PHOTOGRAPHY in the MOST CONSERVATIVE ISLAMIC COUNTRY

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the most conservative Islamic country. The Kingdom strictly implements the teaching of the Qur'an and the accompanying religious beliefs.

Before, photography in public areas was banned. You can't stroll around taking pictures without being reprimanded. Once you get caught by the police, your camera will be confiscated and you'll be invited for interrogation. If you failed to clear your intention of taking pictures, you will be forced to sign a letter indicating that you will not take pictures again and go home without your camera.

In 2006, the ban was lifted by the Ministry of Tourism in hope of increasing the Kingdom's tourism. But, in spite of this, it will take years before its citizens will be accustomed to it.

How do I manage to take pictures?

 In taking pictures, I am using a portable camera. I can easily keep it out of sight whenever there is a passer by. Besides, big cameras are attention seeker.

I usually take picture when no one is around. At time I woke up six in the morning just to have something to post in RedGage. The worst I occasionally take a walk under the blazing heat of the sun when everyone is in his/her room cooling down.

If I would wish to take pictures of public institutions such as mosque, I must look left and right. If no one in sight, camera out. But, if there is, maybe, it is not my lucky day.

Flash is a no-no. It can easily get attention that may lead to a long discussion leaving you drop jaw in confusion.

I don' take pictures of people especially women. If I want to, I must ask their permission first which I am not able to do so because of language barrier.

Now, would you like to have a visit here and take some snaps?

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is rich in historical places, great architecture, and biodiversity of desert's flora and fauna that a photographer may lust to add in his/her collections.

As long as you know that you have the right feel free to do it. Just leave if reprimanded. And most importantly, don't involve yourself to a fight because no matter how clear your intention is, the police won't listen.

MASJID: TOWER of FAITH

 

The SUNSET

A day...
Three-letter word
Simple, yet
life depends on it.

Every day...
Each day, a battle
A battle of how our life will be
A battle of what we want to be.

Freedom, we have
To choose our way
To find our existence
To prove our worth.

But,
A day has its end
The Sunset
The Sunset is its end.

The Sunset
that signifies a summary
a summary of what had happened
The Sunset
that give us a chance
a chance to plan
to plan for the next day.

If we did wrong
If we missed a thing
The Sunset...
It tells you there's tomorrow
Tomorrow
The Sunset.

PHOTOMANIPULATION: Blend's Shortcuts

It's been a month since I tried photomanipulation. Indeed, difficult at the first try (confusing, i may add) but through lots of tutorials and perseverance and determination as ingredients photomanipulation turned out to be quite easy.

Blending, an important technique in photomanipulation, is one of the basics a beginner must learn. Photoshop CS3 offers 25 different blend modes. They ranges from Normal to Overlay to Luminosity.

I experiment a lot with these blend modes trying to come up with the right combo. Overlay, Screen, Soft Light, and Multiply are the ones that I am using frequently. Still, the remaining modes are worth using depending on what you are going to create.

Choosing the right blend mode is time consuming (this is true for a beginner like me). To change the blending, you go to the layers palette, to the drop down menu, and click whatever blend mode you want to take effect. If you're not satisfied, repeat the process until you get what you want. Tired of doing that? Here is the list of shortcut keys that I've searched in the net.

Shift + Alt +

• Normal    ( N )
• Dissolve   ( I )
• Darken    ( K )
• Multiply   ( M )
• Color Burn ( B )
• Linear Burn ( A )
• Lighten   ( G )
• Screen ( S )
• Color Dodge ( D )
• Linear Dodge ( W )
• Overlay ( O )
• Soft Light ( F )
• Hard Light ( H )
• Vivid Light ( V )
• Linear Light ( J )
• Pin Light ( Z )
• Hard Mix ( L )
• Hue ( U )
• Difference ( E )
• Exclusion ( X )
• Saturation ( T )
• Color ( C ) 
• Luminosity ( Y )

 In order for these shortcuts to work be sure that the move tool is activated ( Press V )

ABSTRACTIONISM 001

Abstract art… an art that needs the power of intellect to reveal its meaning. Quite simple in appearance and sometimes unpleasing but its depth is worth knowing. Abstract artists capture the realms of life and encode it in painting of forms and shapes. They transforming the what seems to be real into something that is unreal.

Here are examples of abstract art that I made using a free software,  paint.NET .

Abstract No.1

Abstract No.2

Abstract No.3

Abstract No 4

Abstract No. 5

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