The Nagsasa Cove Experience

Just like the movie "perfect storm"
March 26 2011
4:00 am Sat

I'm so excited. At last my brother is going to take me to one of his adventures.

I just came off from a 12 hour flight, still had jet lag and hungry when i took a boat ride i thought would be just one of the normal boat rides i had in the past..and i was proved to be wrong.
It turned out to be what i would describe as one of the most terrifying experiences in my life. Calm seas turned violent.
That's how to summarize it.
First there was amazement, moonlight and stars.
Then there was the wind.
And finally the terrifying waves.
It's true that at the height of your terror, you go numb and deaf, that you could barely hear what's going on and only hear your heartbeat. I couldn't see a thing as we approach the entrance to the cove, the wind and waves are so violent i only see white surf.
We had to turn back as we risk capsizing our boat. That's it. Not so convincing on writing but trust me the actual experience is far more intense.
We took refuge on a nearby beach that was more accommodating. My whole body was shaking. Its either the cold or the terror. It must be the latter.
We landed on the beach and decided to wait for the morning light. I was so exhausted that i tried to sleep anywhere i could, i lied on the first bench i saw and when i was about to close my eyes, i noticed the moon against the black blue sky, with the wind rustling on the pine leaves, and the sound of the waves lapping on the shore.
Immediately i felt an extreme sense of peace. Nature is so beautiful. I forgot the wet, the cold and the shivering. I closed my eyes to sleep.

Sunrise
came and we saw some fishing boats. We bought a couple of fresh parrot fish and decided to take another go for Nagsasa Cove.
The waves now are still just as terrifying but we somehow managed to break the entrance.
It was so bumpy that i see sky and sea. My hands, white knuckled gripped the sides of the boat as we battle the waves. All wet and blind by the surf, i glimpsed the golden sun break through the clouds. I thought our boat would break into two.

My brother tapped me reassuringly and shouted " It's normal!"
After whats like an eternity of battling the waves we finally touched the beach.

I scouted the surroundings and marveled at the beauty of the place.
The cool water at my feet, the find sand blown by the wind and the air was crisp and clear to breathe.

From the desert country i worked from, this is paradise.

Blue skies, turquoise waters
reminded me of the TV series "Lost". Here we got no electricity or a proper bed to rest.
Just sand, a tent and the hammock.

Midday
i tried catching some sleep but my brother would have none of it. We took a quick trek on the "outback" and did some exploring. It was hot and a quick dip on a pool of fresh water up the hill proved to be very refreshing. The pool was teeming with aquatic life, crayfishes, water bugs and small fishes. I felt assured then that it was clean.

Infrared
was never on my mind but i tried somehow when i saw a couple of our fellows doing some shots.

Afternoon
came after a quick nap and the light is getting soft and colors are popping out. The tide is getting high and we decided to have a swim.

The inland "lake" during high tide.

Sunset
was everybody's most awaited moment. I decided to be the first on this broken boat and waited for the right light.

Nagsasa cove sunset is just amazing. I felt in touch with nature.

After a hearty dinner under a flashlight, we took a pitch black trail at the back of our campsite for a bath under the stars.
I was so exhausted that i fell asleep in no time after that.

A tug woke me up to see my brother excited about some bush fire that was going on.
I saw some glow far away and went back to the tent to sleep. I was so tired i didn't care about any bush fire.

Just minutes later and my brother woke me up again telling me to get up and bring our valuables out of the tent. I went out and saw the mountain on top of us is on fire.

Bush fires
usually happen when the grass is so dry and some hunters use fire to flush out wild game.

The whole mountain is literally on fire. We scrambled out to the open area carrying whatever we can. I carried our whole tent and my bags.

It was an amazing scene. The whole place was lit by an orange glow from the fire.

The whole team as fire is raging up on the hills.

We waited until the fires died down. So i slept in the sand. Didn't mind the pebbles blown by the wind pricking on my skin.
The campsite was full of smoke from the smoldering grass and wood by the time we headed back, and we wasted no time putting up our tents back and sleep soon took over.

This is one experience i would never forget.
I felt a sense of detachment with the place when we headed back home, and mind you the boat ride back sent me reciting silent prayers all the way.
The waves are not so friendly.

But if you ask if it's all worth it, definitely it is and would go back again given the chance.
(On a bigger boat perhaps....)

A short trip - Fujairah

Jan 22 2010 Fri

The northern part of the United Arab Emirates is always a good choice for a weekend treat, away from the hustle and bustle life of Dubai.
It was decided on notice, instead of going for dune bashing on a desert safari, we opted to have some barbecue on some remote beach along Fujairahs' coastline.

Carpet shops along the way. You can haggle for a cheap bargain.

We bought a couple of carpets for 27 USD each. The price is twice back on Dubai.


The weather was still quite cool when we arrived at midday, as we settled on some shade under a rocky hill. But the sky was bland though not that overcast.


There were local fishermen on the beach, and we are just in time for the days' catch. Anchovies.
A full truckload of these and some more. They were quite happy to give us some and other freebies...other fishes and including a dead green turtle.


It must have drowned while inside the fishing net. It was so unfortunate to see such a wonderful creature...lifeless. It was my first time to see a sea turtle this close.

Illegal catch

The fishermen did not care a bit. After posing for me they threw it back on the beach. I was hoping that the turtle is still alive. I went back to the same spot after they have gone and saw the turtles' lifeless body on the sandy bottom.


The beach was clean and water was great for a dip. Unlike beaches back on Dubai, i can see a lot of small fishes even on very shallow waters which means the places here is still unspoilt, due to the sparse population around it. But maybe not for long...


Here's a short video clip of my fish-mongering. We went home that night with some of these anchovies and it made a delicious fish omelet for dinner. =D

Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM Review

The Sigma 30mm f/1.4 is what i describe as a boon or bane for photographers who wanted fast glass for low light shooting. The 46mm on full frame equivalent field of view is usefull for normal portraits, landscapes and architecture especially on low light, you will really appreciate the features of a fast lens.
This 30mm f/1.4 is what i call a vampire lens and a wild-horse. A vampire since it only makes sense if you shoot it at dim light ( it would be useless to use an f/1.4 lens on a broad daylight and stop it down to f8...) and a wild-horse because of its focusing issues. That i'll describe later.

The lens is snub-looking at about 60mm in length and weighs around 400 grams. I say its rather heavy for a lens this size but can be discrete enough when mounted on an average sized DSLR.

Since it is labeled as f/1.4, even for a DX glass (cropped sensor), the elements are quite large hence the weight.

It takes 62mm filters which is mounted on the stationary part of the barrel and during focusing the inner barrel moves in and out although very minimal. But if you decide to put in filters, there might be a chance that the filter might obstruct the movement of the barrel.

The hood that doesn't feel secured when you snap it in place. I don't use it.

It features Sigma's HSM (HyperSonicMotor). The focusing speed is average but the lens may tend to jerk in and out before locking focus. It makes weird noises on the D80.

The problem with this particular Sigma is that the focus is so horrible that you end up having blurred and out of focus pictures 50% all the time. It tends to front focus meaning it focuses a few feet shorter to its intended subject.
Even if your focus confirmation on your viewfinder says ok, it's actually not. You need to reconfirm it visually and re focus if necessary.

Most mortals who haven't tried shooting 1.4 lenses might be disappointed when they try one since the field of view is very narrow at 1.4 and that only a very small part of the image is sharp while the rest is just bokeh.

That's normal. And when this sigma accurately focuses on a subject, it produces very sharp pictures at f1.4.
That is if you can have it focusing properly.

For close subjects such as night portraits, no problems with focusing. For far away subjects such as landscapes, unbelievably horrible.

But the bokeh produced by this lens is beautiful, smooth and creamy looking.

Here are some sample shots:

at f/1.4

at f/1.6

at f/1.8

at f/2

at f/2.8

From apertures f/1.4 to f/1.8 there is a slight veiling and bit of lower contrast. Nothing that can't be fixed during post processing. The image starts to improve at f/2 and by f/2.8 it is incredibly sharp.

But take it into consideration that the above test subject has a curvature and that affects the out of focus areas. Shooting at f/1.4 is difficult to understand and getting consistent results is greatly affected by position and distance.

On low light this lens is a joy to use, especially when you couple it with slow sync flash and a steady hand. It takes in so much light that you get perfectly exposed subject and a decently lit backgrounds.
That is if you can get it to focus properly.

Dimly lit interiors are no sweat! When normal lenses struggle to give you a decent shutter speed, this one just works.

That is if you can get it to focus properly.

It sucks big time on mid range DSLR's but on cameras such as the D300, there is a feature called AF Fine Tuning, where you can fine tune a lens and store the data on the camera. The camera automatically remembers the setting every time you load the lens.

I calibrated the 30mm at +16 setting on the D300.

Lo and behold! It works like magic! Now the lens has 95 percent accuracy! I get more sharper results even when shot wide open.

So what if you dont have a D300? Better get the cheaper AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 at almost half the price and much lighter in weight.

They don't differ that much as long as sharpness is concerned at f/1.8. They both have excellent contrast and colors. Only the Nikkor has accurate focusing much of the time. And the Sigma can go to 1.4 when needed.

I would get the Nikon if i could.

Here are some sample shots of the Sigma

1/2 sec f/2.8 ISO 200 hand-held D80 No AF Fine Tune

1/20 sec f/2.8 ISO 500 hand-held D300 AF Fine Tune

1/8 sec f/2.8 ISO 500 hand-held D300 AF Fine Tune

1/15 sec f/2.8 ISO 800 hand-held D300 AF Fine Tune

Conclusion:

This is a lame offering by Sigma. Its got excellent optics but very bad camera-to-lens communication. It screws up Nikons excellent focusing system big time.
And the AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 DX just killed it.

R.I.P Sigma 3omm.

Road Trip

Part II of The Night Owl

I heard the gentle lapping of the waves on the shore. I was still dreaming of being transported to another world, or going back at the beginning of time. I thought I heard the screaming of Pterodactyls searching for fish as the early sea frothed with abundance of one celled organisms.

The Dawn of Time.

But as I slowly opened my eyes I felt the hard rocks on my back and saw the soft morning light was already creeping inside the habitat.
My watch read 6:00 am. The alarm didn't go off.
What the...! I almost slept for two hours.
I opened the zipper door and saw the lightening of dawn.

Still half awake I scrambled for my tripod and rig and noticed that the lens attached is different from what REMEMBERED putting on before i went to sleep two hours ago. My head is still throbbing with pain and my still sluggish brain just couldn't register what was happening. I just stood there perplexed for a few moments and realized that SOMEONE has switched my borrowed 10-20 to something else during my helpless state of drunkenness and stupor. Sneaky!


I rushed outside and almost tripped on the rocks when i saw the culprit sitting on the sand with my lens on his camera with a big grin on his face.

It was getting lighter, i grabbed the lens and wasted no time on trying to find a good angle close to the shore but to my dismay it is not possible to make long exposures anymore.


Last resort was to use my Cokin tobacco graduated filter to put some colors on the bland sky. The sunrise that day was not that spectacular I have to admit. The clouds are less attractive, but with plenty of foreground interest, long exposure could have provided interesting results.
Oh well better luck this time.

I went to the other side of the road across the beach once the sun was up and took some more photos of bushes, rocks and hills and more rocks.

It's lenten season which means breakfast was chicken sausages for me. I really really wanted to sink my teeth into the plat du jour.
Grilled pork belly.


Looking back a few minutes ago, watching the sunrise while sitting on the shore gives a unique feeling everytime. As the drama unfolds before your eyes you always get a sense of peace inside you, watching a new day being born and thinking that on the other side of the world another day ends.

The infamous G7 (group 7)

Actually not all. Im on group 4 and another one from group 2. We kinda don't like our own groups so we merged with group 7 which is hell lot more fun!

After breakfast there was the group shot where you have to stupidly wave your hand and give your best smile. While almost everybody is dressed in black and white ( black for the so called "masters" and white for us "newbies"), I wore a pink shirt. hehe


Tents are packed, stuffed on the trunk and we are off to the roads again. The Fujayrah coastline is beautiful, its beaches glistening on the morning sun and the road seemed endless.

The trip then is pretty straightforward. We had the beaches at our left and the rocky cliffs on our right.

Next stop was the Al Bidyah mosque known for its unique design with its rather queer looking minarets. Built at around 1146 A.D according to radiocarbon analysis, is the oldest known mosque on the UAE.

Overlooking the mosque is a fort like tower on a top of a rocky hill.


And while everybody seems to be having with them big lenses for such landscapes like this I saw this girl at about 5 years old clicking and snapping anything and shouting "Silhouettes"!
I say she's got more sense compared to everybody feeling macho with there ultra telephotos, she has a 10-20 ultra wide angle! Go kiddo!

"I can show you a thing or two with my Ultra Wide, this is not a sports match so why you buggers bring 500mm's?"

"Sunstars" at Khor Fakkan

We stopped at Khor Fakkan to gather our wits. After a useless stopover we headed to Kalba where the famous "crabbing area" can be found. During the crabbing season there are...well..lots of crabs crawling around especially at night. You can camp here and take your pick on the juicy shelled crustaceans.

Crabbing station

Then we headed home via the rock tunnels that leads us back to Hatta and we stopped over for some snaps of the rocky mountain views. And then the highway patrol came and started shouting at us demanding we stop and go back to our cars. What! Can we not take photos of rocks anymore? Whats your say UAE?

I was taking a leak halfway when i heard the sirens and the megaphones. So i was "done" half empty.

We still didn't take our lunch so having chicken on a running car is quite close to having it while on flight.

Chicken wings anyone?

So for road tripping here on the UAE, if you can go as early as possible you can travel from coast to coast and be back after sundown and have loads of pictures and stories to tell.

It was quite an exhilarating experience and with a close call from the police it added up to the spice of the trip.