somethig to this "smaller is better " push. I Really liked going through your gallery. is there more to come from your trip?
Maybe Pentax are on to something :P

Yes quite a lot more to come, but I'm trying to edit it down from the 1500 or so shots. :shock:

The highlights were Petra, Delos and Leptis Magna.
David
paulmurphy
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Re: New Galleries

Unread post by paulmurphy »

I really like the galleries David, especially Petra and the flower pictures.

The tonality and the micro-detail in the shots give a 3D feel to many (I'd almost convinced myself I didn't need an A900 - now I'm not so sure)

Please let us know when you have some more images up.

Best wishes

Paul
braeside
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Re: New Galleries

Unread post by braeside »

paulmurphy wrote:I really like the galleries David, especially Petra and the flower pictures.

The tonality and the micro-detail in the shots give a 3D feel to many (I'd almost convinced myself I didn't need an A900 - now I'm not so sure)

Please let us know when you have some more images up.

Paul
Thanks Paul. I guess there might be something in this Zeiss 3D things after all? - or it could just be the nice lighting we had in sunny climes.

You can check the RSS feed for updates:
[url]feed://braeside.zenfolio.com/recent.rss[/url]
David
aster
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Re: New Galleries

Unread post by aster »

Hi David, :D

Thank you, that's invaluable and a good amount of information on your post. I don't quite understand why there's a regular charge of 'bakhsheesh' when you photographed the mosques from the outside. In Turkey, only landmarks that rank as museums require either permission or a small amount of fee and in all others you can take photos either inside or outside without anyone bothering you in any way. When I visit Hagia Sophia which is a musuem I have to buy an extra ticket for my camera and shooting. Same rule applies to some of the Ottoman Palaces which are also museums if you have a video recorder or a big camera but nothing is paid for photography for shooting the Blue Mosque or the other mosques that function daily and in which devotees pray.

But now that I recall, when I was in Iraq and wanted to photograph the golden domes of some of the mosques in Najaf and Baghdad, there were some guys who sprung in front of me out of nowhere to say "forbidden! forbidden!". But later when I told in English that I came from Turkey where muslims live all of a sudden they changed their attitudes and allowed me to take photos as I please. I couldn't understand that at the time but later was told that they didn't want to share their santuaries with people from other religions. But they got better in the later years and were very hospitable to all foreigners no matter...people learn and change! :D

Looking forward seeing more of your photos,

Yildiz
braeside
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Re: New Galleries

Unread post by braeside »

Hi Yildiz,
The tourist policeman at first said he would show us the best place to take photos and then started to take us to 2 other nearby Mosques, despite us saying that we only had 2 minutes before the bus left. I then realised that he was after some small compensation, and I didn't have any money, but my wife did. She offered him a $5 note at first but he said it was too much, so she said $1, eventually he agreed on $3 ($1 per mosque) :lol: We felt OK about this as he had not been anything other than helpful and polite. On the way back to the bus, some other guys who had been hanging around started to ask us for money because we had photographed "their mosque", however the policeman told them off.

I have visited Istanbul and as you say no real problems taking photos in those places. Cultures are very different, especially the bargaining in the bazaars - it is something we are not accustomed to :?
David
aster
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Re: New Galleries

Unread post by aster »

Hello David,

I see, you're amuzed, with the guides I mean! :) For some reason I never met anyone like that on personal level myself, asking for a fee for photographing their national landmarks or qualities of sorts. I still think you should be enjoying a nice cool drink or something of the like for the few dollars you were asked.

Bargaining was never my strong point either, at least not when I was young and it was a pure comedy not to be missed to watch my father tackle the salesmen of any type. He could get a bargain out of all his purchases! And I would be there giggling aloud as the salesman bent to my father's strong will...and in most cases the sales person would join me too, saying "your father is going to make me sell this shop to him at the price of a glass of tea and have me leave buisness in dismay!" :D It was fun.

Bargaining is something to do with cultures of trade as you say. The bazaars in Turkey which supply goods in the old traditional sense still have a level of bargaining in due course: Never settle for the first price you are offered! That's the rule. And one must work in front of the mirror for facial expressions and no cracking or doubt should be hearable in your talk. :D In the Eastern trading tradition, bargaining is a valuable art, so much that a salesperson appreciates and respects a customer who holds a good fight and shows resistance for a reasonable price. They always thank the customer for that quality and say that it's something they hold grand. :D They really do, because they enjoy the small fight to bend the other's will... It can be a spectacular show sometimes, believe me. :D


Oh, maybe I can goto the Grand Bazaar and have a look how things are nowadays. Ladies love to shop and I'm no exception...and I can always take photos as a side entertainment, ofcourse.

Yildiz
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bakubo
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Re: New Galleries

Unread post by bakubo »

Thanks for sharing and for all the cool info! I have been to Greece, but not the other countries. I hope to go there someday! Cool photos!
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