I arrived at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque just before the sun was setting and it was absolutely majestic. To get these kind of shots, I need to use a tripod, and I often get in trouble for using my tripod, so I was a bit worried they were going to kick me out. I set it up really quickly and in a sneaky way (I find myself being sneaky in religious places far too often!), and then one of the security guards came over. I was thinking… uh oh. But I was wrong, and he was the nicest guy in the world. He even asked me some nerdy tech stuff about my camera, and he said I was free to roam for the rest of the day. From the Worship collection on Foundation.
Wow… Stu just informed my that my first Machine Elf video (See the Machine Elf Website here) has garnered more than 130,000 views, making it one of the most popular videos on my YouTube channel. I actually think it is the WORST of all 8 of the Machine Elf videos we have released so far, but it was the very first one. I think the music is cool, but it’s a little JARRING and not really as groovy as all the others… I don’t hate it or anything, but I’m just comparing it to my newer creations. Anyway, here it is!
Daily Photo – Late night in Abu Dhabi
The best time to get to the mosque here is just before sunset. That’s a popular time to visit the area, but also one of the best for photos. After then, people slowly start to leave before it’s almost completely empty at dark. The lighting here is so beautiful that I think the night shots rival even the sunset shots.
Can anyone find a website where this algorithm is described? Sometimes it does a great job and sometimes it’s all over the place. I wonder if it is because I have drastically different sorts of playlists.
Daily Photo – Abu Dhabi Night
What cool colors eh? I’d love to talk to the lighting designer for this place and talk to them about how they come up with these ideas. I’m pretty sure it’s all colored LEDs, which makes buildings so much more interesting at night now. Have you noticed that? In the last ten years since LEDs are getting everywhere, it makes for some really beautiful night light installations.
I get a lot of questions about the local ethics and cultural requirements for bringing women into mosques. As you know, I often travel with my wife and two daughters. All I can say for sure is it varies from country to country. Some are very relaxed. Some are not-so-much. But, it’s usually never a problem and I just suggest getting a local guide on TripAdvisor or through your hotel concierge. In some places, like Egypt, the women did not even need to wear headscarves. Others, they need to wear the habib and make sure none of the hair is visible. Anyway, it’s nothing to worry about and once properly dressed, you can go see anything! I certainly don’t get upset by any cultural/religious differences… I just try to think of it as being respectful, like when you put on nice clothes of a certain type for an event like a wedding or funeral. It just is respectful, which isn’t so bad! 🙂
Daily Photo – The Lights in the Mosque
I was at the main mosque in Abu Dhabi for about four hours before I eventually came to the Very-Obvious-In-Retrospect idea, hey I can actually go INSIDE. As with most mosques, there is a tremendous number of shots from the outside and the courtyards. But you can go inside most of them anytime (as long as it’s not during the call to prayer). Just slip off your shoes and go inside for a wander! I’ve never had any issues at all… very friendly people!
This was quite busy inside. There were actually hundreds of people. Since it’s impossible to get a photo without people in it, I try to find compositions where I am taking photos over their heads. At first, it seems like kind of a bummer because your instinct is to shoot everything. Now that I mentioned it, you can see this in today’s photo. But really, most people will never notice. It’s a good chance for you to get creative and try some different things!
Daily Photo – Deeper inside the Mosque
I was here at this amazing mosque in Abu Dhabi for about four hours before I even realized I could go inside. I was enjoying myself so much on the outside taking photos that it never occurred to me that a) it was possible to go inside or b) that I would be allowed to go inside. But, I should have known better because I’ve been to at least a dozen mosques around the world. Everyone is welcome inside unless it is prayer time (or if you’re a menstruating woman). Well, neither of those threw down the gauntlet for me, so I took off my shoes and walked inside with my tripod!
Here’s a quick live show I did while at the airport in Auckland on the way to Burning Man.
Daily Photo – Night Falls on the Palace
While in Abu Dhabi I didn’t want to leave anything on the table so I tried to scoop up every shot I could. Even though I’d love to go back some day and take my family, I may never get that chance. If you see one of these shots at night, you can be pretty sure I got the exact same perspective at sunset and in the daytime. I would find a shot that I like and then add it to my list, to make sure I ticked each box three times!
I have a strange new nightly activity! When I am sitting down watching Netflix with my wife, I have my laptop on my lap and am making Plotagraphs! I often make something I think is kinda cool, and then I show her excitedly. She usually finds 3-4 flaws in it and I get quite deflated.
The Mosque, Moving
And here’s one that turned out pretty good, the incredible mosque in Abu Dhabi!
Over on my Plotagraph Portfolio I’ve added some more images. Here are some tips for posting yours to social media in Q&A form:
Q: How do you get the file on Facebook?
A: It’s SUPER SIMPLE. In the Plotagraph software just export an MP4 file. I suggest sticking to 1920 or 1280 for the width. File type will be MP4, framerate 25 and duration 14s. Once you’ve downloaded the file, create a Facebook post just as normal and click the option to add a photo/video. Select your Plotagraph and post. Done!
Q: How do you get the Plotagraph on Instagram?
You have to take the video and get it on your mobile device where you have Instagram. Inside Plotagraph Pro export an MP4 with a duration of 14s and width of 1280. Then, I download that and use Airplay to get the video to my iPad and then upload that with Instagram.
Q: How do you get the MP4 on Twitter?
Oh that’s an easy one. You can upload the MP4 right to Twitter like a JPG… no issues!
Q: Any other Social Media sharing tips?
Yes! Funny you should ask!
1) Pinterest has silly small file size limits so don’t be afraid to export at something like 10fps and a shorter duration.
2) G+ likes GIF’s over MP4.
2b) How do you say “GIF” out loud when talking to other humans? Hard G. The G in GIF is short for Graphics, which is a hard G, unlike, say, Giraffe or Gacking off to webcam jirls.
3) Hashtag #Plotagraph to help other plotagraphers discover you!
4) When I post WordPress here at StuckInCustoms.com, I upload a GIF that us under 15MB right into WP. I’ve found that hosting the GIF other places doesn’t really work.
Daily Photo – Sunset at the Mosque
I rarely stay in one location for so long, but I might not ever get back to Abu Dhabi and I knew the mosque there was the big hit. I must have stayed here for well over six hours. I certainly wasn’t going to leave before sunset! 🙂
Do you have a favorite battery pack you use? I have a Mophie that is pretty cool, but could last longer, you know? There seems to be a size/weight to power ratio. I was wondering if there were any super-slick small, lightweight batteries that were also quite high-powered, pushing the ratio in the direction I want! 🙂
Daily Photo – The Mighty Mosque
Seeing this again only reminds me that I have to get back to Abu Dhabi again to explore more. I flew right in there directly, but I also believe you can take a taxi there from Dubai, which is a more popular spot to be. If you come, be sure you check the weather ahead of time. I was here during a cool part of the year. I can only imagine this place in the heat of a summer day!
If you ever do go the Hasselblad way, you’ll note one of the coolest features is you can set your exposure to be longer than 30 seconds. I think you can set it up to 10 or 15 minutes or something. That’s awesome! I don’t know why all cameras don’t have that natively… there’s this whole 30-second cap thing that’s just rediculous… Sony, Canon, Nikon, etc — they all do it. Sometimes I think there is very little free-design thought in those companies.
Daily Photo – Another Midnight City hike
My first night in Abu Dhabi, I arrived around 7 PM and vowed to stay up all night and take photos. This technique worked so well in Dubai, and I thought I’d experience it again. It turned out that I didn’t stay at the most “downtowny” area of the city, so I had limited things to shoot. But one of them was this area, where I tried some very long exposures to see what I got… and I quite like the result. When I got back to the hotel, boy was I tired!
