Yet another visit to old montreal, but this time to shoot the International Fireworks Competition with my friends. It was the French turn this time to display their talent. Almost all the shots were taken from the same spot, it wasn’t easy really to move around with hundreds of people watching the event.
A random portrait shoot with my amigo Abou-Jerji at Mount Royal.
I spent one afternoon roaming around the streets of Old Montreal with my friend Hassan who is currently visiting from UAE. The neighborhood pretty much resembles architecture from Beirut, which is pretty obvious considering they were both historically French colonies.
Photos from a recent trip to Ontario city that was arranged by my university Concordia. I didn’t have the luxury though to wonder around the city’s streets and explore it.
Not long ago I planned to have my next portrait session at the delightful Parc Jean Drapeau, and my nice friend Laura was kind enough to help make that happen. I was challenged by the fact of trying out fresh ideas for this session, but it all went well with Laura’s flexibility, and quick adaptability if i may add. I am still in the early stages of this profession of shooting people, so few words of “feedback” and a click of a mouse to submit them is gladly and cordially appreciated.
Parc Jean Drapeua, with a forward long extension of the lips when you say the “eu”, is a nice park that I planned to visit again after the first time I went there. I may be using the location soon for some portrait photography as well.
With alluring images of ghostly wisps of smoke, and a lot of patience, one sometimes doesn’t have to look very far to explore such hidden beauty. Now although some of these images may stand incompetent in comparison to some of what’s out there already (yes I like to provoke myself), I think I still deserve some credit for the effort and patience I put, not to mention suffocating my roommate and Abo lotfe. Feedback is welcome.
Most of these photos were taken many years ago, while the last one was taken last week over Mount Royal Cemetery.
Burj el Arab, United Arab Emirates.
Ras el Khaimah, United Arab Emirates
Burj Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Dubai Internet City, United Arab Emirates.
On the way to Dead Sea, Jordan.
Ansar, South Lebanon
On top of Mount Royal Cemetery, Montreal, Canada.
“How strange that Nature does not knock, and yet does not intrude!” ~ Emily Dickinson
Not long after purchasing my DSLR Canon 400D camera, one of the first things I wanted to experiment with was water splashes. It’s been 4 years, damn! Anyways, since I don’t have access to staged studio lighting, I made use of my Canon 580EX II to provide the source of white light to satisfy my requirements. I put down few notes on my setup at the end of this post. For now, tell me what you think of the first part of my water splash photos.
This is what I used to create the shots above:
-Canon 400D DSLR
-External Speedlite 580EX II, along with an off-camera shoe cord
-Bowl (Preferably with a nice pattern or colors if possible)
-Water (Like Dah!)
-A4 white paper
-Dropper (probably a bag with a tiny hole)
-Tripod (you want maximum sharpness with minimal or no Camera shake)
-Ruler, or in my case my roommate Amir
-and LOTS of patience!
The camera/speedlite settings I chose were:
Shutter Speed: 1/200 (reasonable to capture motion)
Aperture: f/8 (to put the whole splash area is in focus)
Focal Length: 100mm
ISO: 100 (least possible to avoid any noise)
Speedlite: 1/16th, power -0.3
You obviously need a fast shutter speed to capture the water, so a lot of light is necessary. You can definitely make use of natural window light, but I preferred to use my flash gun for more control. I recommend using a colorful or patterned bowl because whatever is in or behind the bowl will be reflected within the water drops, so it’s good to make it interesting.
I set up the tripod only slightly elevated above the surface of the bowl. Filled it with water, and got the camera ready. I switched the camera to manual focus. Amir stuck the ruler in the bowl about where I’d be dropping the water drops and focused the camera on it, locking the focus in place. Now, I was ready.
I began dropping the water using a water bag with a small hole (should be small enough to allow for continuous downfall of water drops) as close to the place where Amir stuck the ruler as I could get it. I placed the A4 paper behind the bowl, and pointed my flash gun at it. This will provide me with a back-lit scene, caused from the reflection of light off the paper.
Now’s the hardest part, timing. It’s takes lots of practice and MANY trials, so don’t forget your patience for this. You will eventually get the hang of when to press the shutter in relation to dropping the water, and I’m sure you’ll come out with some great shots. I am still practicing on enhancing these shots, so stay tuned for more.