Pic(k) of the week 36: SHARJAH MOSQUE - FUJIFILM XF16-80 f4 lens

September 03, 2019

Pic(k) of the week 36: SHARJAH MOSQUE - FUJIFILM XF16-80 f4 lens

Five years in the making, the Sharjah Mosque which can hold up to 25000 worshippers, opened on the first Friday of Ramadan a few months ago and. Being outside the city of Sharjah it makes for a relatively clean background and as a cherry on the cake, the reflection pool faces west which make for some interesting sunset shots.

When I was there a few days ago, the weather was perfect, as just before sunset some clouds started to drift in making for a great background. Even better a few minutes after sunset, at the start of what photographers call "Blue hour", the sky turned pink for about 5 minutes or so while the crescent moon was visible between both minarets. I couldn't ask for better conditions!

Image details:

Fujifilm X-T3 with XF16-80mm f4 lens
ISO 160, 31mm, f11, 3sec
Lightroom CC for RAW development
DxO ColorEfex pro 4 for optimal contrast

I shot three images for possible image blending but given my master file was so close to what I had envisioned, I ended up using only a single file in the editing process. Proof for the dynamic range that can be extracted from a single X-T3 RAW file!

While I was there, I also shot a wider 17mm image of the same scene which can be found here.

Fujifilm XF 16-80 lens comparison review to the XF18-135 can be found here.

Remember: "Life is only a reflection of what we allow ourselves to see".

BJORN