Bright Lights of Doha

A couple of nights ago my camera and I took a stroll along the Corniche in West Bay to practice taking some night shots.

I realized I have much to learn about photography beyond "point and click."

In taking a close look of the photographs I have made over the last couple of years, I believe that I have succeeded most in framing my pictures, in crafting a compelling composition. But, boy, do I need to work more on dealing with lighting, and especially lighting at night. Doha offers several competing and difficult lighting scenarios to navigate: the varied lights from the buildings, reflections of the water, and humidity that may create hazy conditions. Using the flash creates spots on the image because of all the reflection, and some of the camera settings result in a basically black image. Right now I am also working without a haze, or any, filter on the lens that might help reduce some of the extra noise. As far as I can tell (which is no great distance), the aperture priority and pre-programmed landscape settings took the best shots.

Outside The Gate Mall

Docked Dhow

We Three Views, I

We Three Views, III

We Three Views, II

Tornado Tower, Blue Haze

Tornado Tower, Side

The photos of Tornado Tower best show how the haze plays with the lights from the building. My favorites, though, are the three views of the Qatar World Trade Center (with the flying saucer) and the Burj Tower. I took them in that order, left to right, between 5:15 and 5:45 pm. The glow from the World Trade Center building affects the Burj, but I am convinced that after about 5:30 the Burj begins a lighting program. It is hard to see in the second photo, but in the last one, I swore I saw a ghost!

Much work lies before me in the next few days before I jet home: some dissertation writing, a conference paper, and at least one job application. I cannot wait for the KZog smooch waiting on the other side of this desert/pond/mountain of to-dos! 

XO,

JZog