Abu Dhabi - Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Ramadan Kareem ... from Abu Dhabi

Needs no caption ... The 8th largest mosque in the world, located here in Abu Dhabi

Peugeot RCZ drives past Abu Dhabi's amazing Al Bahr Towers

Yes, we think that Aldar HQ aka the "Round building" of Abu Dhabi is fantastic, as is following the construction of ADNEC or the Leaning Tower of Abu Dhabi in our 4 years here ... But I think LY is right, these Cocoon Towers are Number One :-)

Aedas was appointed to design the new Abu Dhabi Investment Council Headquarters following an invited international competition. The 25-storey twin office towers in the United Arab Emirates will each accommodate between 1,000 and 1,100 employees. The design concept is both culturally and environmentally appropriate and complies with the aspirations of the recently published 2030 Abu Dhabi Development Plan.

The south facing roofs of each tower incorporate photo-voltaic cells, generating approximately five percent of the total required energy from renewable energy sources.

The cocoon-like buildings are based on a pre-rationalised geometric form, fine-tuned via parametric design tools to achieve optimal wall to floor area ratio. A solar-responsive dynamic shading screen further decreases solar gain. This ‘Mashrabiya’ acts as a secondary skin that mediates daylight and reduces glare. The system is driven by renewable energy derived from the photo voltaic panels.


It is not only amazing architecture that catches our eye in this wonderful city, the cars do as well :-) Here's a Peugeot RCZ! In a land of Veyrons, 911 GT2s, 458 Italias and Aventadors, its refreshing to see how a RM$100K car can still catch my eye!

Canon G10 - Repair done in Abu Dhabi, UAE

Our Canon G10 is back in operation again, after the lens got stuck late last year whilst we I was on holiday in Malaysia :-(

Yes, the repair cost a bomb (Canon UAE, Abu Dhabi) ... 200 USD for a new lens-assembly, to repair the "Lens error, Restart camera" fault. I think some call this the Canon E18 fault. Basically the lens barrel just wouldn't retract, despite doing a "battery-pull", restarting the camera, jiggling it, blah blah ... Sigh!

True, our Canon Powershot G10 is over 4 years old - But it was just too good a camera to dispose, especially when we have a brand new WP-DC28 underwater-housing (Over 200 USD!) and we one day ... want to go diving again! Looks like we have a working G10 again, woo hoo ...

ps - These shots were taken with our new Fuji X10   ;-)

UAE Day 2012 - Plane acrobatics over the Corniche

Happy 41st UAE Day ... Photos shot from across the Corniche, here in Abu Dhabi on 2nd December 2012.

Paris icons - Arc de Triomphe

The Arc de Triomphe or Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, is one of the most famous monuments in Paris. It stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle (originally named Place de l'Étoile), at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. The monument was designed by Jean Chalgrin in 1806, and its iconographic program pitted heroically nude French youths against bearded Germanic warriors in chain mail.

The Arc de Triomphe (which in English translates to the "Triumphal Arch") honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I.

Paris icons - Pyramide du Louvre

The Louvre Pyramid or Pyramide du Louvre is a large glass and metal pyramid, surrounded by three smaller pyramids, in the main courtyard (Cour Napoléon) of the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre) in Paris. The large pyramid serves as the main entrance to the Louvre Museum.   It was completed in 1989, and has become a landmark of the city of Paris. It was commissioned by the President of France François Mitterrand in 1984, and was designed by the architect I. M. Pei.  

For design historian Mark Pimlott, "I.M. Pei’s plan distributes people effectively from the central concourse to myriad destinations within its vast subterranean network... the architectonic framework evokes, at gigantic scale, an ancient atrium of a Pompeiian villa; the treatment of the opening above, with its tracery of engineered castings and cables, evokes the atria of corporate office buildings; the busy movement of people from all directions suggests the concourses of rail termini or international airports."

Paris icons - Eiffel Tower

I was in France recently for a seminar, and had a short 3 hour tour of rainy Paris ... We stopped at a few Parisian icons, including the Eiffel Tower of course. I only just found out that more then 200 million people have visited the tower since its construction in 1889 and that it was the most-visited paid monument in the world! Here are a few shots captured with my Nikon D7000 and Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 lens.

The Eiffel Tower (French: La Tour Eiffel, nickname La dame de fer or 'the iron lady') is an iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris, named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Erected in 1889 as the entrance arch to the 1889 World's Fair, it has become both a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world.

View from the Trocadéro, which is an area of Paris in the 16th arrondissement, across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower.

Harley Davidson CVO Street Glide

Heh heh ... My first motorbike "shoot" :-) with my Nikon D7000 and humble Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens.

The legacy of the Harley-Davidson name lives on... Check out the ustom touches and performance that distinguish this from every other bike on the road! I love the premium custom paint and huge wheels and brake disc calipers! The build quality is also impeccable :-) I don't know the details - But the electronics seems impressive, and the chrome bits all bling-bling! This is what is known as a "Harley Custom Vehicle Operations motorcycle", and the exposed detailing of the huge Screamin' Eagle engine is there for all to see!

Harley-davidson.com ... Introducing the largest wheel ever offered on a Touring bike. We've pushed our Agitator front wheel another inch, taking it to a full, bold 19 inches (483 mm). But size isn't everything. You'll still get that custom Agitator style—wheels with a seven spoke design; contrast chrome and black, or mirror chrome finish, and, matching full-floating brake rotors with a polished chrome center.

More info from Harley-davidson.com ... Unique to the CVO™ Street Glide® model is the new tank console—slammed to sit low, the fill cap and fuel gauge are flush to the tank to complement the overall streamlined design. But the feature that truly shines is the black console insert—complete with a CVO™ logo—so there's no doubt that this bike rolls with unmistakable Custom Vehicle Operations™ style

Harley-davidson.com ... Every aspect of the rear of the CVO™ Street Glide® model is designed and combined to form a unique whole. The full-depth saddlebags offer hauling capacity with a dramatic styling angle. Right under the saddlebags are the dual exhaust 4-inch (102 mm)Touring mufflers, billet end caps with contrast chrome and black accents and gleaming chrome exhaust shields. And shining from the seamless design are the striking LED combination stop-turn-taillight assemblies, with wires tastefully concealed.

More shots of this beauty ... Not many knocking about in Malaysia I think!

I love the paint-job, I love the exposed engine and who can argue with the brand kudos ... this is one amazing bike!

Reem Island - Abu Dhabi

Some shots of Reem Island here in Abu Dhabi :-) The soon to be completed ...

 

And the completed Sun and Sky Tower - Which houses the brand new Waitrose supermarket, which happens to be the first Waitrose here in AD :-)

Fuji Finepix X100

This is the Fuji Finepix X100, a camera quite unlike any other! I had the chance to play with one over CNY in Subang, just before we returned to Abu Dhabi.

Fuji did a brilliant job trying to make the packaging Apple- or Leica-like :-)





What you get if you decide to invest RM$3,200 - 3,600 in what is probably Fuji's halo-product at the moment ... 12 megapixel APS-C image sensor, 23mm f/2.o Fujinon lens, (equivalent to 35mm on standard 35mm format), body made from high-quality steel and encased in leather, Hybrid viewfinder, built-in 3-stop ND filter, and video capability - 720P HD w/stereo sound.



With and without the optional lens hood, not cheap about RM$120-180.


What I like ...
1) Incredible build quality and retro-feel and looks,
2) Huge sensor (Comparable to a crop-frame DSLR!),
3) High ISO (Low light) capability and colour rendition - Excellent unwrapping of box and real-life review here,
4) Recommendation from my pro-photographer friend (and his wife!).

Hibachi Sushi & Robata - Excellent japanese in Bukit Tinggi, Klang

We have a new favourite Japanese in Klang ... good value, really good service, fresh food and no traffic jams considering where we live :-)
Yes ... they serve Asahi and wonderful bottled (and cheap!) Hoegaarden here too, but they happen to be pork-free.

Add: 56, Jalan Mahogani 1/KS6, Bandar Botanic, Klang
Tel: +603 3325 5688


This vacation, I only brought back 2 lenses (Used the macro in these shots) - 12-24mm DX f/4 and 40mm DX f/2.8G Micro, along with dad's SB-600 for lighting and my Nikon D7000 SLR. Here are our starters, the item on the left was a free amuse-bouche, and the salmon sashimi on the right was brilliant value and so fresh!


Good agadeshi tofu, and really good japanese garlic fried rice ...

My katsu curry :-)

Black cod bento box :-) Excellent!

Nice japanese crepe dessert, and best of all - The price. RM$120, which included the beer :-) Great value!