2022 - My 2nd year with 52 Frames.
Redo - Golden Hour
Canon R5 - 1/10 - f'/11 - ISO 100
During our summer months in Dubai, golden hour is usually not that spectacular, and way too hot to go out. So in our winter months, it's fun to head out for sunrise photos.
Break The Rules -
Seeing Double
Canon R5 - 30” - f'/8 - ISO 100
Although I don't like admitting it, I'm a bit of a goody two shoes. So this week was fun breaking some rules.
I broke two photography rules
- Crooked horizon (my biggest pet peeve in photography)
-Placing subject in the middle
and one personal rule
- Photo manipulation, I love editing, but believe in photo enhancement over manipulation.
Roll of 24 -
Flying into the sunset
Canon R5 - 1/640 - f'/3.2 - ISO 160
Being a fairly new in photography, I've always shot digital, so this week was a bit scary for me. I've shot a total of 11 shots, and decided on this one (nr9) as the plane was nicely placed.
Shoot from Below - Alif
Canon R5 - 1/320 - f'/13 - ISO 100
My niece and nephew are visiting this week, so time was limited. Luckily we went to Expo City and visited Alif (Mobility Stadium) with them, and was able to capture this.
Animals - Feeding Swan
Canon R5 - 1/640 - f'/7.1 - ISO 6400
This swan was busy feeding, and I loved the reflection while still being able to see through the water.
I had to boost the iso a bit since it was a very overcast day, and the lake was under some trees adding even more shade.
Wabi Sabi -
Weathered Shed
Canon R5 - 1/8 - f'/11 - ISO 640
This shed, with the snow falling shows how much it has been through over time.
Food Photography -
Comfort for the cold
Canon R5 - 1/60 - f'/7.1 - ISO 100
We're currently on a trip in Sweden close to the arctic circle, mostly in search of northern lights. So I thought I'll use the stunning setting and light for this week's challenge. I took the photo quite quickly since the temp was -16'C at the time.
Street Photography -
Lunch for all
Canon R5 - 1/100 - f'/8 - ISO 2000
Just as we got out of the train station in Copenhagen, these two guys were happily sharing their lunch with the birds.
Chaos - Dragon Boat Race
Canon R5 - 1/4 - f'/14 - ISO 100
A fellow photography friend of mine participates in dragon boat racing and invited me to this weekend's race. This was the rowers in motion, with their arms working in unison.
Details - Top of Al Wasl
Canon R5 - 1/40 - f'/8 - ISO 1000
During Dubai Expo 2020, it was always so busy at Al Wasl (the concert dome meaning connection in Arabic) at night. They have now reopened the site as Expo City, which is awesome.
This is the top of the dome. The detail on it is amazing but HUGE! From sunset to 23:00, they have light shows on it, using 252 projectors in 42 pods around the dome which is roughly the size of an Airbus A380 engine. The "little" doves is the detail and work of these projectors.
I'll add a wide-angle view of the dome in my first comment to get an idea of the size.
Black & White Minimalsm -
The fog and two Ducks
Canon R5 - 1/16000 - f'/5 - ISO 500
Taking photos of birds in the fog was a lot more tricky than I thought. I couldn't see the birds coming from a distance away, only when they were in snapping range, plus the camera struggles to find focus due to the lack of contrast the fog brings.
But on the flip side, the fog is the ideal environment for minimalistic photos.
Shoot through something -
As nutty as they come
Canon R5 - 1/10 - f'/4 - ISO 100
"and the whole bunch of you are as nutty as they come!!!"
I mean who puts sticky tape across the lens to blur and mute parts of the photo more? Well I did for this challenge, and suspect I'm not the only one.
Rule of Odds -
Lanterns of Souk Madinat
Canon R5 - 1/8 - f'/8 - ISO 800
I had the privilege of having my best friend visiting from South Africa here in Dubai this week. I took my camera along mostly to capture the moments and memories with them, but kept the challenge in the back of my mind. I love how the challenges make you look at the same destinations with different eyes. Here I saw the five lanterns in the souk.
Letters -
Letters from my now husband
Canon R5 - 1/15 - f'/4 - ISO 1600
What a fun week, even if it's just for the fact that I got to go through my old letterbox. I've tried a few different things, but at last ended on a letter from my then boyfriend, now husband.
It's as if the letter at the door was asking me to open the door and join him in an amazing life with him.
One Light Source -
Dubai Water Canal Footbridge
Canon R5 - 1/60 - f'/11 - ISO 125
After attending the Photography show in Birmingham end of last week and beginning this week, I thought I had a photo in the bag, only to realise the photo was taken on Sunday and not this week.
So on my last day of submission, I headed for this bridge and used the sun as my one light source, creating these exciting shapes with the shadows of the structure.
Portrait of a Stanger - Ryan
Canon R5 - 1/125 - f'/4 - ISO 640
This was my first time doing this challenge, and I did not know how many other people like me were out there that hated approaching strangers.
Ryan is a super friendly waiter and barista at a close-by cafe. Although we've seen him plenty of times before, and he knows my order by heart, this was the first time I actually asked his name and got to know him better.
I still hate approaching strangers, and this photo took about two hours to build up the courage to ask, and only took four photos. But I really feel like I made a new friend. Maybe I'll try it more times.
Golden Hour -
Chasht Nafl / Sunrise Prayer
Canon R5 - 1/2500 - f'/4 - ISO 100
According to Wikipedia, "It has been said that the one who performs chasht nafls, has a reward of 1 castle of Gold in Jannah."
I like that this to me also is kind of a Gold Castle.
Edited by someone else -
Dubai Creek Harbour
Canon R5 - 1/100 - f'/4 - ISO 200
Thank you Christina Trayah for the amazingly beautiful edit. She was able to capture the magic of the sunset that evening perfectly.
Peace - My Orizuru wish/peace I never knew I had
Canon R5 - 1/80 - f'/2.8 - ISO 160
I was inspired by the Orizuru origami in this week's content. I combined multiple photos to showcase how my wish (which I never knew I had) came true, brought my husband and myself together, and found peace in our love for each other and mostly when he's with me.
I've never folded an Orizuru, but it reminded me of an installation in Dubai mall. The photos of that with a Pep Ventosa technique made the first picture, combined with a photo of my husband and me, deconstructed and combined to create this week's photo.
Water - Bathtime Buddy
Canon R5 - 1/100 - f'/8 - ISO 100
Bubble baths at night makes me happy, and the rubber ducky just adds the additional bit of fun and makes me feel like a kid again.
Night Photography -
Sturgeon Super Moon
Canon R5 - 1/50 - f'/7.1 - ISO 6400
My record with the moon hasn't been that great in the past, this is probably my 7th try at capturing it. The hot (44'C) evening was worth it, as this was my best moon capture to date.
My biggest challenge was that by the time the moon aligned perfectly with the Burj Khalifa, it was already very bright, making the Burj less obvious but mysterious.
Choose a color -
Splash of Green
Canon R5 - 1/640 - f'/4.5 - ISO 500
Green is my favourite color, and is usually associated with nature. This is, however, Creme Soda also known in South Africa as the "Green Ambulance" for its hangover-easing powers.
Single Focal Point -
Rany Dubai
Canon R5 - 1/100 - f/6.3 - ISO 8000
Having rain in the middle of summer in the desert was amazing.
While on our balcony and taking in the freshness, I saw everybody on street enjoying the rain. I saw this kid cycling in the parking lot, creating a nice reflection.
My biggest challenge was getting my shutter speed fast enough (thanks high iso), and not having other people walk into my frame.
Common Object - Radioactive Pills
Canon R5 - 1/15 - f'/6.3 - ISO 200
My daily vitamins "spoke to me" this week. I love how arty something so simple can look with the right kind of light.
Silhouette - Ferrari F40
Canon R5 - 1/2 - f'/5.6 - ISO 640
This has been a challenging week. I went out three times, with two early mornings, to get absolutely nothing.
At last, in the final hours, I went with a home project of my husband's model car. I'm still not entirely happy with it (focus stacking could be a bit better), but it's as good as I could do this week.
Holding thumbs that next week would be better.
Negative Space -
Skating Buddies
Canon R5 - 1/125 - f'/6.3 - ISO 1250
Negative space is one of my favourite topics but had a bit of a blank this week. Hubby then started naming a few places/ideas. Although I did give the icerink (one of his ideas) some thought I still wasn't completely sold on the idea.
We went for a photo walk in Dubai mall with many "blah" photos. The moment we passed the icerink, I knew this was probably gonna be it.
I took a few photos, but this little girl with the penguin "assistant" stole my heart.
Thank you to my hubby, just wish he would join me on 52F. This week he would've had the winning photo in our house
Pattern -
Breaking the Pattern
Canon R5 - 0”6 - f'/9 - ISO 100
There are a few patterns I wanted to achieve in this photo. The pattern is found in the texture of the pencils, the placement of the pencils, and then the breaking of the pattern while keeping the triangle shape.
The apple pencil also brings contrast in color as well as between digital and manual/old school.
What is it?
Canon R5 - 1/4 - f'/4 - ISO 200
A very common and humble ingredient found in every kitchen.
Shoot from Above -
Voortrekker Monument - Ons vir jou Suid Afrika.
Canon R5 - 1/13 - f'/8 - ISO 1000
The Voortrekker monument in South Africa and Pretoria is quite a special piece of architecture. What makes it even more special, is that every year on 16 December 12:00 the sun shines through a small hole in the roof onto the stone at the bottom of the 40m high structure highlighting the words carved into granite "Ons vir jou Suid Afrika".
Triangular Composition -
Binghatti Apartments
Canon R5 - 1/200 - f'/11 - ISO 100
I struggled a bit with this week's challenge and finding a triangular composition (I will definitely practise it some more).
What draw me to this building and captured was that although it's all square balconies, the sun's position created these triangular shades plus the angle from below provided a zigzag/triangular form. The lines also go in hand with the golden triangle.
As a bonus, the complementary colors just add an additional pop to the photo.
Everything in Focus - Dubai Mall
Canon R5 - 1/500 - f'/11 - ISO 800
I wanted to get everything in focus, as all the elements helped frame the flower sculpture. I used a wide-angle lens, with a smaller aperture and then tried my hand at the hyperfocal distance.
Although I achieved the challenge, I still feel as though I could have taken a stronger photo for this week... maybe next week ?
Inspired by a Photographer -
Peaceful Beach - Anthony Lamb
Canon R5 - 13” - f'/16 - ISO 200
I came across Anthony's photos at Xposure held every year in the UAE. His photos have a calm to them, in my opinion, due to the soft colors and minimalistic compositions, which was what inspired me for this week's photo.
The sand was, however, a bit messy, thus I've applied the Adamski effect I've learned last week, to clean the photo up a bit.
Abstract - Blue Apartments
Canon R5 - 1/20 - f'/11 - ISO 100
Across the river Clyde in Glasgow, were these odd and interesting blue apartments with a touch of pink. The colors and lines worked so well for this challenge and the Adamski effect.
I took a photo of the apartments and their reflection in the river, but after applying the Adamski effect the balance felt off, so I cropped it so almost no reflection was left.
Architecture -
Sligachan Old Bridge
Canon R5 - 1/8 - f'/11 - ISO 100
From Dubai's shiny new and modern buildings to the old of Scotland. I somehow always love taking architectural photos despite nature being my first love.
Flat Lay - Touring Scotland
Apple iPhone 11 Pro
Clueless at first, somebody on the facebook group shared how he/she started to put their photo together, and this inspired me to use what I’ve been using most during the last week and our trip.
I’ve set my shot up in our camsite for the night.
Due to my camera being a prop this is the first “non phone theme challenge “ I’ve used my phone for taking the photo.
Leading Lines - Spooky Bridge
Canon R5 - 10” - f'/13 - ISO 100
We've been visiting London this week, and I knew from the get-go I wanted to take a photo of the Millennium Bridge. The tricky part for me was to take an often photographed spot and make it my own. I went back a few times and was happy with the ghost-like movement of the people and their placement.
Lamp - Taking my baba for a walk
Canon R5 - 1/80 - f'/4.5 - ISO 400
I knew I wanted to capture the Arabic lamps, as they are absolutely stunning. I was struggling a bit to get a nice composition, when this little girl walked right into my frame, making my day and photo and giving me a huge smile.
I did a dramatic edit to emphasize the street lamp and the light it provides for the girl's stroll with her baba.
Extreme Close-up -
Easter Eggs
Canon R5 - 1/125 - f'/8 - ISO 100
I know this isn't an Extreme closeup, but it's the closest I could get without a Macro.
I've done focus stacking, and learned quite a bit since it isn't 100% sharp right through. The Orton effect adds a bit of softness to the texture of the foil, and color.
Nature -
Don’t judge a book by it’s cover
Canon R5 - 1/320 - f'/6.3 - ISO 1000
This butterfly blends in perfectly with its pale natural colors, but once the wings open they're a bright tanzanite blue.
I don't have a macro lens, but my 100-500mm did give me the opportunity to keep my distance a bit. I would have loved to capture the blue, but they were just too quick for me.
Emotion - Tenacious & Fierce
Canon R5 - 1/640 - f'/2.8 - ISO 200
Dubai has quite a few street cats. I went in search of some emotion since I know they live quite a hard life. This one just stared at me, as if to say "I'll not give up and I am strong in spite of my circumstances". It felt as if it was looking through my soul. This was a heartwrenching exercise for me since I can't help all of them.
Long Shutter - Deira Clock Tower
Canon R5 - 3”2 - f'/16 - ISO 100
Long exposures are one of my favourite topics, but this week it just didn't really pan out as planned, but I'm trying to embrace my mistakes and hopefully learn from them.
An Activity -
Writing, Typing, Blogging
Canon R5 - 5” - f'/11 - ISO 100
I keep a blog about my husband and my travels. Because we like to enjoy the travel to its fullest, I usually only do the editing, and writing once I get home but try to finish it before the next trip.
This week I've been blogging like crazy, lining them up for the following few weeks.
I hate to admit how much effort went into this shot. It's all elements I use while writing (to get me in the right mindset and mood) but had to arrange it so it looks random but appealing.
I also used a slow shutter so my screen won't make any lines, and to get the motion of my hands typing. The wide-angle not only allows me to get everything in the frame but also distorts the outside elements to emphasise me getting in "the zone" and focusing on the work at hand.
Low Key -
Dark side of Solar
Canon R5 - 1/1000 - f'/11 - ISO 100
This photo's been taken at Expo2020 again. This time at the Sustainability side, with the Terra Pavilion and energy trees (all made of solar panels) surrounding it.
I underexposed the photo a bit and did most of the contrasting in post-production. I also played around with motion blur in Photoshop for the clouds.
Reflections -
Bending the Burj
Canon R5 - 1/40 - f'/5.6 - ISO 1000
I'm fortunate to be in Dubai for this challenge, as Dubai is the city of reflections. This photo was taken at Dubai Mall during blue hour. The reflection is cast of a shiny heart-shaped sculpture.
Tripods are unfortunately not permitted, as I would have liked to shoot this at a higher f-stop or use focus stacking to get everything in focus.
I'm still very happy with the result of the bent Burj Khalifa, and the amplified curve of Dubai Mall.
Rule of Thirds - Bougainvillea
Canon R5 - 1/80 - f'/7.1 - ISO 800
One of the easiest challenges and I struggled quite a bit (maybe too many options). This really was a last-minute submission not to break my streak. I did however apply the Orton Effect, which I haven't done before, just to add something else to the photo and learn something from the challenge.
Unexplored -
Michaelangelo in Dubai
Canon R5 - 1/10 - f'/6.3 - ISO 400
I've been in the fortunate position to go and explore the Dubai Expo 2020. This is a 3D scanned and printed replica of Michael Angelo. I also thought that it's a different and unexplored view since you are eye-level with him.
Dept of Field -
Living through our Phones
Canon R5 - 1/5 - f'/2.8 - ISO 1000
Although I asked my husband to assist me with this photo, almost 80% of people around us were busy experiencing this phenomenon through their phones, instead of just being in the moment.
It's the annual Sharjah light festival, where they choose nine locations to light up with a show and music to bring forward a message.
The show lasts about seven minutes. We used the first one for the shoot and the next one just to enjoy it.
I did manage to play around with the focal length and see how much more becomes in focus the wider you go.
Black & White -
In your Eyes
Canon R5 - 1/400 - f'/4 - ISO 250
Not much of a story. Just wanted to capture a photo of our family pet while visiting South Africa. We're back in Dubai, after a long and enjoying time with family. The cat is an old lady already and hopes she'll still be with us on our next visit.
Fun fact about the cat's name...
Official name: Sandy
Name given by my dad after living with her for a while: "Throttle" which in Afrikaans sounds almost like "Vrot hol" which means Stinky bum.
Minimalist - Lovebirds
Canon R5 - 1/200 - f'/7.1 - ISO 250
I've started to panic about this week since I didn't know where to find minimalism in my chaotic week.
The moment I've sat down and took a breather while brushing our cat, I noticed these two lovey lovey dovey doves framed by the top telephone line. Super excited I grabbed my camera and "ta-da".
Complementary Colors -
Reflecting
Canon R5 - 1/10 - f'/6.3 - ISO 100
It's amazing how much nature uses complementary colors. This was quite fun, and I've managed to frame the strawberry with it's own reflection, as well as frame the reflection as well.
Although not complementary the black and white/silver of the wineglass is also high in contrast which makes it "pop" even more.
Hello From… -
Dullstroom - South Africa
Canon R5 - 1/125 - f/11 - ISO 100
I'm originally from South Africa but are currently staying in Dubai. After our annual holiday in South Africa, we got stuck due to travel restrictions.
We're currently staying at my parents and decided on a weekend away in this absolute stunning country, and make the most of our stay.
Hollingsberg River Lodge is an absolute gem, and couldn't have asked for a better location for this weeks challenge, I even managed a sunrise on Sunday morning after a very cloudy week.
Self Portrait -
Reflection after becoming a 1st WW
Canon R5 - 1/100 - f/4 - ISO 800
I started the 52 Frames journey at the start of 2021, and after a full year, with a few photos Im really proud of, and few less so, I'll try to continue this journey and hopefully grow even more..
In my most self conscious challenge of the year, I thought I would reflect and strive for more. I've created a collage of all the photos I've taken last year, and left 4 empty puzzle pieces for my to represent the space I'll always have to grow.
I've then put the photo on a projector, sat in front of it to create my silhouette in the empty puzzle pieces.
