Pic(k) of the week 18: The Wild East!

Just a two hour drive from Dubai, one finds the UAE "east coast", comprised of the Emirate of Fujeirah and parts of the Emirate of Sharjah. The "Wild East with its rugged coastlines at the foot of the Hajar mountains is the perfect place for a quick escape from busy Dubai. Exactly what we needed last week!

By 4x4 one can bypass part of the highways and drive through one of the many Wadi's, Arabic for dry river. Small palm tree plantations and interesting small villages, make this for one of the most scenic drives in the UAE.

Just after sunset I photographed some of the Indian Ocean rock formations on the beach close to our hotel, the Meridien Al Aqah beach resort. 

Wanting to smooth out the flowing water, it was a good opportunity to experiment with a recently purchased Fader Neutral density filter. This filters darkens the exposure by up to 8 stops allowing to shoot at much longer shutter speeds than one would normally need under given light conditions. These longer exposures makes for a nice silky look of the waves hitting the rocks. 

Image details:

Nikon D700, Nikkor 24-70 2.8

ISO200, F11, 70mm, 15sec

RAW development using LR3

Nik ColorEfex for adding contrast 

Click that shutter,

BJORN

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