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Just like I promised in my previous post, today I’m posting one of my favourite desert shots in a while, which was also taken this weekend. As you can see it’s a very simple shot, but I think that’s why I like it so much. The lines are so simple and there’s just a hint at the top of the wind that was blowing the sand from the top of the dune. Even the post-processing was minimal with only one curve to add some contrast between the light and dark areas.

On another note, expect some winter images soon as on Friday I’ll make my way to Norway for a week for some snow boarding and some northern lights spotting (I’ll say this again – the lights better show up)!

To view the original shot (straight from the camera) visit the blog entry here: www.momentaryawe.com/blog/?p=3309

Those of you following me on Twitter or Instagram (or even following the blog for the last few weeks) might have noticed that I have been going to the desert quite a few times in the last few weeks to try and build up my portfolio in that area. Although I’m still not 100% happy (except for one shot which I really like and which I will be posting in the next few days!) with what I got so far, I think it’s getting better and tonight while in the dunes close to Al Ain I thought I’ll experiment a bit.

Since the area is fairly dark, I wanted to try and capture some of the dunes with the mountains in the background and the night sky full of stars. The air was a little bit hazy, but at 30 seconds exposure and ISO800, the stars really start to shine. I will definitely go back to the area to experiment some more, but for now I would be happy to hear what you think.

To view the original shot (straight from the camera) visit the blog entry here: www.momentaryawe.com/blog/?p=3304

A few weeks ago when we landed at 4am in Mumbai we weren’t quite sure what was going on around us. We headed straight to the train station to shoot and after that we walked the streets towards our hotel watching the city come to life. When you’re as tired as we were after the flight the landscapes and moments kinda warp around in your head and you just shoot instinctively rather than plan too much.

The same was true for the shot below. I noticed this guy with the corner of my eye, sitting on his own in this big empty bus with the light shinning solely on his face. The light changed quickly and I only got one shot, but for me this image really capture the mood I was in during that first morning in Mumbai – tired, slightly lost, but looking at great light!

To view the original shot (straight from the camera) visit the blog entry here: www.momentaryawe.com/blog/?p=3300

Although the day I was shooting from this location was not the best of days for photography, this must be one of my favourite places from where I shot in Dubai. It’s not as impressive as some of the locations from where I photographed the Dubai skyline before, but for some reason, seeing the old part of Dubai along the creek with the new city in the background makes you think that you are somehow looking straight into the future!

I have posted one image from this location before, but I think I prefer the simplicity of this one in black and white as it allows your eyes to actually see more of this busy scene. Which one do you prefer?

To view the original shot (straight from the camera) visit the blog entry here: www.momentaryawe.com/blog/?p=3296

While we’re on a desert theme, I thought I’ll keep this post on the same lines with an image taken during a recent balloon trip taken over the desert close to Al Ain (a city in the UAE). I’ve been in a balloon a couple of times before, but this one was a little bit different.

If you’re not familiar with balloons, the way you navigate with them is by climbing or descending to take advantage of the different wind directions. Well, the day we flew there was almost no wind at all altitudes. We even got permission to climb all the way to 6000 feet (the usual altitude at which the balloons here go is 4000 feet) and we still didn’t find any wind. After about an hour, when the time came to land we started descending slowly hoping to land very close to where we started. As we reached 300 feet the wind showed up, pushing us towards one of the Sheikh palaces where the pilot made it clear that it would be a bad idea to try and land. If we did, the pilot would either get his license taken away or we would all get offered tea and dates. Although some tea and dates sounded very good at that particular point, we didn’t want to risk it! So the pilot decided to go for a bit of a harder landing. Now, harder landings with balloons mean that the basket gets pushed to its side, which is exactly what happen to us (I’ve posted an image in the behind the scenes section of the Facebook page).

As for the image below, it was taken while we were on our way down passing over an apparently popular place for cars to get off the road.

To view the original shot (straight from the camera) visit the blog entry here: www.momentaryawe.com/blog/?p=3292