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Yearly Archives: 2012

Kuwait Enters 50th year of Constitution with a Guinness World Record

Kuwait on Saturday entered the Guinness World record books with a massive display of firework. The show which costed KD 4.16 million (roughly around $15 million US) was spectacular with 77,282 fireworks launched using pyrotechnic over a period of one hour to secure the biggest and expensive firework feat ever. Thousands of people gathered around the Gulf road to catch the glimpse of fireworks, kite and laser show display staged to mark the 50th anniversary of the constitution. The road leading to the venue were closed from early afternoon, I decided to reach early for a change and found a convenient location to witness the event right behind the KFC outlet (Zone 5). Before the late evening firework I was lucky enough to watch 3-4 sorties of fire planes soaring the sky and display of kites beautifully flown by professionals pillion riders on Jet skies. Finally as other photo geek members and family joined, the place was flooded with people occupying every inch of land, there was a long wait before the firework began and I wished there were more entertainment on the sea side. I did manage to capture the couple of flying mannequin and other dressed up sea-creature character with security personnel as they were cheered by crowds walking the Gulf road. I rushed back to my spot to capture the firework which started couple of minutes after 8 pm to witness the greatest and most spectacular fireworks ever, with plenty of photographers and other watchers around, the place was truly a celebration. At the end of the show, the 3D projections displayed the Guinness World record banner for the maximum number of firework as well as for the longest line (from Kuwait tower to Green Island divided into 9 zones) as a representative from Guinness World Record announced over the national Kuwait Television.

Images of the event: (For more images click here)

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Events & Activities 2

Sigma unveils the new 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM lens

Sigma has announced the release of its new Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM lens, a fast maximum aperture, prime wide angle lens. This lens is the first of its new branded “Art-Series“ product line up, which by itself helps to redefine and unleash the expressive and unbeatable performance to bring in the artist in you. Sigma has recently decided on rethinking their range of interchangeable lenses into three product lines. Each line has its own clearly defined concept, and every lens developed here on will be assigned to one of these lines. Sigma’s new product lines are going to redefine the way you relate to photography. The lens is available for Sigma, Nikon, Canon & Pentax DSLR’s and is compatible for both full frame and APS-C camera. The lens has a sporty look with a silver “A” badge on the barrel.

Sigma have developed a special software (SIGMA Optimization Pro) that can update the lens firmware and adjust parameters such as focus . Using special USB Dock, the user will be able to connect the lens to their PC, and, using easy-to-operate on-screen controls, fine-tune focus and adjust other parameters to suit their personal preferences at the luxury of sitting at home.

Sigma reveals this lens at low apertures, for example can perform like a wide-angle lens, while if it’s opened up to f/1.4, it will give the background a pleasing bokeh effect and make the subject pop like a mid-range telephoto lens. What makes this lens so desirable is the wide scope it provides for artistic expression.

You can read more on the lens construction and technical specs here [link]. Sigma US announced the price tag of $899.

The good news is this remarkable lens will be available in Kuwait by the beginning of December exclusively in AAB stores at a truly competitive price of 239.950 KD.

News 0

How to shoot Fireworks

I had earlier posted of the biggest and most expensive firework event taking place this weekend.

Shooting Fireworks is always magical with the beautiful colors and the illumination produced. Generally people tend to think to shoot firework they may have to invest on powerful camera gears or telephoto lens. You can capture beautiful stunning images using a standard kit lens available depending on the camera make unless you need to fill your frame with fireworks then generally a telephoto lens (70-300 mm) will serve the purpose, else you may need to crop the picture.

Few quick tips to get those beautiful streaks of lights in your image

1. Check your location: It’s important to reach early, so as to get an unobstructed view. Check your horizon and the background, reflection of lights on the water or having a nice backdrop will add more dynamic change to your picture.

2. Use a Tripod: Since we would be using long exposure, there is every chance for camera shake. If you don’t have a tripod, then make sure to brace your camera against wall, railing or even a car to keep it steady. If you have no options then you may need to increase the ISO, this will give you shorter exposure without blurs but will also introduce noise in your image. You will need image noise removal application to reduce the noise during the post processing stage.

3. Remote Release: A wired cable release or a remote release will help you to eliminate the minimum camera shake. If you don’t have a remote release, the best would be to use the self-timer of the camera after setting the desired time. You may loose on the initial few shots of firework as you tend to calculate the time the shell reaches the sky and burst out.

4. Focus Setting: On a DSLR camera choose the M (Manual) mode and manually focus your lens to infinity (∞). You have to readjust the focus . On a Point & Shoot camera, you can use the Firework mode, landscape mode or the least night portrait mode depending on the availability on your camera.

5. Flash off: Camera flash or flash-guns are not powerful enough to reach fireworks.

6. ISO, Aperture & Shutter speed: The higher your ISO, the more sensitive your camera is to light. When shooting longer exposures (long shutter speeds) high ISO can introduce a lot of digital noise to your photograph. An ISO setting of 100 is a good bet. Check the following setting and experiment accordingly. (ISO 50 – Aperture range: f/5.6 – 11; ISO 100 – Aperture range: f/8 to 16; ISO 200 – Aperture range: f/11 to 22). Long Shutter speed will help to capture a perfect shot, you may need to experiment by using 2 sec to 10 sec or more depending on the duration of firework to see what works best. If you have a B (Bulb) mode setting you can use it to control exactly how long your shutter is open. The trick is to open the shutter right at the beginning of the burst and close it when it reaches its peak. Allow the smoke to disappear before you take the next shoot.

7. Take plenty of pictures: Carry more than 1 card, shooting firework is quite addictive. Try different setting, preview your first few shots to know you are satisfied with the settings.

Finally enjoy the show and be safe.

Knowledge Base 2

Kuwait Biggest & Expensive Firework Show-2012

Kuwait is all geared to host the biggest and the most expensive Firework show on 10th Nov,2012 as they head to break the world record for the biggest firework yet along the Gulf Road starting from the Kuwait Tower all the way up to the Green Island to celebrate 50th year anniversary of the constitution. It’s told a whooping 4 million plus KD has been spent on fireworks, plenty of steel offshore platform structures has been created for the fireworks. A New Mexico based company Desert Areospace has been hired to tap 3 planes fitted with firework at the tail for the show.

Check the video of the News report from KRQE News

This truly will be one great historic event you won’t want to miss. Now guys, this won’t be just Fireworks, the show will include lit kites, Flying Falcons, Floating Creatures, Laser, Sound and 3D projections. The approx 4.5 km area starting from Ruby Tuesday near the Kuwait Towers extending to the Green Island has been divided into 9 Zones.

The show will start at 3:00 pm with entertainment program followed by fireworks at 8:00 pm and the final closure at around 10:00 pm. Reports indicate that the fireworks shall continue non-stop over an hour and is expected to break the previous 7 Guinness World Records. The show is sure to invite lots of people from neighboring regions to witness this landmark event.

It’s advised to reach the event place well in advance as traffic would be crazy. To all my photo geek friends this is will be one great event you would love to shoot.

Events & Activities / News 14

3rd International Filter Photo Contest

The 3rd International Filter Photo Contest 2012-2013 sponsored by Kenko Tokina Co.Ltd is open to all photos that has been taken with the aid of a filter (any brand) with the aim of expanding creative possibilities.

Applications are open to image data of both types, both in color or black and white, as long as the photos are taken using a filter. Filters such as protectors, whose filter effects cannot be seen on works, are not permitted. Photos treated or processed using computer software are not eligible

The contest is open from 1st October, 2012 until 30th November, 2013. There are prizes set every 3 months in stages during the contest for encouragement.

1st Stage: 1st October – 31st December, 2012

2nd Stage: 1st January – 31st March, 2013

3rd Stage: 1st April – June, 2013

4th Stage: July – November, 2013

To enter and know more of the Contest prerequisites and procedure click here

Thanks Ahmed Abul Burghul

News 0

Expression of Love Photo Contest Winners & Participants Feliciated

The winners and participants of the recently concluded “Expression of Love” photo contest organized by ShutterXpose were felicitated and the winners awarded with their prizes. The function was private and held over the weekend at Salmiya Play School. A brief introduction of ShutterXpose activities and their future work plans were discussed. The attendees were briefed on the judges of the contest and the evaluation process. Images of the Top contenders of the contest were discussed, most of the participants expressed their happiness on conducting such contest including the professionalism and transparency. Participants were felicitated with certificates.

ShutterXpose once again takes the opportunity to congratulate the winners and all the participants for their active participation and making our 1st photography competition a great success. The continuous support from the Judges, Coordinators (Prashanth, Rakshak, Rilson, Yogee & Unni Krishnan) and the readers helped us with brighter ideas and high spirits (no pun intended). Participants who couldn’t attend the function are requested to email us with their mobile numbers ASAP, so as the certificates could be delivered.

Pictures of the event: (by Prashanth Shetty)

Events & Activities 1

Judges of Expression of Love Photo Contest

ShutterXpose team is quite pleased to be associated with couple of Professional photographers during their recent concluded photography contest. The team decided to have the contest evaluated by these professionals and then consider the aggregate points of each image based on technical evaluation to have the final 3 winners, so as to have an unbiased result. I along with the team felt quite honoured when these professionals agreed to form a 3 panel jury and conclude the evaluation result. The following were the judges for the contest.

(more…)

Knowledge Base 2

Car Parade

The Historical, Vintage & Classic Cars Museum is organizing a parade on Wednesday, October 10th 2012. The parade will start at 4:00pm from Kuwait Towers and will head towards the museum in Shuwaikh. I’m quite doubtful about my visit this time too, cos of my long working hours.

This definetly would be fun and hope the weather plays perfect. So if you are a photographer take out your camera and gears and follow the basic steps.

Reach the venue well ahead of time
A wide angle or a standard short to medium telephoto lens (Prime lens would be perfect)
Carry a polarizer to avoid bright reflection from metal car body.
Shoot at unusal angle
Capture specific details (Hood ornaments, wheels , engines, etc.)

Image Source: Arab Times

Events & Activities 0

Nikon D600 Launched in Kuwait

The latest, smallest and the lightest Nikon FX-format D600 was launched in Kuwait today morning at the JW Marriott Hotel, Kuwait City. The function was held by Ashraf & Co. and Nikon. This was the 1st major launch of any camera here earlier, its quite interesting since only couple of weeks back the D600 was initially announced, followed by a grand launch in Dubai on the same day and now finally in Kuwait. It’s quite interesting to note that Nikon is considering the Middle East market seriously. The D600 was unveiled by Nikon ME and Ashraf Imaging Group officials.

The D600 is a hybrid with a 24.3 effective megapixel and high-density 39-point AF system employed with a Multi-CAM 4800 auto focus sensor module, with a close feel in terms of controls, ergonomics and weight to the Nikon D7000. In comparison to the D800 it uses the same EXPEED 3 processor, has the second best sensor in the world ranking just behind to it’s elder brother the Nikon D800, but overall the D800 falls in a different segment and is more superior.

The D600 will be sold separately (body only), as well as along with AF-S NIKKOR 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED VR Kit lens which is quite unique, since unlike the DX-format the Nikon FX-format camera’s were never sold with a Kit lens. The estimated price of Nikon D600 (Body only) in Kuwait shall be around ~~KD 775~~ KD 700.

You can read my earlier post on Nikon D600 [here] and [here]

Update: More images of the event added. The Nikon D600 is not yet available, but you can pre-order them at AAB which is sold for KD. 699.950 (Body only) and KD. 849 with Kit lens (24-85mm VR lens), also included are the free 32 GB Class 10 SD card & KD. 20 Printing Coupon.

News 4

Expression of Love Photography Contest Winner Announced

ShutterXpose team is pleased to announce the winners of their 1st Photography Contest under the theme “Expression of Love“.

The winners are:

Shafimon Choolookaran (1st Prize)
Joy Roshan (2nd Prize)
Nabeel Sab (3rd Prize)

Congratulation’s !!!

Brief Summary of the Contest

The contest was open to all residents of Kuwait. The contestant had to upload their best image based on the theme of the contest and invite their friends and folks to vote for their image. The Photo contest had a considerable good response. We received a total of 37 entries and only 25 entries were qualified and moderated based on the theme, the contest was held for a 1 month period (19th August – 19th September, 2012). The contest received a total of 3000+ votes from more than 10 countries including Kuwait. As per the rules Top 5 entries with maximum votes were selected to qualify for the Judges technical evaluation round, the last 48 hrs of the contest was quite interesting with votes swinging in favour of few participants, finally there were Ties in 3 spots which ultimately gave 8 entrants to enter the evaluation round.

The Jury (3 judge panel) members had a daunting task ahead, each jury member had to evaluate the image based on the following technical criteria :

Does the Image suit the Theme of the contest
Composition and
Overall impact (Lighting, Sharpness and creativity)

The total point system was on a scale of 10, at the end of the evaluation round the total aggregate point from all the judges against each image were calculated and the final 3 winners were selected.

The 3 panel Jury members are Professional photographer who have excelled in the field of photography with couple of awards under their name. A brief summary of their portfolio would be added in my coming post soon.

Congratulation to all the participants. Taking part in such photography contest is just a stepping stone to your long cherished dream to be recognised as a photographer.

We at ShutterXpose extend our warm wishes to all the participants, Indians in Kuwait (IIK), Blogger Mathai, The Grapevine Kuwait as well the readers here for helping us to make this contest a great success. ShutterXpose would organise many such contests in the future.

Photo Slideshow of all contest entrants

[slideshow gallery_id=”1″]

Events & Activities / News 8

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