The new Inquisition

The world does go around in circles. Inquisition and witch hunts have been around since the beginning of time and why should the 21st century be any different. In the modern world, Inquisition happens still with official decree. Today, just like the days of yore, state authorizes the torture till a confession is obtained regardless of its veracity. The important thing is the victim/accused confesses and the state feels justified in keeping this cycle of torture-confession-punishment going.

The issues of Judges Restoration

I have not written about political issues for a while, but this bubbling issue of restoration of judiciary and the deadline has forced me to take it up.

Nawaz Sharif is doggedly pursuing this issue not for the love of judiciary but for his personal vendetta against President Musharraf. Baldy is a petty man, he is also a very small person. It was his goons that raided Supreme Court and physically assaulted it, that too in broad daylight in front of cameras. The case back then was similar to Iftikhar Chaudry’s but much less severe. The offense of the Chief Justice then had been to summon the high and mighty Nawaz Sharif to his court. This man who raises the slogan of “Islam First and Pakistan Second” forgot how Hazrat Ali presented himself to the court of the Kazi when summoned though he was the ruler of the country.

Asif Zardari on the other hand has become more seasoned. I don’t know what his game is and he is no angel either but at least he looks and sounds like an intelligent man. Compared to the bumbling retarded idiot “the baldy” who just couldn’t hold back his smirk. Its all over the place. If you look at all his pictures hung all over Lahore, you can’t help notice the arrogant smirk. There is an old saying in urdu about nadaan dost aur dana dushman- I hope that makes my point clear.

It is an open secret that someone has been financing the lawyer movement, with Nawaz as the most likely culprit. The lawyers were being paid on a daily basis and this has been confirmed this from the Lawyers community itself.

I am all for an independent and vibrant judiciary. In our country, the judiciary was ranked as the second most institution by international bodies, where it was said that instead of hiring a lawyer, you should hire a judge. We need comprehensive institutional reforms, not just for Judiciary but also for Police, Building Control and town planning and most importantly political will and intent to carry them off. Somehow I have a feeling that this critical component is entirely missing for any such measure will be most detrimental to our political and landed class.

Street Photography

It sometimes amazes me how ungrateful we are as a nation, we have to so good in this country. The infrastructure has improved a lot and is getting better and the overall living standard is not half as bad as most of the countries of the South Asian region.

Bangladesh Visit Slideshow

How stupid are these people.

One of the great tragedies to befall our nation is a total lack of customer service. I was tempted to say there is customer apathy but even that would be better then active hostility faced by customers at times.

Let me quote a recent example, where I had requested price and availability of a particular Camera Lens.

On 20.04.08 01:16, "Owais Zaidi" <owais.zaidi@xxxxx> wrote:

> Kindly let me know if this lens is available ex stock and the price for it.

> Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 EX DG MACRO

> 

> Regards,

> Owais

In response to my query, I got this email a couple of days later

On 4/22/08 1:35 PM, "S.M. Iqbal" <smiphoto@cyber.net.pk> wrote:

> Dear Mr. Owais,
>
> Thank you for your interest in Sigma products.
>
> Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 EX DG MACRO in stock.
>
> Please call for prices.
>
> Best regards,
>
> SMI Photo Systems - Pakistan
> Ph: 021-4800035

Being naive as I am, I understood from the email that I have to call to get the price of the lens. Seems simple enough, right? Not really. I made the mistake of calling the place and after introducing myself by name I requested for the price as per the email. The guy idiot at the other end first wanted to know where I am calling from to which I politely replied that I am calling from my office, which indeed was true. This somehow irritated the person idiot at the other end and he told me that I need to come down to his shop if I want to know the price. What the f&^%.  What kind of a moron will email me to call for prices and then tell me to drive all the way to Gulshan to find out the prices. I will pick up the lens  on my next trip out of the country, but I seriously pity my countrymen who have to put up with this kind of treatment everyday.

P.S. Please feel free to flame the idiot mentioned in this post. Cheers

Being Alex

I have put his Picture for the reference. This is my cat Alex. He is quite typical a cat, good looking, full of himself and moody. He will be upset with you if you ignore him, on the other hand he will totally ignore you if you pay attention to him.

Today, at the breakfast table my wife had one of those eureka moments, when Alex was being Alex. She suddenly looked at me and said “you know what he is just like you”. So from then onwards - for all times to come, I have been tagged.

She feels that I only pay attention to her when her attention is diverted or I harass her with too much attention. I am sure there is a golden mean somewhere in between but it has totally eluded me so far and considering my luck will continue to do so.

Its interesting how I can sense the cynical smiles and smirks of all the married men reading this post, the confusion of the unmarried ones and the contempt of the women.

Realizing a few things….Random Babbles even more

Sometimes or I guess most of the time, we are fooling ourselves. I have finally realized and accepted a few things about myself and am very happy about it. I suggest that everyone should do that. Yes yes, i hear people telling me if you accept everything including your shortcomings then you will never get better. My answer is simply Duh…unless you accept them you can never improve, i.e. only if you want to improve on any particular shortcoming.

So coming back to the point - I meet only those people who I like. I don’t even want to pretend to be nice to people. Its just plain dishonesty and a waste of my time. I have realized I was never cut out to be good at being a hypocrite and I ll never be.

I am content with the life I have, my ambitions are still there but I have dropped out of the rat race. I only want to achieve things for my personal satisfaction. I am not even searching for glory anymore - BIG HUGE change for me. Most of the time we are really badly stuck on level 2 and 3 of the Maslow’s hierarchy that we forget about moving on to the next level. I have found religion or to be more precise God. I am not going to go a beard and start tableegh, but I understand His message. Unlike the rest of my Muslim Brethren, who are too stuck on the form and he said she said of religion, I have begun to understand the big picture. Don’t worry I am not going to start explaining what it is (at least not in this post) but there is definitely a bigger picture and we just have to step back a bit to realize it.

Insha’Allah me and the wifey will be going off to Hajj this year. Fawwad dude I hope you have booked the slots for all of us. You are supposed to ask for forgiveness from people before you go of for Hajj. Damn I have a very (extremely) long list of people I have pissed off, ticked off and I am sure hurt in this life, so I thought I would start apologizing right now and try to cover as much as possible. From near and dear ones to people I have randomly come across in my life, please accept my heartfelt apologies for I am sure it must have been me who has wronged you.

“Understanding Exposure” by Bryan Peterson

I started reading understanding exposure a couple of days ago and am totally hooked on to it. It is a wonderful book for any and all levels of photographers who want to get their basics right. It has cleared up a lot of my concepts and hopefully will improve my shooting abilities greatly.

Understanding exposure starts from defining what exposure is, the triangle of ISO, Shutter Speed and Aperture. It describes in detail what Aperture and shutter speed can do for us - separately and collectively. It covers the depth of field in graphic details and shows how shutter speed can be used to freeze motion, pan and imply motion.

The section on Light covers all kind of shooting conditions -from low light to sunny days to over cast - and light directions - front, back, sidelight. The book teaches you how to best use the light meter both external and camera ones.

Overall it is a must read for all Photographers willing to invest time in improving their understanding and skills.

Superexcited about my MAMIYA Medium Format Camera

I am super excited today about getting a MAMIYA medium format (120mm camera). Its completely manual and can be taken apart completely. Pro photographers swear by it. I have always done digital and this will be my first time on film that too with a legendary RB-67 Pro-S camera. I  also bought a Sekonic L-308  light meter so I can meter accurately. Digital really spoils you. You can go by adjusting and take  even  a dozen shots to get your exposure right. No such leeway with this beauty. It has a roll which allows you 10 snaps and you have to wait a couple of days to get the results. I strongly believe the care required for exposing in a Film camera will improve my abilities.

P@SHA Insider Session 7 - Random Babbles some more :)

I missed the first 6 but I needed a reason to take pictures and a free lunch so I agreed to drop by. Yousuf (MIXIT) was the gracious host although it was supposed to be Jehan Ara’s turn @ the new Roasters at Sindhi Muslim. Zia Imran and Jawwad Farid were also there to provide extremely entertaining company. There was a time when I used to hang out a lot more with P@SHA crowd but these days I always find myself short on time and opportunity to do so.

The session was a great learning experience for me. I did pick up some great tips from Jawwad Farid (Alchemy). He is a great guy, eccentric like all geniuses but extremely helpful and nice. I also got to know Zia of (Vahzay) a bit better today. These are the people who are really putting Pakistan on the map. I don’t know much about Vahzay yet, but I see Alchemy really going places. All the best to Vahzay.

I also realized today that I have become even more moody and temperamental. I just can’t do things unless I want to. Not a healthy sign. I need to check and get better. To be honest I wanted a photo taking opportunity and practice with bounce lighting with a single off camera flash in a crowded place. I was able to do that. The results are quite bad but at least I know more things that don’t work.

The shamae Mehfil was our dear Faisal Qureshi who doesn’t need an introduction (and for a brief moment tried to follow Demi Moore’s infamous moves but to everyones relief stopped at just his jacket). Though the star of the evening was Jawwad Farid with his excellent presentation and generous PIZZA servings. Last but not least is Adnan Agboawala for volunteering his office once more for P@SHA. Cheers to all. Btw you can check out J’s blog @ jehanara.wordpress.com for actually what happened at the event.

Living on the other side of the bridge

Judging people based on which side of the bridge they live has been a favorite past time of Karachites for the past 20 years or so.

I moved to other side of the bridge after living on the “right” side for around 20 years. Trust me it was not an easy decision and was made only under very practical constraints. Well to cut the story short I moved around a couple of years ago. I love my new joint where I live with my lovely wife, but the transition hasn’t been easy. All the nice eateries are on the other side. There is not much concept of customer service here. The shopping experience hasn’t evolved much. It seems to be stuck in a time warp. Shopkeepers are in general rude or maybe we are just used to better service.

So in my humble opinion life is better on the other side and unless you are willing to drive up to that side like me you will have to suffer rude or at best indifferent customer service.

Crossing a 1,000 hits - Thank you all

Its a landmark for me and I feel good. Happy is the right word. Blogs come and blogs go…I am just glad mine is getting progressively better……

I write regularly and people visit my blog regularly too….I wish they left more messages/comments/etc… but its alright. As long as they are reading my posts  and coming back for more, I am glad.

So I would really like to thank all of you who take out some precious moments of your life and spend them on reading my posts. Cheers!

KPC Hingol trip

Hingol trip was awesome…!!!

KPC team had done a great job arranging the trip. I led them upto Hingol river and then the local guide took over. We couldnt go to the beach but made it to Nani Mandir. The company was very good. I think KPC (Karachi Photographers Club) are a swell bunch of people. Talented photographers, creative and spirited. I strongly recommend that if you are in Karachi and serious about your photography then you must join us at flickr.com

Small hanoman mandir at Hingol Mata

Hingol here we come

On Sunday morning, the Karachi Photographers Club is going on its most daring photo expedition to date. 30 (or so) brave souls will make the journey tomorrow morning to Hingol National park, 300 kms from Karachi City. The expected stops are a Fishing village, a Mandir, and Princess of good hope and surrounding wind carved mountains.

Building my studio

Well after the strobes, umbrellas, stands and softboxes the only things left was to get backgrounds. So today I decided to hit the market to get backgrounds. Elia again came in very handy and directed me to Eidgah market opposite Jama Cloth on M.A. Jinnah road. I was able to get three backgrounds (Black, grey and white) with enough material to cover the entire room. I got a 1/2″ pvc pipe with two PVC elbows to form the mount which will be put on two light stands….hmm…I will put pictures to make it easy for anybody wanting to duplicate it. Having Elia as a friend is like having cheat sheet for an adventure game. Rather then me suffering the the pain of going to a zillion places and getting ripped off, he always guides me to the right place.

Now I am  all set for my glamor and portrait photography. Next mission finding models.

Birthday gifts

It was my birthday yesterday and my wife made me an amazing dinner and cake. I also got a set of excellent books on photography from her as presents. Its really nice how she indulges me. I got an Art directors reference which has excellent reference work of many good photographers. I got a Photojournalism Reference Book of Reuters a couple of good reference books to help me with my technique. Will be spending substantial time reading them, trying them out and sharing my learnings.

I also got a couple of light stands that with a pvc pipe (6 Feet long)with elbow connectors at either end will serve as my background stand. I already have bed sheets that will be hung on this stand. Just need more willing models :).