The iPhone X and the Maldives Underwater World

A week of relaxing in the Maldives with some snorkeling and the iPhone X resulted in the shots below - took the phone under water without a case, around 1-2m deep. These photos were taken at Jumeirah Vittaveli.

Fujairah - The other side of the UAE

 

Took a day trip to Fujairah, passing Masafi Town, Dibba, Khor Fakkan and Fujairah City on the way and stopping at Wadi Shawka on the drive back. Time well spent for sure.

The Friday Market

On the way to Masafi town, coming from the Sharjah / Dubai side.

Roasted Corn

Note the sophisticated wind machine.

Variety

Pots and plants!

The Wise Men

Discussing topics of importance.

Graffiti - Masafi Style

Spotted on the road from Masafi to Dibba

Towns

A small town outside Masafi.

Dibba Harbour

The National Day weekend meant the UAE flag was a common sight.

On the Shores

The Dibba beach.

Camping

Is a common activity in the Eastern Region. Tent designs vary.

Hidden Gems

There's a few beautiful spots on the coast.

Al Badiyah Mosque

Said to be from the 15h century, a few km north of Fujairah City.

Mosque Manners

Shoes off!

Watch Tower

One of the two watch towers overlooking the mosque.

Views

Looking inland from the tower.

Age

Since neither the mosque or the tower used wood, radiocarbon dating was not an option, but in the late 1990s researchers concluded it was more than 500 years old.

Reality Check

Photos can be deceiving. It was the National Day weekend after all, so the ocassional bus load of tourists arrived.

Fujairah Fort

Again the exact time it was built isn't clear, but probably ranges between the 16th and 18th century.

Inside

The fort only opened to the public in 2010.

Views

The fort is a on small hill and you can walk up one of the watch towers to get this view.

Stairs

Not made for modern sized humans.

Doors

Surrounding the fort are remains of a few old mudbrick houses.

Sheikh Zayed Mosque

The second largest mosque in the UAE, after its cousin in Abu Dhabi named after the same person.

Architecture

65 domes and six minarets, each between 80 and 100 metres tall.

Casual

Cleaning of the largest dome was in progress.

New

The mosque opened in 2015.

Size

It can accommodate 28,000 people.

Shawka Pools

With very little water this time of the year.

Wadi Shawka

Just off the E84 from Fujairah to Sharjah.

Spiky

Typical vegetation in the Hajar mountains

Seasons

In the rainy season, this area will be flowded

Shawka Dam

This area is full of water when it rains - right now, you can use it as a Cricket field.

Hajar Mountains

The beauitful mountain ranges of the UAE.

Worth a Visit

Especially during sunset.

Sofia - "Grows, but does not age"

 

Visited another new city this November - the capital of Bulgaria: Sofia. Commonly listed as one of the oldest cities in Europe, it indeed sports some impressive historical sites dotted around in the city, while there is a clear trend towards modernity. The Soviet legacy is slowly becoming a distant past, although it has certainly not yet disappeared from the cityscape. Also had the chance to visit Rila monastery, about 120km into the mountains - a truly impressive sight. 

Observation

It seems these are used to monitor and contorl traffic, but I've never seen them occupied during my time in Sofia.

Churches and more churches...

I can't remember the name of this one. Anyone? P.S Anyone who mixes cold and warm white bulbs in the same room isn't an acceptable human.

Souvenirs

Of a religous kind. Three quarters of the population follow the Orthodox belief.

As always

No album without at least one cat.

Soviet Remnants

Pins from forgotten times, some interesting football related gems here too.

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

The most famous church in Sofia from the inside.

Interior

The marble parts and the lighting fixtures were created in Munich, the metal elements for the gates in Berlin, the gates in Vienna, and the mosaics were shipped from Venice.

Details

The church was finished in 1912.

Entry

About 10000 people fit inside.

Contrasts

The museum inside the cathedral.

Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church

Just next to the cathedral.

Creepy

There are few weird things in the city...

Sofia Central Mosque

From the 16th century, situated just next to a church and a synagoge.

Is it...

... a museum or a metro station?

The Serdica

This was probably the most interesting area in Sofia. Ruins from Roman times going back almost 2000 years in the middle of the city.

Location

The Serdica area is just next to the Mosque and partly covered by the metro station.

Serdica

Parts of it are underground covered by huge glass domes.

Selfie

With style.

History & Modernity

The small 16th century Sveta Petka Church and the Tzum shopping mall behind.

The light

The entry to the Cathedral Church Sveta Nedelya

Interior

And its inside.

Interior

Another shot of the church which was - probably - built around the 10th century. It was rebuilt a few times.

Church of St. George

Considered the oldest building in Sofia, from the 4th century.

More Soviet Remnats

There are a few for sure.

History of Sofia Museum

Unfortunately I have to say the outside is more interesting than the inside.

Market Hall

Seems to be very common style in eastern Europe, I've seen something similar in Budapest as well.

Facade

The mix of architectural styles is very pronounced in Sofia.

Saint Sofia Monument

Made of copper & brass.

Nezavisimost Square

With the aforementioned glass domes.

Church of St. George

A daylight view from the other side showing the unique location of the church.

Theme Park

A small one at least.

Autumn

One of the beautiful spots of Sofia inside the TZAN courtyard.

History of Sofia Museum

One of the exhibits. 70s starter pack?

Street scenes

A somewhat tyical view.

Cityscapes

A view of the streets around the Lion's bridge.

Jaguar

Visited the zoo as well - a sad visit I must add, it isn't in the best condition.

Lamb's Wool

Could have been useful, although it wasn't too cold yet.

Skyline

The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral within the skyline of the city.

Domes

The tallest dome is 53m tall.

Mountain sunset

Sofia sits at the foot of Vitosha Mountain.

Views

View of the cathedral from the Hotel Sense Rooftop Bar, worth a visit.

Full Moon

Sitting behind one of the spires of the art gallery roof.

Boyana Church

Medieval church known for an interior covered in frescos dating from the late 900s.

Trees

One of the giant sequoia trees on the grounds of the Boyana church.

On the lookout

... for food.

Staircases

Inside Rila monastery's Tower of Hrelja, which dates from 1335.

Lookout

Looking east through one of the tower's windows.

Worthwhile

Our tour guide told us it wasn't worth to go up the tower. View proves otherwise.

Monastery of Saint Ivan of Rila

The view in the courtyard, looking westwards.

Exterior Frescoes

There's more on the inside, but unfortunately no photography allowed.

Around

The courtyard is surrounded by the 4 floor buildings of the monastery.

Monastery of Saint Ivan of Rila

And looking towards the eastern side.

Doors

One of the doors of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.

And another one...

Got to love a nice door.

Movie Scene

They were shooting an action scene with burning cars and all the jazz on this Sunday afternoon.

Just chilling

In the City Garden, a popular hangout spot in central Sofia.

Music

Always makes people smile.

Dancing

People dancing to Bulgarian folklore in front of the neoclassical theater of Sofia.

Nightlife

The long pedestrian area towards the Palace of Culture is full of restaurants and bars.

Playing with Fire

The city felt relatively quiet, but it seems people do come out at night...

The Abandoned Plane - A UAE mystery

 

Never stop exploring, and you may just find an abandoned plane at the old Umm Al Quwain airfield. Stopped here on the way back from Jebel Jais in October 2017. 

Front View

The Soviet Ilyushin IL 76, originally registered in the late 1970s.

The Abandoned Plane

One of the stranger sights in the UAE - the abandoned plane near the old Umm Al Quqain airfield.

The Story

... isn't so clear. It's an Ilyushin IL 76 and landed in 1999.

Exploring

It's a great place to explore and get some photos though.

Armenia - A weekend of history

 

Spent an amazing long weekend in Armenia. As with Georgia, the country offers a very unique atmosphere on the gateway to Asia, with a rich history and amazing landscapes. Really enjoyed exploring it, perfect for a short trip from Dubai.

This is a hotel?

We were supposed to stay here, but - luckily one might say - they overbooked and didn't have our second room, so we moved.

The Ride

Not what we rented - but a very typical type of car in Armenia

Wine, anyone?

These huge wine barrels were in the basement of the Areni winery.

Stones

These weigh up to 10 tons. Some of them have holes which are said to make whistling sounds in the wind.

The Armenian Stonehenge

Or that's what the tourist lore says...

Carahunge

This is the real name of the area, which is said to have been a necropolis or observatory site more than 4000 years ago.

Tatev Monastery

The 9th century monastery, about 4h drive from Yerevan.

Candles

People were lighting candles in all the monasteries we visited.

Interior

The inside looking towards the dome.

Location

The monastery can be reached by the world's longest reversing cable car, crossing all the way to the opposite mountains.

Side view

The location of the monastery and the view around it are truly breathtaking.

Olive Press

The restored olive press in the monastery and some of its artifacts.

Khndzoresk

The stone city, with its artificial caves.

Crossing

This rope bridge crosses the canyon from the other side to the caves.

Renovations

The view is only spoilt by some ongoing renovations on the monastery buildings. Necessary evil, given their age.

View

Another view of the whole area.

Eerie

Old Khdzoresk Church in between the caves.

Caves

The caves were inhabited until the 1950s.

Baker Street

Entrance to a bar in Yerevan.

Landscapes

The barren brown autumn landscape had a very special atmosphere.

Sad sights

Not uncommon.

The Temple of Garni

The 2000 year old temple is the only standing Greco-Roman colonnaded building in Armenia

Gorge(ous)

It's located just on the cliff of this beautiful gorge.

Standing

After its reconstruction in the 1970s.

Cliffs

Overlooking the surrounding landscape.

Light

The roof has a whole where the sun shines throgh in the centre, creating some interesting effects.

Nature

While there was not a lot of greenery left from the summer, the rivers kept some of the landscape full of colour.

Geghard Interiors

Lucky moment as the sun was shining through the door on the cross.

Cross

The cross in the rocks near Geghard monastery.

Artifacts

The mountains around the monastery feature various small chapels another other remnants attracting pilgrims.

Geghard

The monastery was built around a spring in the mountains - part of it now runs through the actual church building.

Jamatun

The rock cut champer.

Location

The monastery literally sits in the mountain.

Birds

A view of the Sevanavank monastery at Lake Sevank, north of Yerevan.

Sevanavank

With its two churches Surp Arakelots (left) and Surp Astvatsatsin (right).

Views

The monastery used to be on an island, but since then the water level fell to turn it into a peninsula.

Noratus cemetery

With Khachkars (cross stones) dating back to the 10th century.

Chapel

There are two small chapels on the cemetary.

Company

We were all alone - except this woman.

Sunset views

The view from the cemetary at sunset.

Another one...

I didn't get tired of the churches and monasteries. This one is called Hayravank, from the late 9th century.

Yerevan Street Life

Was surprisingly lively.

Sculpture Fernando Botero, Gatto

Or: The fat cat.

Cafesjian Center for the Arts

With its many statues and installation.

The Cascade

Seen from the bottom, with some of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts installations.

Views over Yerevan

From the Cascade. On a clear day, you get to see mount Ararat from here. No luck for me.

Yerevan Opera

From the northern side.

Fruits & Vegetables

Armenia is famous for them and they are on sale everywhere.

Obligatory

Need to add a photo of a real cat to the statue.

Zoravor Surp Astvatsatsin Church

A long name for what is the oldest church in Yerevan, from 1694.

Kond

One of the three original oldest districts of Yerevan.

Different

A very different style of city than just a few hundred meters further.

Contrasts

The Kond district - which doesn't seem like the right place for this car.

Lunch Time

Like in Georgia, there's a lot of good food to enjoy in Armenia.

Stone Houses

Houses in Kond are made of old stones and bricks.

Hrazdan Stadium

Built just on the cliffs of the gorge of the same name.

Hrazdan Gorge

And one of the bridges crossing it.

Armenian Genocide Monument

Truly a captivating place.

Yerevan Views

Looking across the gorge.

Flame

Paired with some very haunting music, the place feels special.

Sky

Looking up from inside the monument, which was built in the 1960s.

The Monument

The pure concrete stone created bare atmosphere.

Sad Truth.

The Armenia Genocide feels underrepresented in people's mindset, despite being a truly tragic occurance.

Interiors

Of the museum.

Reading

The museum explains the events well. Worth a visit.

And back...

A 3h flight from Dubai, and definitely worth it.

Budapest - 1 Day in Buda, 1 Day in Pest...

 

Another short city break - this time to the city of Budapest, Hungary on the river Danube. Spent two days in amazing weather exploring this historic place.

The Aria Rooftop

Stayed in this hotel mainly for its rooftop view.

Aria Lobby

But it also has a music theme and someone playing the piano each day - what's not to like?

From Above...

This is a type of fountain in central Budapest, near the St Stephen Basilica.

... and below

And this is what's below - absolutely loved this and the atmosphere especially with the sunlight patterns was really soothing.

Street Life

The area just next to the aforementioned fountain cafe.

Fly

A skate park just next to the fountain.

Walk to wisdom

A priest walks towards the entrance of the St Stephen Basilica.

Miniature Gang

Visited the miniature wonderland...

Visitors

... which had some intriguing artifacts on display.

Mixed Reality.

Houses and.. what?

Miniature Wonderland

While nicely done, I guess it can't compete to the one in Hamburg which I really want to see soon.

Control Centre

Probably one of the coolest jobs out there.

Organs

Was lucky enough to be able to listen to an organ player in one of the city's many churches - love the sound of this instrument. Sing Hallelujah!

Underground

I always wonder what's below the old churches in many European cities - at the Parish Church they put glass windows into the ground to see it, and you could walk into the church basements.

Dark Clouds

Looming over the house of god. A sign?

Sun is out

Had great weather for all three days - here's a view over the Danube river towards the Buda castle.

Fisherman

A man fishing on the shores of the Danube.

Gellert Caves

The Buda side of Budapest is full of natural caves - some of them accessible.

The Pest Side

The pest side of Budapest at sunset.

Partial Selfie.

All you get.

Local Dance

Ran into an event where some local girls performed a typical Hungarian dance with bottles on their head. Not sure what this signifies.

Parliament at Sunset

The Hungarian parliament building shortly after sunset.

Hungarian Parliament

And one more shot, once the lights were on, with one of the many cruise and dinner ships passing by on the Danube.

Local Food

I didn't get to try a lot of local food, but can always recommend Hungarian Salami!

Watch out

A statue of someone (?) on October 6th street.

Model

A model in of the St Stephen's church.

Stairs

Couldn't resist walking up to the top - 300 steps!

At the top

And the view you get as a reward.

Not quite stable.

While generally a well maintained and clean city from what I saw, some parts need extra fixing.

Mathias Church

Seen from the St Stephen's basilica roof. The questionable architecture of the Hilton just next to it.

The Dome

The inside of the St Stephen's basilica dome.

Crossing Bridges

A monument near the Hungarian parliament. Couldn't figure out what it represents.

The Parliament

Definitely the most impressive building in Budapest.

Rings

Budapest applied for the 2024 Olympic Games.

The Logo

And here is the logo and its meaning.

Cave Church

A church inside Gellert Hill, formerly used as a monastery and hospital during the second world war.

Wood

One of the artifacts of the church, hand carved in wood.

Salami Land

Did I mention Hungary is famous for Salami?

Central Market Hall

With lots of local produce over three stories.

Colours

Things I rarely eat.

When your food smiles at you

A little too literally.

Movable Book Store

Couldn't find much in English though.

Writing

What better place for drafting your next novel?

Dohány Street Synagogue

The inside of the Moorish Synagogue in Budapest.

Synagogue Interiors

If I'm not mistaken this was the first time I ever entered a Synagogue.

Memorial

A second world war memorial and cemetery is outside the church.

Strange Places

Szimpla Kert, possibly the weirdest pub I've ever seen with its random interior and artifacts. On the other hand, seemingly the most popular bar in the city.

Interiors 1

No comment.

Interiors 2

No further comment.

Interiors 3

Still no comment.

Contrasts

On the other side of the spectrum, this is the interior of New York cafe.

New York Cafe

Renaissance style and opened in 1894.

Reflections

Part of the Fisherman's bastion reflecting in the nearby Hilton hotel.

Framed

The Matthias church seen through some of the windows at the Fisherman's Bastion.

Castle District

A road in the castle district at sunset.

Posing

Some girls were posing at the Holy Trinity statue in front of the Matthias church.

Change your Focus

To get a new perspective. The chain bridge in the background.

Buda Castle at Night

Buda Castle seen from the Pest side of the Danube, just next to the Chain bridge.

Chain Bridge

And here's the view towards the right.

Budapest Eye

Budapest's ferris wheel.

Matthias Church Tower

Of course I had to walk up this one as well, 200 stairs only this time.

Progress

More than half way.

The View

And the view looking east. Note the roof tiles of the church.

Tiles

The tiles were replaced in the 90s during a renovation, but some of the original ones can still be seen in the church.

Chimneys

Seems like there's a lot of fireplaces in the houses in the castle district.

Matthias Church Interior

The inside of the church. Unfortunately the light wasn't great and it was very crowded and noisy.

Windows

Some of the beautiful glass windows - spoilt by the strange hanging lamps that were installed.

Music

Original sheets by Franz List, one of the most famous Hungarian composers from the 19th century.

Hospital in the Rock

The entrance is in the castle wall and the hospital's rooms were built from the natural rock. It was used as a hospital in the second world war.

The Birds of Hiroshima

During the Cold War, the hospital was upgraded as a nuclear bunker and currently hosts an exhibition - the origami cranes intend to remind of Sadako Sasaki, who folded them in the hospital before dying from the effects of the bomb.

The Chain Bridge

View from Buda castle, with the St Stephen basilica in the background.

Print Works

For several months I had the idea in my head to create a few fine art prints of my photography, possibly in a small edition or similar. With tens of thousands of photos in my collection, surely there must be the odd one that would look good in print. 

A few weeks ago I went to a photography trade show in Dubai and ran into Rick from www.digitalprintmaker.com - located in Al Quoz in Dubai. Great guy and was able to give me some good and genuine advice on the process and paper choices.

I had previously only printed a few books from Apple's Aperture store, as well as some random small standard prints and one canvas print which is now hanging in my apartment, so my experience with true fine art printing was limited.

When I went to his shop we had the chance to go through his collection of paper types. I had the plan to try different types for different images and realized that picking photos you really (!) like is much harder when it is about choosing a print, and not just putting them on Facebook. 

The papers he had were of excellent variety, and I settled for German quality from https://www.hahnemuehle.com which makes paper for over 500 years, and picked three different variants:

1. 308 gsm Photo Rag® 100% cotton rag paper 

2. 325 gsm Fine Art Baryta Gloss alpha cellulose paper 

3. 305 gsm Photo Rag® Ultra Smooth 100% cotton rag paper 

For the lion, city and church subjects, respectively. All prints are 35 x 25cm. 

I'm very happy with the result of the test print, particularly the non-gloss variants. I'll have to take another look at gloss or satin options next time, as the current paper feels less special than the others. In the end, this is more an emotional aspect than anything scientific, aside from the texture it's difficult to tell the difference in quality. 

Now it's time to look at some frames and for these shots and then possibly make a small edition print for sale - I also want to try bigger sizes. 

The First Milky Way Shoot

I finally made it into the desert at the right time and with the right light to do some real Milky Way shooting - something that was on my list for a long time. Below the results!

Dunes & Milky Way

The light on the bottom left comes from the Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park, which will be the largest solar panel installation in the world when completed.

Desert Trails

A 15min exposure generates these kind of star trails - the diagonal bright area is the Milky Way.

Desert Tree

Was lucky enough to find this beautiful tree in the desert past the Al Qudra lakes.

In Search

Another lucky find of a dead tree in the desert. Always wanted to try the flash light shot!

The Moon Rise

What looks like the sun rising is actually the moon coming up behind the dunes - the moon was just entering waning crescent.