Monthly Archives: January 2013

Kuwait Adventures continued!

Posted by Steve on January 28, 2013 No comments

Rapidly closing in on finishing up my full month in country, I have to say I have certainly learned and seen a lot so far. With my Project 365 task, I have tried to keep the pictures themed to what I have been doing here and some of my experiences. I can look back at these pictures and probably tell you all about what happened that day.

Recently I had a great adventure when I met up with a local, Mohamed, who got in contact with me via Reddit. I know it’s not the safest or wisest thing to do, meeting random strangers on the internet and having them take me through a foreign country, but hey, I like to live dangerously. (Also a fan of not getting raped or stabbed, thankfully that didn’t happen)

This meetup was to show me what gaming culture was like in Kuwait. Boy did I learn all about it too. I don’t want to put too much into this post because the whole reason for researching this was to have some great knowledge for the next RetroNick Radio podcast. All my findings will be there!

In the meantime, you get to catch up on my P365 photos. Also, don’t forget to check out the Trooper Adventures! These Lego guys are out on a tour of whatever they can find.

Blue Ring (P365-27)
When I got here to Kuwait, it was VERY dry. Back at home I am used to higher humidity levels so I went out and bought a humidifier. I found one in a place downtown, it cost me about 18KD (close to $60) but it really is amazing. And it looks cool too.

Fighting at the White Tower (P365-26)
This one is more of a snap shot of something I went to do today. I was guided by a great Local guy to one of Kuwaits main gaming communities. The White Tower (Facebook.com/whitetowerq8)
Here you will find the elite of the Kuwait fighting game league. It was a great glimpse into Kuwaiti gaming life. Much more about this trip will be covered on the RetroNickRadio pod cast. Www.retronick.com.

Keyboard Conundrum (P365-25)
Spent a lot of the day working, which meant typing away on a keyboard. This one is not my regular laptop but one from a small netbook sized laptop I bought while here. I have been using it as a media PC running XBMC.
You can see from the keys that it has both english letters and arabic letters. Just in case I need to write out some letters to the locals.

Pop Pop relief. (P365-24)
I mentioned on my blog that I had a minor crisis when I left for Kuwait. I left my battery charger at home. Yeah I know! My battery normally lasts around a week, two if I conserve. You would also think I could just buy one here, but alas, no. I tried 12 places and no one had any DSLR chargers. (not even Canon ones!)
Thankfully, my lovely wife slipped my charger (and fully charged spare battery) into the mail and about a week later, it arrived. She loaded it so full of bubble wrap it was comical.
This bubble wrap may show up again. Just warning you now.

Play time is over (P365-23)
Another walkabout brought me upon this old abandoned playground. I have to imagine that there were many days of kids swinging and laughing here. On the plus side, across the street from here is a large park with a new playground that looks much safer.

Night Transit (P365-22)
Wanted to try for a long exposure night shot of the road in front of my building here. There are always cars zipping by till pretty late, and the cross road is sually pretty busy as well. My angle for the view isn’t the greatest but it gave me a chance to play around with it.

Fishing boats in the Mists (P365-21)
Went to the local open air market and found some of the fishing boats that supply it. The fog rolled in today so I took advantage of it.

Smug Camel is Smug (P365-20)
We went to visit the camel breeding and trading post today. While we did not actually find the trading post, there were plenty of camels around and all of them were very friendly.

A taste of home, abroad. (P365-19)
I love ginger beer. Back home I would find all sorts of brands to test. Here in Kuwait is almost impossible to find. Thankfully one of the stores imports Barr brand from England.
This was a backup picture I took as a “just in case”. I have started the habit of shooting a few things through out the day just to have something for later.

Chillin like a goat (P365-18)
Came across this guy while I was out on a little expidition. I love the way he is staring longly at his watering hole conteplating his life……… as a goat.

Machine City during the day (P365-17)
The nearest large refinery looks amazing both during daytime and night time. It really does look like a giant machine city. I’ll work on getting a shot at night with all the lights.

Pocket Stuff (P365-16)
At any given time I almost always have 4 things in my pocket, and my fitbit clipped to the side. Two are very basic, some lip balm (which is more for Sarah than for me), and a USB stick with some basic documents on it. The more interesting items are the 20 sided dice and the brass acorn.
Most gamers know that your dice are sacred, they have a connection to you. This one has been in my pocket for years and is very connected. Also, you never know when you may have to make a roll to resist temptation.
I always get asked about the acorn. When we started dating, Sarah and I were out for a walk and she randomly picked up an acorn and handed it to me. Not thinking much about it, I put it in my pocket. At the end of each night, I take the stuff in my pocket out and put it on the dresser, then the next morning it all goes back in my pocket. At my bachelors party, the real acorn disappeared and I was devastated. Sarah found the brass one online and gave it to me just after the wedding. It’s been in my pocket ever since.

FishEye view of the coast (P365-15)
Decided to give the DSLR a rest today and broke out my GoPro camera for a nice super wide angle view from my balcony here in Kuwait. Even in a foreign country, I still end up on the East Coast!

Old habit with new things. (P365-14)
I am a big tea drinker. I had thought that coming to the Middle East would open up the types of tea I could try. Turns out that’s not the case. They are a big fan of Lipton here. I found this Red Label tea that’s not too bad, but kind of strong.
The mugs in my apartment are tiny, so I picked up this one on the base.

Trooper Adventures!

Posted by Steve on January 18, 2013 No comments

A strange idea came upon me while I was getting ready for this trip. I had planned out all of the photos I was using for the 365 project, but I ran across an idea for a photo that I couldn’t pass up. I have a few Lego mini-figs and a few of the Doctor Who building block kits. They use the same scale and interlocking system, so I thought, Why not combine them! I thought it would be cute to have two of the Stormtroopers take off in the Tardis.

With my travels, it was a great chance to take them along and take some shots of them in the Tardis in different locations and situations. Thus, the Trooper Adventures was born. When I get the chance to pull these guys out and let them have fun, I do. They even brought along a friend! Keep an eye out on the Flickr Set for more adventures.

6000 Miles from home

Posted by Steve on January 14, 2013 No comments

Howdy folks! Live from Kuwait City It’s Satu…wait, no it’s Monday for me. Well, I have landed and been on site for almost a week. There is certainly a level of adjustment to living in a Middle East nation. Things are a LOT more conservative here than back home, but for the most part, it’s not that different. I am staying in a simple 2 Br apartment in the Fintas region. We have Cable TV and the internet is not terrible. Only now and then do I run across the “This Web Page is Blocked.” The work here is good, it’s keeping me busy and most of what we are working on is done from our Apartments with the occasional trip into the Datacenter.

There are a few things I wanted to try and see/do during this trip. Of course, one of them is to keep up with my Project 365, which I have done pretty well so far. As an added challenge to my photography project, I managed to leave the charger for my DSLR battery at home! Sarah mailed it to me but it can take up to a week to get anything. I have been very sparing due to this. You would think I could just buy a new charger out here, but I have hit, and I am not kidding, 12 different places and NONE of them carry the charger. I did manage to buy a backup battery (because you can never have too many) so I should last until the charger arrives. I still kept up on the pictures and I’ll add them at the end of the post. Another is to scope out some cool places to see when Sarah comes out in March. And the latest addition to the agenda is finding a Gaming culture.

In the Americas we have a rich gaming culture. Be it video games, board games, card games, or dice games. There is usually something for everyone. Out here, it’s a little harder to find, but I think I just need to dig a little deeper. (Not speaking arabic is a hurdle as well, but I have google translate to help me with that.) One of the saddest things I have found here was in a park near the beach close to where I am staying. It would appear that there is a “Fun Times” park that has an arcade, go-karts, and family fun area just across the street. In a fenced off area near by I found this:
Yes, that is a bunch of arcade cabinets just sitting out in the elements. I don’t know what games they are, but I can see the PCB’s and CRT’s still intact. I cried a little.

Another thing I am working on is a project that I will detail in another post later this week, but it involves those little guys at the top of the page.

Now, for the catch up on Project 365.

Kuwait Towers (P365-13)
I had been waiting for the chance to get out to the Kuwait towers, today was the day. Beautiful clear sky’s and a nice wide angle shot from below the towers.

Kuwaiti Sunrise (P365-12)
The first time I have ever woke up early enough to get a sunrise picture. Normally I hate waking up early but I took advantage of the time change effect on my system.
Lesson learned from this shot, I really need to work on my landscape pictures.

Rough Ride (P365-11)
While driving through the desert we came across this car that had been in an accident and abandoned. This is commonplace around here. You can see a bit of a dust storm off in the distance.

Reflection on conversions (P365-10)
The weather today was incredibly bad. Lots of win and sand everywhere. This made any sort of outside shot despicable. So I fell back on some of my travel accessories.

Traveling Man (P365-9)
We arrived a bit late for me to get out and see some of the local scenery so today’s picture is about the transition.

Ready for take off? (P365-8-2)
Bonus Pic! Quick shot on the plane. See you in 12 hours

Late Night Flight (P365-8)
in the airport looking for a good shot for today, saw the reflection in the window and thought I would play a little.

P365 Progress and Getting ready for travel.

Posted by Steve on January 7, 2013 No comments

I told you I probably wouldn’t be posting the P365 pics here as I take them, but to catch everyone up I wanted to post what I have so far.

BUT FIRST.

A few notes about my trip. I leave on Tuesday the 8th….yeah, tomorrow. Flight leaves at 9:50pm and is a 12 hour jog over the Atlantic to land in Kuwait City at 5:50pm. Kuwait is 8 hours ahead of EST so no one call me in the middle of my night! Actually, you can’t call me since my phone number will be voice mail only. You can call and leave me a voice mail, it will get sent to my e-mail and I will get it. I will be available on IM, Skype, and through e-mail. I should still have access to Facebook and Twitter, so for most folks it will appear as if I never left!

The Project 365 is going pretty well. I haven’t hit any sort of wall about what to shoot. I am approaching it with the idea of shooting what I am doing/working on for the day, that way it documents my year as well as practices the art. Here is the catch up:

A Long Time Ago? let’s test that! (P365-6-2)
Bonus Pic!
Since I caved and used Auto on the group shot earlier, I felt I should do another one. This may lead into a series of pics with these two guys as they take the Tardis to different locations. I wanted to grab this shot as a bonus pic since I am leaving the country soon and wasn’t sure if I would have the chance, and I already have the next two shots planned out.

RetroNick Radio (P365-6)
Just a fun picture of the RetroNick Radio crew. I cheaped out and went auto for this shot because I just wanted a quick shot of the guys.

Days gone by (P365-5)
Today we went to a convention called Magfest. It’s mostly about games and gaming, kind of a “Pax-lite”. Still fun and they had a lot to see and do there. I wanted something that represented the time we spent there. Classic consoles are always a favorite.
No flash this time, all natural (well, indoor con based) light.

It was a Dark and Stormy Adventure (P365-4)
Friday is our game night. This was our first run together playing D&D, normally we stick to card/Board games.
The drink is called a Dark and Stormy, rum and ginger ale.
Simple shot, with an on camera speed light.

That time of year (P365-3)
Yup, it’s time to toss the tree and tear down Christmas!
For this shot, since it was late in the evening, I used both of my strobe lights. One positioned down and to my left, the other I held at arms length above and to the right of my POV. Both were remotely triggered.
This was also post processed on the iPad using Snapseed. I like the iPad for some quick touch ups and adjustments.

Light Orb (P365-2)
Always wanted to try this trick with long exposure. A friend gave me a small blue LED light so I tied it to a string and went out for a twirl.
Nikon D5100, 35mm, f/5.6, ISO 200, 103 second exposure.

Project 365, Day 1

Posted by Steve on January 1, 2013 No comments

I actually took this shot last night shortly after midnight. Sarah and I were up for NYE and she was making Marshmallows from scratch.

Shot with my [amazon_link id=”B004V4IWKG” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Nikon D5100[/amazon_link], [amazon_link id=”B001S2PPT0″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]35mm f/1.8[/amazon_link], ISO 200, [amazon_link id=”B0002EMY9Y” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]SB600[/amazon_link] Speed light pointed at the ceiling to bounce the flash. Minor touch ups in Lightroom.