PGMA visit Dubai UAE

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo visit the United Arab Emirates . On a two-day visit to Dubai from Davos, met with selected members of the Filipino community and some businesspeople on Sunday night.

full story at Gulfnews

UAE Hit by Heavy Rain

This month United Arab Emirates was hit by heavy rain which cause a lot of water ponds and some flooded area. During this heavy rain According to the Dubai Met office, the emirate received record rainfall of 110 millimetres over a two-day period. Sharjah, Ajman and Abu Dhabi also saw heavy rain and flooding.

How to Take a Silhouette Photo?

On my last post, I post some pictures of sunset/sunrise or other called it silhouette photo.

Many of you have probably stared at a silhouette photo and wondered to yourself how exactly they were taken. And to help some of our friends in blogsphere having the same hobby of photography but just starting I hope this post will help them.

What is Silhouette?

In photography according to dictionary, "a silhouette is defined as an outline that appears dark against a light background." More specifically, it is where your subject is seen as a black shape without detail against a brighter background. This is an artistic outcome that many photographers like to perfect. This effect can be achieved with any kind of bright light source, but of course the most commonly used is the sun around sunrise or sunset. The backlighting from the sun shadows everything towards you and produces this effect.

Silhouettes could contain a couple’s moment on the beach, a person staring out at a landscape, or an amazing cityscape with the sun going down in the background. Silhouette photographers must have great timing and perfect exposure settings.

How to take a Silhouette?

When you are getting ready to take your silhouette pictures, there are a couple things to keep in mind. These tips work for both digital and film photography. Make sure you never point the lens directly at the sun. If there is too much light, the light will fall on your object. If there is not enough light, your background will become gray. The main key to silhouette lighting is having your background lighter than your object, but this can be done in more ways then one. Many photographers focus on a certain time of day, where their subject is, what kind of weather there is, and where the sun positioned in the frame.

The best time to get a silhouette is when the sun goes up and goes down from which the sun rays are not to shine to look with naked eye.

Most of the time in this situation I used to set my camera aperture to a lower f-stop ( f/13, f/16, 0r f/22) then set my shutter speed until I achieved 2 to 3 stop underexposed. And sometimes used a circular polarizer for more color saturations. you can try any filter that may fit your taste. But since we are now in Digital world you can try any f-stop until you get what you want. Try to experiment there is nothing to lose.

My Sunset Photo of the Year 2007

As a photographer I admire most is the colorful skies every time the sun goes down or goes up. The lines or rays that the sun produced every time it was covered with clouds.

Most of photographers specially here in UAE are waiting during this season (Nov - April) since only during this period the sky of UAE was filled with clouds.

Here are some of my shots to share with:

I will share on how to take a photo like this on my next post...

A Year To Start a New Career!!!

As I browse the internet to check of what is new for this year it comes to my attention this news article in Yahoo

Eight Top Fields with Major Job Growth as projected by the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Some of them may be apply only in the U.S. but I thinks a lot of them can be applied in our own country or present location. Try one to start on... For me with this new list I will continue my career in photography.

1. Industry: Home Health Care Services
Occupations: Registered nurses, health aids, nursing and physical therapists.Where the jobs are: Private agencies, residential care facilities, family services, private households.

2. Industry: Software Publishers
Occupations: Developers, system administrators, project manager, analysts.Where the jobs are: Telecommunication companies, banks, hospitals, major retailers,transportation and freight companies.

3. Industry: Management, Scientific and Technical Consulting
Occupations: Sales, marketing, financial services, software engineers, program managers.Where the jobs are: Bio-tech firms, pharmaceutical companies, manufacturers, call centers.

4. Industry: Residential Care
Occupations: Nursing assistants, physical therapy assistants, occupational therapy assistants,private nurses.Where the jobs are: Private hospitals, private agencies, outpatient care centers.

5. Industry: Facilities Support Services
Occupations: Property managers, building coordinators, administrative personnel.Where the jobs are: Asset management companies, government, commercial developers, real- estate firms, hotels, universities, hospitals.

6. Industry: Employment Services
Occupations: Recruiters, human resource managers, benefits administrators.Where the jobs are: Placement firms, professional employer organizations, major corporations, hospitals, universities.

7. Industry: Independent Artists, Writers and Performers
Occupations: Graphic design, photography, copywriting, website design, musical performers, dancers, actors.Where the jobs are: Restaurants, night clubs, casinos, newspapers, advertising agencies, theaters, television stations, cable networks, private agents.

8. Industry: Office Administration
Occupations: Office manager, administrative assistants, paralegals, legal assistants.Where the jobs are: Financial institutions, government, law firms, corporations, non-profit organizations.