There are a few real challenges being a photographer in Qatar. The most obvious is the harsh climate. It is virtually impossible to venture outside (let alone into the desert) during the roughly six months that we consider "high summer" due to temperatures that can routinely exceed 50 degrees Celsius. Thankfully "low summer" 2018/2019 has arrived, meaning desert exploration trips are again possible for the next few months.
Read MoreEveryday Doha ... and things #3
Been a while since my last blog posting, simply because there hasn't been much going on in my life apart from a few photography outings to explore Doha and the wider Qatar in search of material for my ongoing "Qatar Unfiltered" series.
Read MoreOne Week in Tunisia
Just returned from a cold and rainy week in Tunisia, and more specifically, the capital city Tunis. It's been a while since I last visited an African destination, but found the atmosphere to be more distinctly Arab than African.
Read MoreShooting Film again on a Rolleiflex
It was with almost childlike anticipation that I delivered my first roll of film for development in perhaps two-and-a-half decades. It's been long in the planning since I bought a few rolls of 120 film on impulse on a visit to Dubai a while back. At the time I didn't know which of my vintage cameras I'd be using, but I suspected 120 film should at least fit one of them. As I'd bought all my vintage cameras at bargain prices over time, I wasn't even sure which of them actually still works.
Read MoreThoughts about the Fujifilm Instax WIDE 300 →
Watching the image develop before your eyes brings out a childlike excitement in me, as would remember the wonder of film photography used to be when I started with it in the 1980's. It's a pleasant break from time-to-time and I will endeavour to do more of it.
Read MoreIn Honor of Vehicles and Drivers everywhere ... →
As I travel the world and roam the streets, I often come across interesting classic and vintage cars, buses, trucks motorbikes, scooters and various other modes of transport. As a bit of a car enthusiast myself, I can never resist taking a few pictures of these increasingly rare beauties.
Read MoreThe Leica Q as a Travel Camera
Being a bit obsessed with travelling as lightly as possible, the Leica Q is a compact camera, but nowhere near as compact as the Fuji X100s. Even when the Fuji is adorned with an adapter lens, it is still more compact and lighter to carry around. Though I did start getting used to the feel of the Q in hand, I still find the Fuji to be more comfortable to carry around and hold for long periods while moving around. I prefer using a wrist strap, which works perfectly well on the Fuji.
Read MoreDusting off the Rollei for Croatia
Apart from my current favorites, my Leica Q and Fuji X100s (no, still can't put it away), I'm also planning to try my hand at film photography again. I'll be taking along an old Rolleiflex I picked up in an antique shop in Aleppo (Syria) some years back. After consulting a few YouTube videos to understand how it works, as far as I can now tell, it is in some form of working order.
Read MoreSaPa Collection Revisited
I’ve spent the last few weeks working through my entire Vietnam archive, stretching from my first visit in 2007, through to 2011. More specifically though, I’ve reconsidered my images from a visit to the northern mountain region around SaPa and surroundings, a mountain village where a number of ethnic minorities reside and trade their cultural wares with tourists.
Read MoreFive days in Tbilisi and Kazbegi
First impressions of the city were promising, especially while driving through the historic downtown area from Freedom Square down Rustaveli Avenue. This area contains many grand, historic European style buildings. Most of these buildings are well maintained and beautifully lit, which made an even better first impression while driving through the streets during a perfect blue hour. I was excited about the prospect of getting shooting out into the streets as soon as possible.
Read MoreMy Street- and Travel Photography Genesis
I quickly realized that this very Jaipur trip was kind of my Street- and Travel Photography genesis, ground zero where it all started. Apart from a disturbing, unhealthy fascination with the "dutch angle" at the time, and shooting most images in a cinematic 16:9 ratio (even in portrait!) this set of images is the first one that showed some kind of promise.
Read MorePublication in Urban Eye Magazine
Proud that one of my images, taken in Hanoi (Vietnam) is published in the latest Urban Eye Magazine (January 2017 Edition), but also with sadness that this is the last edition ...
Read MoreWeek 1 in Sri Lanka - Fuji X100s vs Leica Q
As always, my trusted Fuji X100s, a constant travel companion of circa four years, accompanied me. However, having also recently accuired a new Leica Q, I was interested in seeing which one of these tools suit me best. Admittedly, my heart layed with the Fuji before the trip, as my short time with the Leica has been slightly unimpressive to date.
Read MorePortraits of Syria: The Bakers
It is always easy finding a bakery in Syria. Apart from being plentiful and mostly located in well exposed locations, one just need to follow the great aroma of freshly backed bread to the open shopfront window swiftly serving fresh, hot, steaming flat breads to customers queuing in the street outside.
Read MorePortraits of Syria: The Craftsmen
What always used to fascinate me was how Syria appeared and felt like it was literally thirty years behind most modern industrial nations, a time-warp taking one back to the times before big factories and a simpler lifestyle.
Read MorePortraits of Syria
With Aleppo again being in the international news for all the wrong reasons, I feel sad in the knowledge that many of the areas in Syria that I've been privileged to visit and experience before the 2011 start of this dreadful civil war, have been damaged at best, or at worst, completely destroyed.
Read MoreStreet Photography in South Africa: Death of a Street Photographer
After an absence of almost three years, I'm about to take off for a week in Cape Town! The last time I returned to South Africa was around mid-2012 and I recall writing this overwhelmingly negative article about my impressions and street photography experiences at the time. I stayed on in South Africa for another year or so after this arcticle before moving on again, but have to admit that over time I started feeling slightly better about the charms that Johannesburg has to offer. Though my destination is different this time, I'm hoping for an overwhelmingly positive experience this time round. The original 2011 article:
Read MoreStreet Photography in the Middle East: Some Observations
With wide ranging clampdowns on the freedoms of Street Photographers throughout many parts of the world at the time, the intention if the original article was to provide fellow street photographers with some informative guidelines to avoid legal problems when out photographing in the Middle East. At the time I didn’t quote and analyse any official, legal facts on general Middle Eastern policies and laws on Street Photography, but purely shared some of my own experiences and observations that would hopefully help to keep photographers out of unwanted trouble with the law.
Read MoreFirst-world creative block ...
I found it difficult making the mental switch, feeling mostly like a bumbling beginner street photographer aimlessly shooting whatever looks mildly interesting in a desperate attempt to just bag ONE keeper.
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