New Dawn

Hi friends,

This morning I took pictures of Downtown Dubai shortly before sunset. And again I hoped you might just be interested in the details of how I have edited the image.

29mm, f11, 6s, ISO 200

Steps of post-processing the RAW format image:

Lightroom

• Temperature: 3600K
• Tint: -6
• Exposure: 0,00
• Recovery: 100
• Fill Lights: 0
• Blacks:5
• Brightness: +50
• Contrast: +35
• Clarity: +30
• Vibrance: +20
• Saturation: 0
• Export to Photoshop

Photoshop

• Apply Healing Brush (removal of lens flares and dust)
• Crop some of the foreground
• Smart Sharpen Filter (Amount: 40%, Radius 1.3px)
• Save as TIF

CaptureNX2

• Apply U-Points to increase and reduce local brightness
• Convert to sRGB with perception based rendering intent
• Save as JPG

Photoshop

• Insert watermark
• Save as JPG

Cheers,
Sebastian

Tropical Island

Here is a picture from this year's first photo tour. It's the view of Dubai Marina and the Tallest Block from a tropical island somewhere in the infinite vastness of Interchange No. 5

20mm, f13, 30s, ISO 200

Steps of post-processing the RAW format image:

Lightroom

• Temperature: 2200K
• Tint: -2
• Exposure: 0,00
• Recovery: 70
• Fill Lights: 0
• Blacks: 6
• Brightness: +50
• Contrast: +35
• Clarity: +35
• Vibrance: +15
• Saturation: 0
• Export to Photoshop

Photoshop

• Apply Healing Brush (removal of lens flares and dust)
• Smart Sharpen Filter (Amount: 40%, Radius 1.3px)
• Save as TIF

CaptureNX2

• Apply U-Point to the street lights (Brightness: -30)
• Convert to sRGB with perception based rendering intent
• Save as JPG

Photoshop

• Insert watermark
• Save as JPG

Cheers,
Sebastian

Calendar

Looking for a calendar? How about

"Vertical Dubai 2012"

... now available on Redbubble ! Keep track of the year 2012 swiftly passing by...

Happy New Year!

Cheers,
Sebastian

White Balance

This time I would like to emphasize the importance of adjusting the color temperature of night pictures in order to create a special atmosphere. Artificial light tends to play tricks on your camera and the automatic white balance usually goes totally wrong. None the less, I do set the white balance to automatic for most of my pictures, since the RAW format allows for adjusting the color temperature during post-processing.

The picture below is a good example for the differences in color temperature of lamps. The foreground is lit up by the typical Dubai street lights with their orange glow. The construction site, however, is illuminated by industrial metal halide lights radiating a rather blueish glow. This diversity confuses a camera even more than city night lights already do. Here is what my camera gave me when I took a picture of the Dubai Pearl construction site:

4300K, Tint +5

In Lightroom I have then adjusted the white balance which resulted in the following image:

2700K, Tint +10

Note that adjusting the white balance is a powerful tool when it comes to adding that special touch to your city night photography. It's actually great fun to play around with and it is often quite surprising how the atmosphere of an image can change dramatically just by adjusting temperature and tint.

Crying for the Moon (Part 2)

After taking a few pictures from my previous post's vantage point I moved on to the Tallest Block. I arrived just in time for shooting the following picture with the full moon at its center:

14mm, f11, 30s, ISO 200

Steps of post-processing the RAW format image:

Lightroom

• Temperature: 3700K
• Tint: +26
• Exposure: 0,00
• Recovery: 10
• Fill Lights: 0
• Blacks: 6
• Brightness: +50
• Contrast: +25
• Clarity: +30
• Vibrance: +20
• Saturation: 0
• Export to Photoshop

Photoshop

• Apply Healing Brush (removal of lens flares)
• Smart Sharpen Filter (Amount: 40%, Radius 1.3px)
• Save as TIF

CaptureNX2

• Apply U-Point to the upper right corner (Brightness: +10)
• Convert to sRGB with perception based rendering intent
• Save as JPG

Photoshop

• Insert watermark
• Save as JPG

Cheers,
Sebastian

Crying for the Moon (Part 1)

Last week we had perfect weather conditions for shooting cityscape images here in Dubai. The air was calm, crisp and clear and an incredibly bright full moon lit up the scene. I visited Jumeirah Islands again, since I always wanted to shoot a particular version of the view I presented in my post from October 17. I had already tried to take pictures including the rocks in the foreground on several occasions, but it never worked out. This night, however, the full moon finally allowed for taking the picture in a way I had always wanted it.

32mm, f9, 30s, ISO 200

Steps of post-processing the RAW format image:

Lightroom

• Temperature: 3300K
• Tint: +12
• Exposure: 0,00
• Recovery: 100
• Fill Lights: 20
• Blacks: 6
• Brightness: +50
• Contrast: +25
• Clarity: +20
• Vibrance: +20
• Saturation: 0
• Export to Photoshop

Photoshop

• Apply Healing Brush
• Smart Sharpen Filter (Amount: 40%, Radius 1.3px)
• Save as TIF

CaptureNX2

• Apply U-Point to the foreground (Brightness: +10)
• Convert to sRGB with perception based rendering intent
• Save as JPG

Photoshop

• Insert watermark
• Save as JPG

Cheers,
Sebastian

Indigo Sunset

Today's picture was taken from my office at sunset. It was a foggy morning that day so I had taken my camera to work, because I would love to get a shot of skyscrapers sticking out of the fog. Well, the skies cleared just before I reached the office so I turned to taking pictures of the sunset instead.

I recently purchased a set of Graduated Neutral Density (GND) filters from Lee Filters, specifically designed for use with my Nikon 14-24mm f2.8 wideangle lens. I look forward to using these in landscape photography, but also want to test their limits in architectural photography. I used a 0.6 GND filter in this pic and I think it worked out well.

If you have questions or would like to hear more details about GND filters and how they work please feel free to drop me a comment.


Here's the photo:

14mm, f13, 8s, ISO 400, Lee 0.6 GND filter

I only now realise I was using ISO 400. Whooops.... should have been ISO 200, of course.

Post-processing included the following steps:

Lightroom

• Temperature: 4200K
• Tint: +7
• Exposure: 0.00
• Recovery: 0
• Fill Lights: 20
• Blacks: 7
• Brightness: +50
• Contrast: +25
• Clarity: +20
• Vibrance: +10
• Saturation: 0
• Export to Photoshop

Photoshop

• Apply Lens Correction Filter: Custom --> Vertical Perspective +2
• Apply Spot Healing Brush
• Apply Smart-Sharpen Filter: Amount 40%, Radius 1.3px
• Save as TIF

CaptureNX2

• Apply U-Points: Slightly increase the saturation of bronze glow on medium left tower and of green lights at the base of central tower
• Convert to sRGB with perception based rendering intent
• Save as JPG

Photoshop

• Insert watermark
• Save as JPG

Cheers,
Sebastian

Jumeirah Islands

Weather conditions are crucial for shots of the Dubai skyline. Other cities in the world might be picturesque in various conditions, but in Dubai all we have for most of the year is a slight shroud of mist and sand. Usually it is not even really noticeable, but once you take your camera and point it at the horizon frustration begins.

However, sometimes, just a few days per year in total, the skies clear off and it is literally possible to identify individually lit windows of Burj Khalifa from a distance as far as 20km. Recently there were two of these nights and I managed to go on a hunt for good skyline shots. The second night was perfect and I got the chance to shoot this wonderfully clear image:

66mm, f13, 30s, ISO 200

Once again I've learnt: No matter how good your equipment may be, if you want to shoot a nice picture of a land- or a cityscape it all depends pretty much on the weather.

Post-processing included the following steps:

Lightroom

• Temperature: 3000K
• Tint: +8
• Exposure: 0,00
• Recovery: 30
• Fill Lights: 0
• Blacks: 6
• Brightness: +50
• Contrast: +25
• Clarity: +10
• Vibrance: 0
• Saturation: 0
• Export to Photoshop

 Photoshop

• Apply Healing Brush
• Smart Sharpen Filter (Amount: 40%, Radius 1.3px)
• Save as TIF

CaptureNX2

• Apply U-Point to the blue-lit tower (Brightness: -10)
• Convert to sRGB with perception based rendering intent
• Save as JPG

Photoshop

• Insert watermark
• Save as JPG

Cheers,
Sebastian

Al Qasr View

Having mentioned the Madinat Jumeirah in my previous post I thought it might be a good idea to show you an image I recently took from there. I'm sure you will recognise how beautifully this place has been designed and landscaped. The Madinat is definitely one of my favourite hangouts in Dubai.

"Madinat" is the Arabic word for "Town" and I do think you can truly call this place a town within the city. Three luxurious hotel resorts are spread out in a dreamy setting of lush greenery, lovely waterways and an apparently traditional Souk. One thing which really astonishes me is how they've managed to create an atmosphere of tradition, heritage and serenity - in spite of the fact that every square inch of this place is artificial and a blend of various architecural stlyes. You would expect a place like this to be prone to being cheesy and just terrible. But strolling through the Madinat is actually a truly wonderful experience!

I took the following picture from the terasse behind the main entrance lobby of the Al Qasr Hotel. In my opinion they serve the best Mojito in town, so if you visit make sure you don't miss out on that! I received some strange looks by the staff for setting up my tripod there, but oh well... where in Dubai would it ever be possible to use a tripod without being told that professional cameras are not allowed. Any tourist can happily fill their SD cards with thousands of images throughout the day, but if you dare taking long exposures at night - for which you obviously need a tripod - you will instantly find someone telling you that "professional cameras" are not allowed. Come on, I am just taking the same snapshot as those dozens of people earlier today! The only difference is that I need to use a tripod to compensate for the long exposure time!

There must be some sort of mental thing going on in these people's heads, triggered by the view of a tripod.

Well, back on track. I was just happy to be left alone for once and didn't care about the looks I received. After all, I'm there to take pictures. And, of course, to have a Mojito or three.

I shot this picture with my Nikon 14-24mm f2.8 lens on the D700.

24mm, f11, 30s, ISO 200

Post-processing included the following steps:

Lightroom

• Temperature: 2750K
• Tint: +8
• Exposure: -0.30
• Recovery: 40
• Fill Light: 0
• Blacks: 5
• Brightness: +50
• Contrast: +25
• Clarity: +20
• Vibrance: +14
• Saturation: 0
• Export to Photoshop

Photoshop

• Apply Spot Healing Brush
• Slightly crop the original
• Apply Smart-Sharpen Filter: Amount 60%, Radius 1.3px
• Save as TIF

CaptureNX2

• Convert to sRGB with perception based rendering intent
• Save as JPG

Photoshop

• Insert watermark
• Save as JPG

Cheers,
Sebastian

Atlantis

The Atlantis Hotel is located on Palm Jumeirah Island and I never took any decent shots of it. But now a friend from DSLR-Forum told me about this photo location and showed me one of his pics - that convinced me I'd have to go there as soon as the weather would allow it. All these years I had been thinking that this spot was completely fenced in and not accessible, unless you would sneak in... Now I found out that you just have to park your car at the mosque and there it is, a vast open beach at the very tip of Palm Jumeirah just opposite the Atlantis Hotel. Cool!

The Atlantis Hotel is the icon, the landmark of Palm Jumeirah. However, I personally don't really like it. If you walk in you will recognise that it is actually one of the few places in Dubai where you can see and breathe the artificiality of its existence. Most hotels actually do a great job at creating an atmosphere of heritage and consistency. They would make you believe their place had long existed. Madinat Jumeirah and The One & Only Royal Mirage are great examples for this. Not so the Atlantis Hotel. It's so cheesy, Disney World would find it hard to compete! The interior looks just cheap compared to other hotels and yet the staff is the most stuck up throughout Dubai.

Well, let's not get carried away. The exterior looks splendid, I do admit. Still a bit cheesy, but certainly an eye-catcher. For this photo I used my Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 lens and again aligned it to the horizon in order to eliminate geometric distortion.

The image is a slight crop of the original.

45mm, f8, 30s, ISO 200

Post-processing included the following steps:

Lightroom

• Temperature: 2800K
• Tint: +10
• Exposure: 0,00
• Recovery: 30
• Fill Light: 20
• Blacks: 7
• Brightness: +50
• Contrast: +25
• Clarity: 15
• Vibrance: 0
• Saturation: 0
• Export to Photoshop

Photoshop

• Apply Spot Healing Brush
• Apply Smart-Sharpen Filter: Amount 60%, Radius 1.3px
• Slightly crop the original
• Save as TIF

CaptureNX2

• Apply U-Point to upper right corner of the image (it was comparatively dark due to bright moonlight coming from the left): Brightness +10
• Convert to sRGB with perception based rendering intent
• Save as JPG

Photoshop

• Insert watermark
• Save as JPG

Cheers,
Sebastian