ACRYLIC EXPLOSIONS – SPLASHES

Well, I can’t promise that I will ever stop shooting these series of acrylic explosions, cause simply I never get enough of it. But, this time I used a black background instead of white. I used the same lighting technique, two soft boxes from both sides, but with different camera settings, I used the 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS lens, set on 70 mm at F/13, ISO 100, and the Exposure was set to 1/200.

 

 

I loved the idea of using white paint on the black ground, as the acrylic gives this smoky and cloudy abstracts. Some pictures were flipped upside down as if the paint is flowing upwards.

Shooting water splashes, I used the same settings and I dropped chess pieces to make simple splashes, if you want to capture the water drops you have to use faster shutter speed and fill half the tank only with water. Enjoy !!

PRE WEDDINGS PHOTOGRAPHY

I had the chance last year to attend an intensive wedding photography workshop conducted by two amazing wedding photographers Timothy Kaldas and Remon el Markiz.

It was a three full day workshop, covering the capturing techniques and compositions, direction of light, locations selection, the equipments for each shooting, and the key moments to focus on during the pre wedding, Portraits, and receptions. The workshop mainly focused on how to approach photographing the whole event as a storytelling experience.

Mohamed Abdelhamid make up artist and Mass hair stylist, were the guests of the pre wedding shooting, and they showed us how to approach the bridal preparation from their own experience, the dos and don’t, followed by a live shooting, then a photo critique session, and I really leant a lot. We also had a real couples shooting session, indoors and outdoors. The workshop was very professional, very cheerful, and I had so much fun.

And from my personal experience in shooting such events, my favorite part will always be the preparation hours before the wedding.

Workshop Guests:

Make up Artist: Mohamed Abdelhamid

Hair Stylist: Mass – Mansour Gharios

Model: Ekaterina Manakova

Equipments used in the shootings:

Canon EOS 450D / Digital Rebel XSi

Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 II

Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II

Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM

Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L 

SHERATON MIRAMAR–MICHEAL GRAVES, EL GOUNA, HURGADA, EGYPT

El Gouna is the perfect spot for relaxing and having fun in the sun. Sheraton hotel was designed by american architect Michael Graves, the master of postmodernism, in 1997. The place is entirely surrounded by beaches and lagoons which are linked with the sea through man-made canals.
 Graves met the influential architect Hassan Fathy, and the result was  a deep-seated harmony between two unique styles, combining the eclectic Arabian and Egyptian Nubian styles. I stayed there for 2 nights only, it was a very short stay and it was very hard for me to leave this peaceful, quiet and enjoyable place, wondering why we are living this difficult life in Cairo. 

INK AND ACRYLIC EXPLOSIONS

Last week, my relative had an assignment to photograph and record a short movie on ink being poured into water. I was stunned by the simplicity of what was going on in the images from a technical point, contrasted with the beautiful complexity of the lines/curves the ink was creating as it flowed through the water. I immediately knew I had to try this by myself, and I was thrilled that I had a fun project that will only take two hours, and a couple of days later I decided to do it. On the first trial I used ink, as its easy to work with. The preparation phase is the hardest part and takes most of the time, but once its done, every thing is easy, you will just drop the ink and release the shutter.

Two days later, I thought maybe it was better to use acrylic paint diluted with water to create different designs and shapes, and the results were completely different.

I used the same settings, equipments, and lighting system that I used in the ink pouring process, but the project turned out to be quite time consuming and needs a lot of patience and effort. Each pour required me to use clean water, and you have to be sure that you are not diluting the paint too much or you will refill the tank over and over again. I pour a small amount of the acrylic paint into a cup and dilute it with a very small amount of water, then test it on a small glass first.

With the paint ready, I grabbed the camera release in one hand, while pouring the paint into the water with the other. I’ shoot a lot of frames for each pour, till it spreads out. Once I was done shooting, I had to empty the tank and refill it again. The final phase is the editing phase, I did a few adjustments, crops and i flipped some photos 180 degrees.

Repeat, repeat, and repeat. This project isn’t for those who lack patience. It is a very nice project and you will have lots of fun trying to do it, and you will be amazed by the results. Enjoy !!

The equipments needed for this project:

1. Fish tank/Container

2. Camera with macro lens.

3.Tripod

4. External lighting with a pocket wizard

5. White/black sheet to use as a background

6.  Ink/Dropper

7. Ruler or a bottle to adjust the focus

Here’s the setup i used: The tank was lit with two light strobes on each side set to ¼ power, and a white sheet was placed behind the tank as a background (a black background can be used when using white ink or paint). All the images were shot with a Canon EOS 450D with a ‪EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM‬ lens, set on 80 mm at F/9, the Exposure was set to 1/200, ISO 100, and all were shot in RAW file.

First, you have to set you equipments, place the tank on a stable table, adjust the lighting system, and place the camera infront of the tank, then you have to set your camera to manual focus then adjust it before filling the tank by placing a ruler or a bottle, the ink should be poured in this exact location in order to be in focus. Fill the tank with cold water to cut down any visible minerals, and ink will drop slowly. Then, the fun begins.

ARC DE TRIOMF-SANTA CATERINA MARKET-CCCB-SANTA MARIA DEL MAR BARCELONA-BIMHUIS AMSTERDAM

This post will show the last five buildings in the series of contemporary architecture in Europe and finding Netherlands, for this year. Hope you like it.

1.    Arc de Triomf, Barcelona, Spain.

The Arc de Triomf is an arch in the manner of a memorial or triumphal arch in Barcelona-Catalonia, Spain. It was built as the main access gate for the 1888 A.D. Barcelona World Fair by architect Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas. The arch is built in reddish brickwork, the front frieze contains the stone sculpture ‘Barcelona welcomes the nations’. I took these shoots from Parc de la Ciutadella, which is  perfect for long walks, cycling and jogging.

 2. Santa Caterina Market / EMBT Associated Architects, Barcelona, Spain.

The Santa Caterina Market is Barcelona’s’ oldest market, built in 1848 A.D. Recently,the entire market was renovated in 2005 by Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue of  EMBT Associated Architects. The very expressive arc roof, having the shape of wave posed on an air structure of wood supporting the roof tiles. The mosaic tiles display vivid colors and figures that represent vegetables and fruit, which shelters all the stalls of the market.

3. Modern Music centre / Bimhuis, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

The Bimhuis is a concert hall for jazz and improvised music in Amsterdam.  The Bimhuis was founded in 1973 A.D. till the summer of 2004, it was located in the centre of the city. The design consists of a ‘plinth’ with the shape of a huge set of stairs with two music-boxes.

4. CCCB / Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.

CCCB is one of the most visited exhibition and arts centers in the city of Barcelona. The CCCB organizes and produces exhibitions, debates, festivals and concerts. The CCCB courtyard can also be used during weekends as a public open space to sell products and artistic stuff. The 30-metre high prismatic volume, presenting a spectacular glazed façade that projects into the courtyard at the top. With its interplay of reflections, this new feature becomes a mirror of the surrounding rooftops and a prime lookout point over the city, as well as housing internal communications (halls, lifts and stairs).

5. Santa Maria del Mar, Barcelona, Spain.

Santa Maria del Mar is an imposing church in the Ribera district of Barcelona, built between 1329 and 1383 A.D. It is an outstanding example of Catalan Gothic, with a purity and unity of style that are very unusual in large mediaeval buildings.

TRILOGY : CASA MILA BARCELONA – ARCHITECTURE CENTRE AMSTERDAM- POMPIDOU PARIS.

This post will include three of the most enjoyable buildings in Barcelona, Amsterdam, and Paris.

1. Casa Mila by Antonio Gaudi, Barcelona, Spain. 

With it’s undulating façade and surrealist sculptural roof, Antoni Gaudi’s Casa Milà appears more organic than artificial, as if it was carved straight from the ground. It is known as La Pedera and it was constructed in 1912, the building was inspired by the Modernism movement, Spain’s version of Art Nouveau.

The building is divided into nine levels, and surrounds two interior courtyards. On the roof, there is the famous sculpture terrace. Practically, it houses skylights, emergency stairs, fans, and chimneys.

Structurally, the building is divided between structure and skin. The stone façade has no load-bearing function. Steel beams with the same curvature support the facade’s weight by attaching to the structure. This allowed Gaudi to design the façade without structural constraints, and ultimately enabled his conception of a continuously curved façade.

Gaudi was a genius of structure and form, and the Casa Milà attests to that.

2. Architecture Center Amsterdam by Rene van Zuuk Architeckten, Amsterdam, Netherlands. 

ARCAM is a very futuristic-looking building, it was established in 1986 with the aim of bringing architecture to a broader public as well as to highlight architectural issues and developments in Amsterdam.

The different facades all have their own distinctive perspective. For example the folded skin combined with the beveling glass facade results in a spectacular entrance. The peculiar sculptural shape of the pavilion is unobtrusiveness and small. The zinc-coated aluminum strips form a continuous plane curling itself all around the building mass.

3. Center Pompidou by Renzo Piano/Richard Rogers, Paris, France. 

Centre Pompidou is Europe’s largest museum for modern art, it was constructed in 1977 A.D. The design concept was exposing all the infrastructure of the building. The skeleton itself engulfs the building from its exterior, showing all of the different mechanical and structure systems not only so that they could be understood but also to maximize the interior space without interruptions. 

One of the “movement” elements that the center is most known for is the escalator (painted red on the bottom) on the western facade, a tube that zigzags up to the top of the building providing visitors with an astonishing view of the city of Paris. The different systems on the exterior of the building are painted different colors to distinguish their different roles. 

The structure and largest ventilation components were painted white, stairs and elevator structures were painted a silver gray, ventilation was painted blue, plumbing and fire control piping painted green, the electrical elements are yellow and orange, and the elevator motor rooms and shafts, or the elements that allow for movement throughout the building, are painted red. This east elevation was difficult to photograph as the street is too narrow compared to the building height, and thats why it was shoot as close ups.

Antonio Gaudi’s Work : Casa Batllo – Barcelona – Spain.

Antonio Gaudi was an outstanding architect, who drew his inspiration not only from nature but equally from historical styles and traditional types of construction, and he had an exceptional creative contribution to the development of architecture and building technology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The inspiring imagination of Antonio Gaudi undoubtedly reveals itself in one of his most poetic and artistic designs for a residential building, Casa Batlló, which was built between 1904 and 1906 A.D.

His synthesis of animal shapes, vine-like curves, hints of bone and skeleton, and his use of lustrous colored bits of glazed ceramic and glass create a masterpiece that will forever astonish its observers. The front facade reveals striking textures, colors, and imagery that work together to conjure thoughts of fairytales dreams. The larger sculptural pieces that create the boundaries of the balconies and that frame the entrance resemble bones, suggesting an eyebrows.

On the Noble Floor, Gaudi included a huge gallery, he also added large oval-shaped feature windows. He inserted stone columns in the shape of bones, and balconies in the shape of masks.

The building is crowned with a spectacular roof which, being composed of large scales, looks like an armadillo’s back; the spine is dotted with bulbous green and blue vertebrae using the trencadís mosaic technique.

It also has a tower, and rising from this is a cross with four arms pointing north, south, east and west. The entire facade is tiled with a mosaic composed of pieces of glass and ceramic discs, giving an undulating surface.  In addition, the roof is decorated with four chimney stacks.

As said by Antoni Gaudi,  “Those who look for the Laws of Nature as a support for their new works collaborate with the creator.”

LIGHTCUBE STUDIO LIGHTING WORKSHOP

I had the chance last year to attend an intensive studio lighting workshop conducted by Nour El Refaei and his assistant Marwan Abd EL Alim. The workshop was mainly focusing on how to understand, use different lighting systems and how to control it, in 4 different topics, Portraits, Fashion, Products, and Interior.

The workshop was very professional and I learnt a lot. I mainly joined this workshop for the interior shooting, it was held in Kayo Designs Gallery.  I remember that I asked Nour not to attend the fashion shooting as I am not at all interested in fashion but it turned out that the Fashion shooting was the most interesting one. The Shooting was held in Alpha Factory, Caco Abdel Nour was the make up artist, Sofia Bogush-Maria Bogdarina were modeling, and the dresses were designed by Farah El Ashiry-Yasmin Mansour. The worshop was a very cheerful experience, and definitely one of the best.

The equipments that were used in the shootings:

Canon EOS 450D / Digital Rebel XSi

Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 II

Sigma 10-20mm F/4-5.6 EX DC HSM

Canon EF-S 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6 IS

PLUS the external lighting systems that was provided during the workshop (light strobes – 2 Large softboxes – large Strip Softbox – pocketwizards – Reflectors)

CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE IN EUROPE PART III-FINDING NETHERLANDS

With its numerous canals, Renaissance architecture, Dutch Mimolette cheese and bike culture, it is hard not to fall in love with Amsterdam. I will never forget that Amsterdam canal houses were the reason for me to get involved with architecture, and drawing these sketches were my weekend hobby that lasted for years.

Amsterdammers know that their canal district is a special place, and now the whole world is in on the secret. In 2010, the canal district was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. Part of what makes this district so unique is the canal houses and the glorious stories hidden behind their impressive facades. They were homes for the wealthy and often the backdrop for historic events. Nowadays, they might conceal beautiful gardens, hotels or museums.

Many of Amsterdam’s canal houses were built during the 17th century at the height of Amsterdam’s Golden Age.  Canal houses are often typified by their striking gables and dual entrances. The well-to-do used the doors above the stairs while trades people and servants scurried in through the door underneath. Canal houses were usually long and narrow, with a hook at the top to pull furniture and goods up and in through the windows.

If you love modern or contemporary architecture, its hard to argue against making this city the first stop on a tour of Europe. One of the most buildings that I loved there was the Eye film museum, its dedicated to the preservation of heritage for future generations, both Dutch films and foreign films screened in the Netherlands.

1. Eye Film Institute in Amsterdam By Delugan Meissl Associated Archietcts.

   Eye film museum is located on Amsterdam’s waterfront just behind the Central Station; white space-age structure rises at an acute angle, making a marvelous sight. Its easily accessible with a free ferry; it’s a nice experience whether you are walking or going by your bicycle or vespa. Eye film museum was constructed in 2011, and definitely is a building that can’t be missed.

On the interface between land and water, between historic centre and modern development area, the building adopts many faces from each viewpoint, thus finding itself in a constant dialogue with its surroundings. Its radiance overcomes the city’s natural divide and historic lifeline, the IJ river, and is defined by its interaction with the surroundings, its positioning, and geometry. You will feel that it’s a completely different building at every view.

CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE IN EUROPE Part II

District 22 @ Barcelona:

I heard a lot about Agbar tower before heading to Barcelona, which is located in district 22 @ Barcelona,  and i was so excited to visit this area as i thought it was similar to la defence in Paris, and it would be a great opportunity to shoot a lot of contemporary buildings just in the same zone. The area was not safe enough to walk in alone, and i found many closed factories there, as it was  Barcelonas’ formerly industrial area in the 19th century. The district 22 Barcelona project changed it into a technological and innovation area that offers modern spaces for the strategic concentration of intensive knowledge-based activities.

Six buildings attracted me the most, and  i found while shooting that all of  them were colorful, with massive scale, and high technologies were used in the buildings’ facades and systems.

1. Diagonal ZeroZero Tower by Estudi Massip-Bosch Architects.                

The Diagonal ZeroZero Tower is a diamond shape office building, which was constructed in 2010. The building facades changes with every angle, and i wished to have a magic wand and just erase all the buses blocking the view.

The facade is a modular curtain wall made of white aluminum profiles and extra transparent glass with white ceramic paint, according to a vertical pattern that reinforces the slenderness of the building, and contributes in the diffusion of solar light and glare control inside.

The structural system is a bit complicated, as it is split into two parts, vertical interior pillars that only take compression stresses, and external elements that bear horizontal forces and torque, creating a diamond lattice facade. It’s a quite interesting building that definitely worth to visit.

2. Blue Museum by Herzog & de Meuron Architects.

The blue museum lies directly infront of the Digonal Zero tower, it was designed in a triangular structure, and was constructed in 2004. The building is suspended in the air, creating a covered space for public use below, and the apex leads directly to the  entrance.

The facade is traversed by several glass strips resembling water spilling from the ceiling, and covered by indigo blue cladding.

3. Agbar Tower by Jean Nouvel & B720 Architects. 

Agbar tower, as i just mentioned, was the main reason that i checked this whole area, it simply marks the gateway to the new technological district of Barcelona, and it was constructed in 2004. The building looks like a bullet, which is very similar in shape to Sir Norman Foster’s 30 St. Mary Axe in London.

The tower was built with reinforced concrete covered with a facade of aluminum and glass, and window openings were cut out of the structural concrete. The building  has temperature sensors on the outside that regulate the opening and closing of the window blinds of the façade, reducing the consumption of energy for air conditioning.

The façade is  covered by aluminum and glass in the form of strips of painted sheet metal of different colors (Red & Blue). In addition, the glass has different inclinations and opacities, combined with the different shades of aluminum alter the color balance of the tower as a function of the time of the day and the season of the year concerned.

4. Media-TIC Building by Enric Ruiz Geli & Cloud 9 Architects. 

The green punched Media-TIC Building is one of the most buildings that i liked in Barcelona, it is an information and communication technology hub, which houses both office spaces and an exhibition space open to the public, and it was constructed in 2005. The building is in the shape of a cube and formed by large iron beams covered in a plastic coating of inflatable bubbles, which offer glimpses of the fluorescent structure of the building.

The translucent net-like structure is covered by ETFE (Ethylene Tetrafluor Ethylene), acts as an external covering improving the thermal insulation and a mobile sunscreen that helps light to penetrate, creates shadows, and affords heat savings.

5. Indra Headquarters by B720 & Rubio y Alvarez-sala Architects.  

Indra Headquarters is an office building, with a rhomboid shape, and a chamfered corner, and it was constructed in 2006.

The skin of the facade is made up of panels of stainless steel metal fabric that act as solar protection for the interior of the building as well as contributing to the overall lightness of appearance.

6. CMT Headquarters by Battle & Roig Architects. 

The last building that was shot in this district was the CMT Headquarters, its is an office building, and it was constructed in 2008. Honestly, i don’t like this building at all, because of its massive volume, too much orange color and simple repeated facade.

Although, the building appearance radically changes with every step around its exterior, and the baffling simplicity of its rigorous horizontal louvers provides a phenomenological dynamism.