tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19092972033555752352012-01-14T21:13:18.665+04:00A blog on photography, food, travel and things that take my fancy.Craig Reynoldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06643278743138444643noreply@blogger.comBlogger161100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909297203355575235.post-52826624517502500142011-06-20T08:50:00.056+04:002011-07-19T15:30:50.052+04:00

"Om Mane Padme Om" carved on Mani stones at the start of the long climb, our day's destination being the far ridge.Anabatic breezes slipped slowly in succession up the mountain causing the long trains of prayer flags to rise high, flutter momentarily and then gently descend, only to rise again on the next waft in a long slow cadence, like God breathing in slumber.Gently rising prayer flags over

Craig Reynoldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06643278743138444643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909297203355575235.post-82301070937281390262011-06-09T16:53:00.075+04:002011-06-18T14:17:21.474+04:00

Roadworks camp near Dhunche, Langtang.I took one look at our porter and thought "You're not much bigger than my son and he's only 13 ... and you're planning on carrying both our backpacks, a load roughly half as heavy a your skinny 50 kilos. I'm probably going to have step in and carry things myself before the trek is over". I would be proved very, very wrong over the next few days.Sunrise at

Craig Reynoldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06643278743138444643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909297203355575235.post-51016249299307808752011-06-07T20:50:00.009+04:002011-06-07T21:04:24.378+04:00

No matter your faith, belief or creed, until you have been to Nepal you will never comprehend the peace of prayer flags rising to flutter on the breeze in the stillness of moon-rise evening .Craigsunburnt ... and in need of a shave

Craig Reynoldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06643278743138444643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909297203355575235.post-73093347575771615762011-05-30T20:44:00.013+04:002011-05-31T21:39:59.886+04:00

I don't make enough time to get out into areas with abundant wildlife, here in Arabia there is not a lot left after most species have been hunted close to, or beyond, extermination or having habitat covered in shopping malls and concrete. I know a place near Dubai where gazelles still run free, but they're so skittish that the only photos I have are of blurred streaks disappearing over dunes.I

Craig Reynoldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06643278743138444643noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909297203355575235.post-26096742496149650222010-12-30T21:40:00.044+04:002011-02-28T09:14:02.616+04:00

Nothing Much Happening in the Village.This is the second and final entry on Slaughtered Goats at Sunrise.Clouds came scudding over the ramparts of Jebel Shams, ameliorating the sharp mountain sun and leaving the day warm but not oppressively hot.The village had gone quiet as families gathered in private courtyards to carve up the morning's butchery and prepare meals for the remaining days of Eid

Craig Reynoldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06643278743138444643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909297203355575235.post-48269260645477125322010-11-23T11:53:00.013+04:002010-12-01T13:54:43.827+04:00

The road over the mountains from Rustaq to Al Hamra, Oman.In the small mountain village of Al Hail we awoke before dawn and I lay still in the chill darkness as Badr, my host, donned his traditional garb of dishdash and kumma and slipped out quietly for prayer at the small village mosque. It was the first day of Eid Al Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice, commemorating Abraham's (Ibrahim) obedience to

Craig Reynoldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06643278743138444643noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909297203355575235.post-86636205336341183382010-11-09T19:55:00.021+04:002010-12-07T14:36:19.159+04:00

When someone says 'Fjord' it's normal to think somewhere cold and ice-bound, but there's a shattered land at the tip of the Arabian peninsula riven by deep fjords where no snow falls and the sun scorches mercilessly all year round.It's called The Musandam.On a breezeless, sultry November day I found myself paddling on mirrored-water bound by towering ridges that tumbled rock-strewn into the deep.

Craig Reynoldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06643278743138444643noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909297203355575235.post-54067561985845941952010-10-28T00:02:00.007+04:002010-10-28T00:40:11.027+04:00

If you ask most photographers what inspired them to pick up a camera for more than just taking snapshots they'll probably tell you it was to photograph sunsets. When I still worked behind the counter in a camera store it was the most common reason customers gave for upgrading to an SLR.Sunsets have inspired us all but they have become the cliche of photography, which is a shame because they can

Craig Reynoldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06643278743138444643noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909297203355575235.post-57950327913230722732010-08-11T16:34:00.027+04:002010-08-12T01:32:07.227+04:00

I've driven a Toyota Land Cruiser in one form or another almost exclusively since I bought my beloved Grandma in 1994. A more solid, dependable go-anywhere vehicle has yet to be built, and here on the harsh, salt laden, sun bleached, unforgiving coast of the Middle East the Land Cruiser pickup is the workhorses of choice for arabian fisherman. You can drive from Dibba to as far afield as Yemen

Craig Reynoldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06643278743138444643noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909297203355575235.post-77166058288889073822010-06-07T20:22:00.013+04:002010-06-07T21:59:30.424+04:00

It's been awfully long since I last did a blog entry, a lot of real life got in the way of my online life, so apologies for those waiting for the second Lightzone beginners installment. I hope I don't take as long on the next one!Last time I gave an overview of working with LightZone, today I'm going to touch on the Styles, and for Black and White images in particular. To be honest, I can't

Craig Reynoldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06643278743138444643noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909297203355575235.post-21401977141783819122010-03-17T15:23:00.023+04:002010-03-18T11:05:24.898+04:00

This is an edited version of the article I mentioned in this post.Photoshop is, doubtless, the most widely used photo editing software, but it's a tool that seems primarily designed for graphic designers. I'm a photographer, not a graphic designer, and so I want a cost effective tool focussed on what I do, without a lot of extra bells and whistles that I'll never use. At under US$100, LightZone

Craig Reynoldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06643278743138444643noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909297203355575235.post-4656138204702084252010-02-28T22:34:00.011+04:002010-08-26T17:36:41.425+04:00

I am utterly chuffed that my previous blog on underwater photography has been published in issue 53 of Underwater Photography magazine. If you're serious about underwater photography them I highly recommend signing up for it. Check out UWP magazine.And to show that I've actually learned something since I wrote that, here are some pictures taken on my most recent dive trip to the Dimaniyat Islands

Craig Reynoldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06643278743138444643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909297203355575235.post-54851646005463310002010-01-25T12:50:00.017+04:002010-01-25T14:42:05.729+04:00

The learning curve for underwater photography has been steep ... and I'm still on the up-slope. Last weekend I took a Dhow up the eastern side of the Musandam peninsula with a semi-regular dive buddy Juraj for a 2 dive day. This is the second outing for my newly purchased Fantasea Remora flash and I was hoping to try out some techniques I'd been reading about.I used the strobe for the 1st time on

Craig Reynoldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06643278743138444643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909297203355575235.post-73539670053369042152010-01-24T13:35:00.005+04:002010-01-24T14:23:06.036+04:00

Cameras stayed largely unchanged for most of the 20th Century ... a shutter, a lens, a flat plane for film and all you needed was a good eye. I still use a Zeiss Ikon that is older than I am and it works fine (and will keep on working for as long as 120 roll film is around!) But the pace of change in digital means anything older than 2 years is considered 'dated' and 'too old' and the re-sale

Craig Reynoldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06643278743138444643noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909297203355575235.post-66895078294632940412010-01-12T16:51:00.010+04:002010-01-19T09:48:21.268+04:00

We were one of the earliest customers to buy a Cooper from Folbot, the Carolina based manufacturer of durable folding kayaks, and a wonderful boat it's turned out to be: sleek, quick and easy to assemble.Labour intensive jobs drive costs upwards so Folbot has a philosophy to keep the cost of the kayaks low by not doing those tasks that the consumer can easily do at home. Some don't like this

Craig Reynoldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06643278743138444643noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909297203355575235.post-76453727083949160092010-01-12T14:12:00.004+04:002010-01-12T14:35:36.717+04:00

My favourite photo editing software is LightZone by Light Crafts, so most of the images on my website have been edited with LightZone, even some of the HDR images.I've written an overview article on how LightZone works. The article is now available in the January 2010 issue of Shufflegazine, a Dubai based magazine for Apple fans across the Middle East.If you don't live within a sand dune's length

Craig Reynoldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06643278743138444643noreply@blogger.com0