Al Ain City Daily Photo

Balancing

2012-05-28T13:03:00.000+04:00

My external memory drive is almost full and I have to delete some "unwanted" photos to transfer about 500 photos from my camera's memory card. While looking at the archives and reviewing the albums one by one, JM reminded me that I haven't posted any about the Chinese Circus. It prompted me to review my blog posts.

Darn! I totally forgot everything about it after posting some of the photos on Al Ain City Daily Photo's Facebook page. My goodness! I have a lot of photos to sort out. Anyway, the Chinese Circus was hosted by Al Ain Mall. A couple of months ago, they brought the famous circus troupe from China to perform exclusively for their costumers. Dressed in colorful costumes, they amazed the crowd with their breathtaking balancing moves and aerobatic performance.

If you wish to see the other balancing acts, kindly head over to Al Ain City Daily Photo's Facebook page or simply click here.

Water fountain at Sulaimi Park

2012-05-27T00:46:00.000+04:00

We've been to Al Sulaimi Park last night to practice long exposure and slow shutter photography. There's a huge water fountain at the park-a perfect subject for this type of photography. Here are some of the photos which I have taken with different camera settings. These are all straight out of the camera shots, the only alteration done was to resize them and added my watermark. Hope you like these photos.

By the way, Al Sulaimi Park is located at Al Jimi District, a few kilometers away from Al Jimi Mall.

Defender

2012-05-26T16:19:00.000+04:00

Tower A

This is the posterior view of Tower A, also known as Sheikh Zayed Murabba, one of the 2 Hili Towers erected at the vicinity of Al Hili District. According to Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH), this square tower was built under the direction of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan in mid 1940's to defend the villagers and the Hili Oasis against the conflict known as "Hili Attack". They have been rebuilt by then Dept. of Antiquities and Tourism, now part of ADACH. Click here for more info.

Stray cats

2012-05-23T01:44:00.000+04:00

As the tallest peak in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, I must say that Jebel Hafeet offers a nice view of Al Ain City and Oman border. And as part of the government's continuous effort to turn Al Ain City as a tourist destination, the area at the top of Jebel Hafeet has recently been redeveloped.

We've been there a couple of weeks ago and we're so glad to see some picnic set ups. Good enough for those who would like to bring their own food or picnic baskets. Despite of the top's new look, you will be disappointed to find these poor mangy stray cats are still around. I think somebody must act on this and bring these stray cats in an animal welfare center.

Green Mubazzarah by night

2012-05-22T00:31:00.000+04:00

I love to go to Green Mubazzarah not only to see the sunset or visit early in the morning to catch the mesmerizing beauty of the sunrise but also to practice long exposure photography at night. Seeing the lamp posts all lit up excites me, giving me a certain feeling of happiness. Over the last year, I've become more interested with long exposure photography though I have such limited time to practice since I am on a perennial night shift.

This photo was taken sometime in September 2011 with the following settings: manual mode, TV 25 seconds, f/16, ISO 100, focal length of 42 mm and camera mounted on a tripod. The image isn't stunning but good enough to make me happy. Long way to go to get some stunning shots, which reminds me to visit this coming weekend to practice for the nth time.

This is my world and this post is linked to Our World Tuesday. Join us and have fun!

Runway Models of Giordano Apparel

2012-05-21T00:39:00.000+04:00

Here is the continuation of yesterday's post.

Immediately after the 09:00 PM show, we proceed to TGI Friday's for our dinner. We were having our appetizers when I heard that 10:00 PM show was about to start. Misael assured me that it's okay to be excused for a while because I was hesitant to leave my family. I was on my way to the escalator when I heard the music playing and from afar I saw 2 of the models where on the catwalk. It took me around 7 minutes to reach the mall's wide concourse because there were lots of shoppers blocking my way.

What's on the catwalk? Go and visit Bawadi Mall every weekend to find out what's new and what's hot in fashion. Bawadi Mall's Fashion Show will run through until 1st of June 2012.

Here are some of the photos taken at 10:00 PM show, resized in low resolution format and watermarks added, otherwise these are straight out of the camera. Enjoy!

An unexpected Photo Shoot with Beenas Models at Bawadi Mall Fashion Show

2012-05-20T00:30:00.000+04:00

It was hubby's birthday last Thursday and we all agreed to dine in at TGI Fridays in Bawadi Mall. It was like a double celebration because I did pass the Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) Provider course. At half past eight in the evening, off we went to Bawadi Mall. As always, I had my 2-year old but ever reliable camera with me--ready to capture some precious moments.

Bawadi Mall is located 6 km. to the southeast of Al Ain Town Centre on Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Road. That's why it took us 20 minutes to travel from our house. Since it was an eve of a weekend, most of the Al Ainites were spending the rest of the day inside the mall. It was expected to see lots of shoppers and visitors. From the main entrance, we walked towards the wide concourse and noticed that some of the shoppers were gathering towards the center. We've learned about the fashion show and decided to watch the 9pm show before we had our dinner.

Allow me to share these photos taken by me with Canon EOS 500D (with 18-200mm lens attached on the camera) and speedlite 430 EX II with Phottix white diffuser. If I had only known this earlier, I would have brought my prime lens with me (Canon 50mm f/1.8 or my Canon 100mm f/2.8 USM). By the way, these photos were taken with permission from the events coordinator. Please be informed that there's no post processing done except for the watermark and resizing them in low resolution format. In case you are interested to obtain the high resolution copies, drop me a line at misalyn@alaincitydailyphoto.com.

I have taken lots of photos but I don't want to post all of it in just one blog entry. So next post will be these models in Giordano apparel.

Bawadi Mall's Fashion Show is set on stage every weekend and runs through until 1st of June 2012 with show timings at 06:15 PM, 07:30 PM, 09:00 PM and 10PM. Visit and catch the newest trend in fashion.

Gustatory desires

2012-05-19T05:12:00.000+04:00

It is almost half past four in the morning and I am still awake. I can even hear the clock's tick tack. So as the borborygmi sounds of my stomach---rambling and gurgling. A sign of an empty stomach. As a matter of fact, I really want to satisfy my carnivorous desire for red meat. I am also craving for prawns. As much as I want to get up and look for something to eat inside the fridge, I simply couldn't because I am sick.

For the past 3 days until this very moment, I am barking like a dog. I'm having a terrible cough that I couldn't ingest properly. I mean, not enough to satisfy my gustatory desires for some solid food. What I have had for the past 3 days were soups and something soft. I've tried to eat a piece of steak yesterday but it caused a lot of vagal stimulation. I ended up coughing continuously for almost 20 minutes followed by vomiting.

Since I couldn't satisfy my gustatory needs, I ended up looking at these photos and imagine how scrumptious these steak and prawns are. Actually, what I am taking right now is a piece of bread with warm tea. I'll be perfectly fine imagining my bread is a piece of steak. Yeah, right.

Well done Tennessee Steak with fried prawns (TGIFriday's at Bawadi Mall)

Fried Prawns with thick orange sauce (Chopsticks at Al Ain Mall)

Steamed prawns with garlic sauce (Chopsticks at Al Ain Mall)

To my bloggie friends, please excuse me if I don't get to visit your pages often. As soon as I feel better, I will try my best to drop by and catch up with you guys.

Happy International Nurses Day!!

2012-05-12T14:56:00.000+04:00


IND 2012 logo image credit: ICN

Nurses are honored for their hard work and valuable contribution to the health care society as International Nurses Day is celebrated today. The International Council of Nurses celebrate this day globally to commemorate the birth of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. In this regard, Al Ain City Daily Photo wishes all the nurses across the globe a happy International Nurses Day!! Allow me to bow in silence in respect to all men and women in this noble profession. I would like to extend my warmest greetings to all of my colleagues in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).

This year's theme is Closing the Gap: From Evidence to Action. If you'd like to read more about the IND 2012, please head over to the International Council of Nurses website which can be found here.

Here in the United Arab Emirates, the Emirates Nursing Association (ENA) prepared a program under the patronage of Her Highness Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak and it is currently ongoing at the Armed Forces Officers Club. It will run through 05:00 PM today. For more info, click here.

yours truly during the Central Vascular Access Device (CVAD) Training

My photos on Gulfnews

2012-05-11T11:55:00.001+04:00

Big thanks to Gulfnews for publishing my photos (photo #1 and 2) along with 8 other photographs taken by the newspaper's XPRESS readers.

Gulfnews is a Dubai-based English daily newspaper, popular with the expat community here in the United Arab Emirates. Click here for more info.

screen shot of photo #1 on gulfnews.com

screen shot of photo #2 on gulfnews.com

Incredible India!

2012-05-10T00:06:00.000+04:00

This is the best booth from the recently concluded cultural event in celebration of the International Nurses Week at Tawam Hospital. Congratulations to my Indian colleagues!! Cheers!

Signs of Summer in the United Arab Emirates

2012-05-09T01:05:00.003+04:00

I'm sure everybody is aware of UAE's scorching hot weather these days. In fact, mercury can rise up to 45 degree Celsius at noon time. And as the UAE starts to heat up, I think most of the expat residents and locals are planning to take a vacation to seek some respite from the heat and arid weather.

I've been living here in Al Ain for 7 years and during this period, I have experienced the extreme weather condition of the emirates. During my first 12 months of living in Al Ain, I have observed some signs telling me that summer is just around the corner.

1. Sandstorm

Actually, sandstorm is one of the most eminent signs, not just for summer but also for winter. It is always accompanied with harsh and strong winds that will always kick up the sand and dust. Most of the time, road visibility is greatly reduced making it difficult to travel. Expect for increased incidents of vehicular accidents and increased number of patients in the hospital with allergic attacks and asthma.

2. Rain

I guess most of the people, especially those who haven't been to any country in the middle east, might think that it is always hot and sunny in this side of world. They might probably ask how often do we experienced rain each year. Well, of my 7 years of living in the UAE, I have observed that we can get around 4-6 times per year (quite few eh). Though rain can suddenly drop the temperature and it can be a welcome relief from the scorching hot weather, it is also a sign of impending summer. From October up until November, rain is a sign of impending winter.

3. Dates

Dates are the fruits of the date palm tree (Phoenix dactylifera). This type of palm tree is known to many in Arabia as the 'tree of life'. During the holy month of Ramadan, date fruits are usually served to be eaten first rather than the proper meal after the salat al maghrib (sunset prayer). I noticed that flower buds form in the spring season and open for a short time in the early summer.

Expect to see lots of dates being harvested even as the summer kicks off. Even in groceries and supermarkets, you'll see different varieties available, usually packed and some are glazed with honey or caramel.

That's it. I guess you have your own observations too. I would love to read them, kindly post them in the comment box below. Thank you. Salaam!

Disclaimer: The information contained in this blogpost is for information purposes only for these are my observations. Any reliance you place on this blogpost is therefore strictly at your own risk.

Supermoon!

2012-05-07T08:33:00.000+04:00

I am supposed to continue my post about the taxi fare hike but with the last night's supermoon, my mind has just gone blank and all I wanted was to press the shutter. I didn't mind the steaming hot weather and at 08:30 PM, off I went to an open space to see the amazing super moon.

I was trying to make an optical illusion on how big it was but my place where I took this photo isn't nice for a background. I wanted to go to the desert but there's no one I can tag along.

This photo was taken last night with 70-300 lens and yellow filter. Cropped by 25%. I guess I failed to capture the other details and I hope I can do better next time.

Fare hike

2012-05-05T23:04:00.002+04:00

JM enjoyed the ride from Al Mutaredh to Bawadi Mall with AED1 bus fare

With the recent taxi fare hike, I'm sure many people will be forced to take the bus. TransAD officially announced the changes last April 4, 2012. Changes are implemented since May 1st.

Flag-down rate for taxis increased from AED 3 to AED 4 during the day (from 06:00 AM to 10:00 PM) and from AED 3.60 to AED 4 at night. The minimum taxi fare at night is AED 10 even if the trip costs less than AED 10 (USD 2.7).

If the main reason of the taxi fare hike is to encourage public transport utilization, I think the Department of Transport should look into increasing the frequency of trip, say every 15 minutes and not the usual 30 minutes. They should add more routes and bus stop points.

More issues related to taxi fare hike will be discussed on my next post.

Manakish and Baklava

2012-05-01T05:39:00.000+04:00

The best manakish topped with cheese and egg and middle eastern baklava with crispy phyllo and chooped up pistachios can be found at Al Noor Modern Bakery located at Al Sarooj and Al Muwaiji. These are the best manakish and baklava that I have ever eaten! Simply scrumptious!

CDP is celebrating our theme day and this month's theme is all about bakeries. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

Al Ain City Daily Photo on Abu Dhabi Week

2012-04-30T01:54:00.000+04:00

screen shot of Abu Dhabi Week Magazine's webpage

Thanks to Abu Dhabi Week, the capital's magazine, for featuring this photo blog along with Adam Backer and Paul's Encore Plus Flou de Près. A few months ago, I was contacted by Sawaiba Khan, one of their junior staff writers, requesting for this feature. I agreed to respond to couple of questions and to send in some of my photos. With all honesty, I never had a second thought and immediately replied with a big yes to Sawaiba since Abu Dhabi Week is widely read among the residents of Abu Dhabi including Al Ain City.

screen shot of Abu Dhabi Week Magazine's webpage

In my own personal perspective, I think recognition is something that all photobloggers aim for. I also believe that features like this is a great way of sharing your passion in photography. But it isn't about sharing at all...it is actually a way of saying thank you to your readers, host country and city. Having said that, I would like to thank the readers and followers of Al Ain City Daily Photo, my host city and country for being a part of my photographic journey.

Again, many thanks to Abu Dhabi Week Magazine for this feature. Kindly grab a free copy of the April 26- May 2 issue at Carrefour stores in Bawadi Mall and Al Jimi Mall if you are from Al Ain, and at any mall in Abu Dhabi if you are currently living in central Abu Dhabi. You can read it online as well, kindly click here and you will be taken to the webpage.

Opppps, there's more! I'm so excited and I just can't hide it. Watch out for another good news in the next few months .

Desert Rose

2012-04-27T08:12:00.000+04:00

Desert roses are commonly seen flowers here in Al Ain. First time visitors might not notice it but they are usually thriving in islands of road that separates the direction of travel, at the parks, gardens and roundabouts.

Sometime last year, I remember myself calling this flower a "passion flower" because of its color. Because of a question posed by a twitter friend of mine, I have discovered that the flower I used to call passion flower, is actually the desert rose. It prompted me to read more about it.

Desert roses belong to the family of Apocynaceae in the kingdom of plantae. They can survive even in arid weather condition. For more botanical information about desert roses, please click here.

Wishing everyone a great weekend. Jumaa Mubarak! Salaam!

Souq Al Zafrana

2012-04-26T09:52:00.000+04:00

These photos were taken sometime in January 2012. Sure the temperature was fine during the day but at noon time it can be hot and humid. With all honesty, the idea of walking around the souq at the middle of the day, with scorching temperature of 30 degrees didn't appeal to me, but I couldn't miss out the opportunity to visit this market place while hubby is around. So even a bit hesitant, off we went to the souq. It was a surprise when we've learned that this place is having a centralized air conditioner!

I must say that Al Ain's Souq Al Zafrana, located behind the First Safeer Centre at Al Khabisi, is worth a visit especially if you are looking for fresh fruits and vegetables. I can't even believe that they are way better than the ones you see in the well-known supermarkets! And it's just amazing to see that there are lots of fruits and vegetables available than in the market of Al Samak located at the town centre. The place is so clean and well-maintained as well. The sellers and traders will lure you to buy and mind you, they do sales talk in different languages depending on how they see you!

Small but terrible

2012-04-25T16:36:00.000+04:00

As a photoblogger, I must say that the capabilities of the kit lens shouldn't be underestimated. Sure it is one of the cheapest lens ever produced by Canon but it can deliver sharp images and amazing results.

It's siesta time

2012-04-22T08:29:00.001+04:00

Photos were taken from our last visit at Al Ain Zoo. These big cats were having their siesta at the time of our visit. JM wanted to hear them roar. Unfortunately, they were so lazy to move on the day. It was an advantage for me. I enjoyed taking photographs using my Canon 100mm f/2.8 prime lens. :))

Posted for Camera Critters hosted by Misty Dawn. Join us and have fun! Click the badge and you will taken to her blog meme. Have a great day everyone!

My favourite place in Al Ain

2012-04-21T00:01:00.000+04:00

If you're a regular visitor of my blogsite, I'm sure that you've already seen several photos of Green Mubazzarah which I've posted over the past 2 years. No doubt that this prime recreational park located at the foothills of Jebel Hafeet is my favourite place in Al Ain. I really love to go there to see the sunset or visit early in the morning to catch the sunrise. Aside from taking photographs, I just love to sit on a bench and enjoy the view.

These images were taken sometime in January 2012. If you will squint your eyes or enlarge the 1st photo, you will find people up in the hill. They were tourists from Fujairah visiting Al Ain for the nth time. No wonder, just like me, they so love Green Mubazzarah.

Long and winding road

2012-04-20T05:02:00.000+04:00

The road leading up to the second highest mountain in the UAE is one of the things that makes Al Ain City unique and popular. At 11.7 km long, with 21 corners and a surface as smooth as glass but not slippery at all, it is no wonder why tourists and residents alike voted Jebel Hafeet as one of greatest drive in the UAE.

Photos posted above were taken last night. Since hubby is around, we've decided to hit the road. We were surprised that it was windy and chilly up in the mountain. It was quite foggy making it difficult to capture the whole scenery from the top of the mountain. Oh! How I missed the long exposure shots!

Tilapia Lake

2012-04-17T00:01:00.000+04:00

photo credit: Jerry Fer Damian

This lake is located about 25 kms to the south of downtown Al Ain on the Al Ain-Abu Dhabi Truck Road. I've been living in Al Ain for nearly seven years now but I haven't been to this lake due to the dangers of being bitten or stung by poisonous insects and animals. This area is infested by arachnids like scorpions. Its informal name is coined due to the large number of Tilapia fish in its water (source).

Thank you to Jerry Fer Damian (also known as Geri Damian) for sharing this photo with us. Jerry is an avid follower of Al Ain City Daily Photo on Facebook. I'm sure Jerry braved all the hazardous condition to capture the mesmerizing beauty of this lake. By the way, this photo is also featured in Abu Dhabi Week Magazine. Congratulations Jerry!

Free spa at Green Mubazzarah

2012-04-16T08:09:00.001+04:00

Tired feet? Do you want to relieve those muscular tensions? Or are you a tourist in Al Ain who've spent the entire day driving and walking? If your answer is yes, then go ahead and visit the Green Mubazzarah, a park located at the foothills of Jebel Hafeet. Apart from the health benefits that you may get in dipping and soaking in the hot water springs, Green Mubazzarah also offers a delightful view of undulating rocky terrain that has been landscaped. Wait! There's more it has to offer. Click here if you'd like to find out.

Happy Monday everyone!! Salaam!

Al Ain Benches Series #3

2012-04-15T00:01:00.023+04:00

I started the Al Ain Benches series 5 months ago and to date, there are only 2 photos posted in this blogsite. Anyway, I have lots of photos to share but I've been terribly busy for the past 3 months leaving my photoblog full of cobwebs.

For today, let me share this beautiful bench that I have spotted at Green Mubazzarah last January 2012. It is located alongside the park. I just love the contrast of the pan Arab colors against the wood. I find the design simple yet very useful.

More of Al Ain benches next week. Maasallam!