Summer Solstice Morning
Posted on June 21, 2014
21 June 2014. Sunrise. Circa 5am. Grange Stone Circle. Limerick. South West Ireland.
The Gods gifted a clear sky and the the sun rose. A heavenly experience.
See also previous post.
A picture paints a thousand words. So MB gives you thirty six thousand words. So to speak.
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Summer Solstice @ HX
Posted on June 19, 2014
MB is returning to the Irish homeland for a short break. Landing in Dublin tomorrow midday and then heading south-west to Limerick & HX. The following day, 21 June, is the day of the Summer solstice and MB will be up before dawn to take in the rising sun at the local Grange Stone Circle. Read More
A land of too much sun
Posted on June 12, 2014
My name is Arith. I come from Kerla in southern India. Read More
Weekly Photo Challenge: Room
Posted on June 6, 2014
The entrance lobby/foyer of the Meydan Hotel, Dubai. The hotel is part of the Meydan horse race-track grandstand complex.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Split-second Story
Posted on June 6, 2014
To tell a story in a single shot.
Midday ferry crossing in Istanbul a few weeks back.
The night before!
Shooting stars (of the ‘not shooting’ variety)
Posted on May 24, 2014
Informed you all in previous post of the trek into the desert of last night and the ‘no-show’ of star celebrities. Was a bit of a giggle in any event, and want to show you all some additional shots from the occasion. Lots of stars, but of the stationary and non-shooting variety only:
Photo 30/30: Stargazing
Posted on May 24, 2014
The Idea
Have decided to post a photo per day for 30 days, each based on a word or theme. The deed is now done and we reach 30/30.
Photo 30/30
MB went out last night to view and shoot the meteorite shower called the Camelopardalids. Dubai Astronomy Club publicised a gathering under the nighttime desert sky at Bab Al Shams desert resort when we would see the ‘once in a lifetime’ event.
‘Camelopardalids shower may prove extraordinary’ rang the headlines. Anything between 200 & 1,000 meteorites per hour were expected and viewers would be held in spellbound awe. Approximately 2,000 people showed up with MB, and we grabbed our sandy patch on arrival.
Towels or blankets covered the night sand. Pillows appeared. Tripods erected. Cameras attached. Food and water removed from bags and consumed. And we gazed. And gazed. And gazed.
From 9pm until 5am we gazed. And gazed. And saw nothing!
One or two of the gazers informed MB that they did catch a glimpse of 2 or 3 of the elusive beings. But MB was not sure if gazing for so long into the star laden night sky had not provided an hallucination or two in their brains. Maybe. Maybe not. MB can categorically state that he did not see any shooting stars/meteorites.
MB did witness distant planes as they flew into Dubai or Sharjah airports which are both relatively nearby. And someone lit a red Chinese lantern – which glowed brightly as it burned and rose into the heavens. MB assumed one of the Astronomy Club lads lit it, to remove thoughts of lynching from our minds. Some distant cars passed into the night providing opportunity for light trails in your photo, if you were of a mind to shoot light trails at ground level, when the ones you really wanted were in the sky.
And so it ended. MB packed up his gear at 5am and headed back to his car. Tired and meteoriteless. But gazing into the heavens at nighttime, with a gentle desert breeze blowing, while lying on the sand with a comfy pillow under your head and a plentiful supply of chocolate to hand is not a bad way to spend a Friday night. Occasionally.
MB gives you one of his pics from the evening. A couple of stargazers stand ready to capture the ‘200 to 1,000 per hour’ spectacle (not!!!), the lights from a nearby village shine brightly behind them, the headlights of a passing car leave a bright trail of light on the bottom right, a desert tree is lit up by the lights of the adjacent resort and some stars pepper the night sky.
Photo 28/30: Procrastination
Posted on May 15, 2014
The Idea
Have decided to post a photo per day for 30 days, each based on a word or theme. Feel free to offer a word or theme challenge to MB in the comment box below.
Photo 28/30
Thanks to MK for the nasty ‘procrastination’ challenge. MB had to think about it for a few moments but then thought of the story of the Indian lady he witnessed one night trying to buy some jewelry at the Global Village souk in Dubai.
MB called out to visit his Yemeni jewelry maker friends at the market and was sitting amongst them sipping some tea they had acquired for their Irish friend MB. Just then an Indian lady happened by and began to haggle for a particular piece she fancied.
And what a haggler she was. She had every trick in the book, and many that were not. Seemed like she invented the word ‘procrastination’ as she played out her act over 30 or more minutes. The Yemeni trader was beaten down to a price that would give him a return of peanuts. But still she kept up the act. Pretending to leave, then returning. Asking her husband ridiculous questions about the price to which he replied to her liking every time. A real Mutt & Jeff act. Finally, when it seemed she must buy the piece, she announced that she could not afford such a highly priced item and departed. If MB was the trader, MB might have been highly tempted to strangle the woman with one of the nearby necklaces. But the trader smiled calmly and wished her well, familiar as he was with such buyers.
MB does not know the final outcome. Maybe she returned later to continue the battle. Maybe next day. Or maybe not at all.
MB focused on the hands of the lady with his camera lens, as she handled some jewelry and continued to machine gun MBs trader friend with her vociferous demands.
Photo 27/30: Mustache
Posted on May 15, 2014
The Idea
Have decided to post a photo per day for 30 days, each based on a word or theme. Feel free to offer a word or theme challenge to MB in the comment box below.
Photo 27/30
Thanks to RBF for the mustache challenge. Many mustaches in MB’s pic library but chose this one. A mustache in the early stages of development!
Mr J, a friend of MB’s from the state of Kerla in Southern India, has informed MB in the past that a man can not be considered a gentleman in his homeland, unless he is in possession of two critical assets – a pen in his breast shirt pocket for taking care of any business that might arise at a moments notice, and a mustache!
Photo 26/30: Henna
Posted on May 14, 2014
The Idea
Have decided to post a photo per day for 30 days, each based on a word or theme. Feel free to offer a word or theme challenge to MB in the comment box below.
Photo 26/30
Henna tattoo. Still fresh. Leaves brown colour when dry. Disappears after one month or so.
HX Report 