photography by wasim.

Tag: beach

My First Month With My New Number 1 – The Samsung NX1!

This is it. This is the one. I’ve found the one! Actually, the one found me! The Samsung NX1. If you’ve been holding out on investing in the mirrorless market because of your trepidations as far as performance as compared to traditional DSLRs, now’s the time to let go. It’s been exactly a year since Samsung invited me into their Imagelogger program, and in that short year, everything changed. I mean everything. I will admit, at first, it was an excuse to get out and create with new tools and have fun doing it. It started a little over a year ago with the NX300, and every few months, we graduate to a new camera and new lenses. We went to the NXMini, then the NX30, then the NX3000, and with each subsequent step, I find myself using my trusty Nikon gear less and less and less and less. Little did I expect that in a year’s time, they would be taking over my entire photographic arsenal, causing me to all but abandon my Nikon equipment (and once I get a wireless strobe system worked out for this thing for the my architectural work, my bread and butter, that’ll make the transition complete). But here’s a quick account of my first month with this 28 megapixel beast, the Samsung NX1.

The NX1 showed up at my door just in time for Thanksgiving weekend, which was perfect as my family and I decided to do something a bit different this year, and took a road trip to spend the holiday out in Sedona, Arizona. Not a bad place to properly break in what Outdoor Photographer calls “our choice for the top APS-C mirrorless camera for nature photography” in its December issue, and what Digital Trends is claiming “Our favorite camera of 2014 isn’t a Canon, Nikon or Sony, it’s Samsung’s NX1.”

The first thing I noticed when I took it out of the box was the build. It felt like a solid piece of machinery, carefully sculpted from a chunk of magnesium alloy. And it was beautiful. As soon as I put my hands on the NX1, I had no problem getting acquainted with the layout and the controls. They’ve definitely done their homework and made this thing as intuitive as humanly possible. The insanely user friendly menu system doesn’t hurt either!! And the fact that this is my first dust and splash proof camera made me very happy as I spend a lot of my time in the outdoors. This thing simply just feels good to hold.

The second thing I noticed upon my first few shots was the auto-focus. Yes, that comes as no surprise seeing as how it has an ungodly insane amount of autofocus points. I’m not going to use this post to go through all the technical brouhaha, that’s everywhere and anywhere else, but I will say, with a sensor that’s practically covered edge to edge with autofocus points, the results are immediately noticeable. For comparison’s sakes, while the Canon 7D Mark III has 65, the NX1 has over 200. Yup. That’s no typo. 205 to be exact. So yeah…this thing is quick! I will say that when I first used a few of the NX lenses, it did hunt for a few seconds, but timely firmware updates quickly fixed any of those issues. The auto-focus on all the lenses are now smooth like butter and faster than any camera I’ve had to date.

The third thing I noticed was the color rendering. Spot on! The vibrancy and the warmth and accuracy of what I was capturing as compared to what I was seeing was wonderful. It made using this camera such a joy, giving me the confidence in knowing that I wasn’t going to have to do much post processing to realize my vision. Everything looked the way I wanted it to look and, as any photographer will tell you, there’s no better feeling.

The fourth thing I noticed was another bit made possible by more of that technical stuffs…the BSI, or back-side illuminated sensor. Basically, because the entire front side of the sensor is free of any obstructions, for the first time in an APS-C sensor camera, the entire face of the sensor is available to collect light. What the heck does this mean? Low noise, and great detail in shadows in your images is what that means. Not to mention being able to shoot in very little light at high ISOs. I mean, I’d cringe whenever I had to push the iso past 1600 or so on my Nikon D7000, hoping in the back of my mind that I renewed my noise-reduction software license, but with this thing, I’m jumping up to iso2500, or even 3000 without even flinching! Not only that, I was truly blown away by its ability to focus in insanely low light situations. The mix of the sensor and a crazy looking auto-focus assist light that is based on patterns that almost look like a bar-code, allowing the camera to better detect contrast, are almost infallible.

The part of this camera that I haven’t yet fully tested is the highly touted 4k video capabilities. I’ll make another post about that soon as I’m currently working on some videos with it so will have a better grasp on it all. I will say that the few moving images I’ve pulled from this thing, coupled with the focusing system, have me confident enough to be using it as my main camera on an upcoming paid video gig. One thing that really impressed me was the inclusion of both a headphone jack as well as mic jack, something not quite found in most other video-capable DSLR style cameras. And that swivel screen is going to come in handy for those low menacing angles without ending up with a kink in my neck!

Also worth mentioning is something that Samsung has taken and run with…the wireless connectivity. Their SMART features are incredible. I was able to transfer an image to my phone, edit it, and post it on Facebook, Google+, and Instagram, as well as email the image to my family in the field in Sedona, all within less than 2 minutes. It was crazy. Try that with your DSLR.

So I can’t say that when I was invited into the Samsung Imagelogger program, I had any idea this was coming. I thought it’d be a few good cameras and some fun and some new friends and some fresh inspiration. Little did I know I’d be part of a group and working with a company that is innovating beyond all other traditional camera manufacturers. Not only that, but they’re actually listening to us to make their products even better, and, to my complete joy, it was apparent in a recent firmware update that helped back-button focusing photographers transition to the camera seamlessly. We gave our feedback and within less than two weeks, an update was ready. That’s unheard of! Needless to say, Samsung has gone and done it…they’ve accomplished their mission, and got me to Ditch The DSLR. And once I get one of their new Premium S-Series lenses in my hands? Fuggggeeddabbbadittt!

Ok, so now all the words and things out of the way, here are some of my favorite images from my first month with the

Samsung NX1

. And when you finally convince yourself to hit ‘buy’ at Amazon, try to remember to

use this link

or the Amazon search box on the right column. And that works for anytime you shop on Amazon, not just for the items described here. It’s no difference to you, but it helps me keep things running on this site to bring content like this to you.

For some other widgetwadgetstuffs: Instagram:

@wasimofnazareth

Ello:

@wasimofnazareth

Google+:

www.Google.com/+WasimMuklashy

January 6, 2015
A Spontaneous Excursion Up Pacific Coast Highway – Part 4: From Big Sur To Barbeque

I woke up this morning a bit ragged. Today it was much harder to open the eyes, due in no small part to the fact that I was planning on making the drive back from Big Sur to Los Angeles. As I was unzipping my tent and cursing under my breath that I couldn’t at least indulge in a cup of coffee on my final morning here due to the fire ban, there comes my aunt, as if on cue, straight out of the bushes at the other end of the campground, holding bright sunny fresh to-go cups of coffee! Boom!

She had made her way into town to come back and make our day! I took it as a sign.

There was no way I was leaving today.

So once again, with coffee in hand, I marched my gotcha back to the Andrew Molera State Beach iron ranger at the entrance and paid for another night, the same way I have the last two days. Silly me thinking there was ever a chance I was leaving.

Today’s plan was to hit up Pfeiffer Beach (not to be confused with Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park or the infinitely more popular Julia Pfieffer Burns State Park, home of popular McWay Falls. “Yeah, there are a lot of Pfeiffers” the ranger told us as he tried to clear up our confusion). We winded our our way down Sycamore Canyon Road, parked in the lot, and meandered through the shady sandy Cyprus Grove to the stomping grounds of the famous Keyhole Rock.

While the scenery was as spectacular as I ever remembered it, it wasn’t exactly kid friendly at the moment. The surf was quite aggressive and the little ones had their hearts set on the tide pools at Point Lobos, which they hadn’t really stopped talking about since we left there the day before. So after about an hour or so, we decided to pack it up and head on up. I’d been here on many occasions before, and oddly enough, while I thought I’d personally take it a bit harder that we were leaving Pfeiffer Beach, I was surprised to find myself completely ok with it. New frontiers. New memories. However, what I couldn’t bring myself to do was take off without spending at least a few moments alone with a camera and Keyhole Rock. So they let me indulge for a bit, and then off we went.

Since everyone was pretty hungry, and Nepenthe was soooo close…we had to do it!! If you haven’t been to Nepenthe in Big Sur, it consists of two open-air restaurants and the Phoenix gift shop, all of which have some of the most breath-taking birds-eye views of the Big Sur coastline. At the very least, stop for a drink. And if you can’t get a table at the top level restaurant, do NOT hesitate to walk one level below to Cafe Kevah. The views are even arguably better, less obstructed, and the food just as good (and cheaper…).

After lunch, it was time to head back north on Pacific Coast Highway, back to Point Lobos State Reserve. There was a whole cliffside we had yet to explore, so while the kids found their way back to the familiar tide pools with the aunt and cousin, myself and Stephen Chiang decided to explore the path along bluff and we were exposed to a slice of this park and coastline we weren’t privy to the first time we were here a few days ago. And thank GOD we did. This could easily be one of the top 3 highlights of the trip.

Towards the southernmost reaches of the park, along the coast, lies China Cove, apparently, as we found out quickly, a very popular attraction, for as we walked up the steps and turned the corner to reveal it, there stood 3 artists, each in front of their respective easels, each quietly offering their interpretation of the gorgeous scene that stood in front of them.

It was mesmerizing.

I couldn’t help myself but to sit and watch and, of course, eventually ask them if I could photograph them while they worked. Karin Leonard, Kenneth Cadwallader, and Michele de Braganca. After a little while, we decided to continue on a bit further, and after exploring the final reaches of the trail, turned back, and found our way back to China Cove. While the other two painters had packed up and left, one, Karin Leonard, remained. And we remained with her. As one of my cousin’s children was an artist, Stephen brought her back, where she sat with her sketchpad on the bench behind Karin, each of them offering their respective perceptions in tandem. A beautiful moment.

Life making art watching art.

As the sun set, and we bid our farewells, it was time, yet again, to stuff our faces.

We were within miles of Carmel-By-The-Sea (the small cobblestone seaside hamlet that Clint Eastwood once acted mayor to), and even though we were stinky and smelly and beachy and 3-days-of-camping-y, and Carmel is quite a ‘high-flootin’ town as my cousin so aptly put it, we said screw it, why not! We’re gonna make it ours tonight. So we did. We marched our flip-floppin’ sandy feet on in to Les St. Tropez, authoritatively commanddeered the center seating arrangement, and treated ourselves to some French cuisine, pasta, and arugula garnished pizzas before sleepily heading on back to camp for our final evening (this time for real…).

We. Crashed. Immediately.

The next morning, we woke up, packed up, and, aching to squeeze as many minutes as possible out of the trip, stopped for a final view at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, where the McWay Falls trickled down the California coastal hillside, making it’s way from the furthest reaches of the Redwoods in the inland forests and finding respite in the great Pacific.

It was time to get back into the cars and head on back down for not only did we have a lot of ground to cover, but we wanted to go full circle and make one more stop back where this all started.

Morro Bay State Park.

One last look at the rock.

One last frolic along the bay.

One last stroll on the wooden footpath alongside the estuary.

We reluctantly hit the road, and as the sun began to set, found ourselves at Los Alamos, California, a sleepy western town about 5 hours down the coast. It was to be our last supper together, and we decided to do it in style. BARBEQUE!! We laughed, we joked, we indulged, we broke bread, we gorged on Charlie’s Place delicious special-secret-homemade barbecue sauce and milk shakes. Yup, milk shakes.

And, finally, we declared this trip a complete success.

Thanks so much for following along our journey. Truly hope you enjoyed it. And if you haven’t already, wholeheartedly hope you get to make it yourself one day.

Below are the images from this, the final part of the trip, all of which were taken on Samsung NX3000 and NX30 mirrorless cameras. And in case you missed the first three parts of the story:

Part 1: Morro Bay Part 2: Big Sur Part 3: More Big Sur

And to purchase a print, or the original painting, of “Misty Afternoon China Cove,” the stunning final product of Karin Leonard’s efforts that day, click here to check it out.

For more of my madness, including additional images and edits from this very trip: Instagram: @wasimofnazareth Twitter: @wasimofnazareth Google+: www.Google.com/+WasimMuklashy Facebook: www.Facebook.com/WasimOfNazareth

And last but certainly not least, be sure to find and follow Stephen Chiang at Instagram.com/stephenrx7. I’m telling you, his shots are great and the kids are insanely adorable.

September 26, 2014
A Spontaneous Excursion Up Pacific Coast Highway – Part 3: More Big Sur

The next few days in Big Sur were nothing short of magical. We woke up the following morning, our first in Big Sur, and figured the most logical thing to do would be to hit the beach. And, well, who are we to argue logic? The universe led us down the 3/4 or so mile hiking path from the campsite, through a covered canopy of trees that straddles the Big Sur River, all the way down to the quaint cove that makes up Andrew Molera State Beach. We spent several hours here sunning, swimming, playing, fighting off the seagulls that boldly flew off with half our food, and watching the surfers slowly but surely converge at Molera Point as they anticipated the swells from Hurricane Marie, the category 4 that had hit Baja California earlier that day, to come ashore any moment. And boy did they! We watched surfer after surfer catch wave after wave that ranged from 3 feet breaks all the way up to what seemed like at least 8 or 10 feet for the more advanced.

We headed back into camp mid-afternoon, some rested, some napped, some ate. Myself and Stephen, we had USB battery bricks and phones to charge, and some business to handle, so we headed into town (and when I say town, I say this very generously, for ‘town’ consists of a grocery store, a restaurant, and a gas station). We took a seat at an outdoor table at the Big Sur River Inn, had some fresh coffee, and got down to business. We charged up our power bricks, and headed back to Molera, hiked back into camp just in time for a campfire and dinner. And that’s when we got a reality check from this fantasy world.

The rangers came up to us to inform us that as of 3 hours ago, the higher ups have outright banned campfires and even camp stoves until further notice. The reason? Drought. The California drought has gotten so bad and so serious, and the land so brittle and dry, that not only did they had to ban campfires and camp stoves 3 days before the famously busy Labor Day weekend, but they also increased the fine from $500 to $5000 to hammer home that this was no joke. If this state doesn’t get some much needed precipitation relief in the coming months, the ban could very well go through all of next year.

In any case, we figured since it was our last campfire, we’d go out with a bang…”S’MORESSSS!!”

The following day, we decided to head up the coast to Point Lobos State Reserve. In all the years of my coming to Big Sur, I’ve never stepped foot in here, and I was stupid not to. This place was incredible. We walked through a Cypress grove, we went geocaching at the old whaler’s cabin, and we hiked around the point, soaking in views of the famous coast. Perhaps the highlight of this part was the tide pools that dotted the rugged coastline. The closer we got to them, the more magical they became…we saw regular crabs, hermit crabs, a dizzying myriad of shells and sea urchins. It was beautiful.

As we sensed the sun begin to set, we figured it’d be a good time to head back to camp, eat some dinner and perhaps try to catch the sunset on the coast back at our beach, Andrew Molera State Beach. We were able to get back in time to feed the belly, but, the clouds started rolling in, so unfortunately, our sunset that evening was hidden from view. Which was alright. We marinated around the lantern, told some stories, had some scotch, and called it a night…figured since I was planning on leaving the next morning, I should get a good night’s sleep for the long drive back.

Below are the images from this part of the trip, all of which were taken on Samsung NX3000 and NX30 mirrorless cameras.

Click here for the final installment of this trip, Part 4: From Big Sur To Barbeque.

And if you want to start from the beginning, click here for Part 1: Morro Bay

And for more of my madness, including additional images and edits from this very trip: Instagram: @wasimofnazareth Twitter: @wasimofnazareth Google+: www.Google.com/+WasimMuklashy Facebook: www.Facebook.com/WasimOfNazareth

September 23, 2014
When you can’t get away from it all…get away from it all.

So it was one of those days, the thought process just goes into overdrive and begins to cloud any reasoning and logic. The past comes up, the future comes up, all of the baggage surrounding both start to rear their nosy and intrusive little lizard heads. Sometimes this would last for hours, then days, then weeks, but more and more you begin to see that there’s a way out…well, at least temporarily.

You recognize it.

You realize it.

You consciously stop it and remind yourself that none of it is part of your current existence, except the parts you allow to be.

And then just as you think you’re starting to get the hang of it all, you slip right back down. And that’s when you realize you need to step away.

Or maybe it’s just me.

In any case, I figured it’s been a long while since I’ve visited one of my little sanctuaries and what better time than now. So I jumped in the car, headed down to the gardens at Lake Shrine Self-Realization Center, and just sat.

Literally.

Just picked one of the benches and sat.

Watched. Listened. Felt.

And a few other people just came to the surrounding benches and sat.

Just sat.

Watching, listening, feeling…being.

And just like that, you remember what you’re supposed to be doing. And everything else melts away.

Thanks again for setting me straight Lake Shrine.

Until the next time…

June 28, 2013
Piece by Piece

A few recent gradual revelations are telling me that perhaps part of me feels like I’m coming into my own in a lot of respects as far as photography is concerned. And I suppose it’s really just a matter of perspective and paying attention rather than just letting life happen and allowing the monotony to take charge of the psyche. Day in and day out I’m editing photos robotically for a website, and many of the photos are photos I’d never think to take myself – small, close-up details, seemingly devoid of context.

I’m so constantly focused on the large wide sweeping shots, so much so that my camera almost always sleeps with my 11-16mm on it, that sometimes it’s hard to remember that often times, it’s in the details that the most awe-inspiring imagery can come from, and I think it’s due to the clash of the two different styles that my life has been recently oscillating between that context to such contrasts can be extracted.

On the one hand, I spend so much of my own personal time in the outdoors, looking to try to capture those landscapes that make us remember and appreciate the beauty that life and the world holds –

BIG.

Then, on the other hand, for work, I find myself photographing and editing photos of homes and properties, in which so much more is being said by the details – the textures in the concrete surrounding a marble fountain, the way the shadows of a lattice fall upon a watering can sitting alongside a charming wooden bungalow, the contrast of a purple wildflower growing alongside a yellow window frame –

SMALL.

And it’s these hidden gems of discovery that remind me that you can learn something from every job, from every situation, and take that, use it, and grow from it.

In this case, I’ve been learning to train myself to basically, yes, keep my eyes open for those cinematic sweeping scopes, but at the same time, not ignore what’s directly in front of me…those small quaint and charming additions and details. After all, it’s a culmination of all of those combined, piece by piece, that make up the whole.

cottage.

June 5, 2013
That Yurt. Oh, That Yurt!

The Malibu Yurt. Wasim Muklashy Photography

I almost didn’t do it, but I’m sooooo glad I did.

So every now and then, I shoot photos for Airbnb.com, the vacation rental website where people can rent out their unused spaces for extra income. Sometimes it’s a guest house, sometimes it’s a room in a house, sometimes it’s a tent on a roof of a house. Luckily, since I’m in Topanga Canyon, my radius of 30 miles for assignments covers some of the most ridiculous places ever. I live in a 600 square foot shack of a house, but the hills around me are surrounded by Malibu, Pacific Palisades, that sort of thing…so you don’t have to work your imagination too hard to understand what exists in these parts.

Anyhow, this time, my assignment was a yurt on a property in the middle of the Santa Monica Mountains. It was described as a ‘yurt on an organic farm.’ Intrigued…so I accepted this gig. It’s our responsibility as photographers to reach out to the property owner to set up and schedule a shoot, so when I reached out to the woman who’s property this was, she invited me to spend the night in the yurt and cook breakfast for me in the morning. Now this is the first time something like this has happened, and at first I thought she was just doing it to be nice and there’s no way I could take her up on the offer, but she kept insisting. I figured I’d never been in a yurt, I may never have an opportunity like this again, so said screw it, let’s do this thing. Drove out to the property late last night, made it around 9pm, and walked into the thing and I was insanely surprised. I could live in this thing. It was like a round studio apartment with bamboo flooring. Read a little, passed out, not knowing what to expect as I hadn’t met the owners yet.

I woke up at 8am to a call telling me breakfast would be ready in 15 minutes, so I hurried down, washed up a bit, and walked up to the main house. This property was incredible. In the middle of a gorgeous canyon with an ocean view and chickens and roosters and plants and trees and that sort of beautiful madness. I ran into her husband on the way up, a nice fella who introduced himself on his way out and told me to head up to the house for breakfast. We chatted for a bit, he was interested in that I was a photographer because he’s a well-accomplished Director of Photography on big films, told me his wife was a photographer, and sent me on my way.

I went up into the house, and there she was…a lovely woman pouring me a cup of coffee with freshly baked scones, and eggs prepared that were just picked this morning from the coop out back. She set up on the deck overlooking the ocean and sat me down and fed me and we chatted and and chatted and chatted. I felt like I was on vacation. She had written two photography books, both based in Africa around eco-resorts and structures and sustainable practices in Africa, long before any of these were even buzz words. Anyhow, after we finished a nice hour long breakfast, I figured it was time to…well…work?

So I headed down, she offered herself as an assistant and told me to boss her around, which I felt weird about, so didn’t, but I went about the next 4 hours or so photographing her two rental units, the yurt being one of them, and another room in the main house that overlooks the canyon and the ocean. I was wrapping up and getting ready to go when she told me to head back upstairs and just relax on the deck…I had worked hard enough she said. I couldn’t do it. But again, she insisted, so I sat on the deck, she brought out a salad for lunch, and fed me yet again. We chatted about similar interests, everything from publishing, to photography and ate.

After lunch, it was finally time to leave. The wonderful part was, and it took me all day to accept this, that I wasn’t imposing…she actually wanted to do this. This was who she was. And I left happy to know that that exists. I hadn’t felt that sort of hospitality…perhaps…ever. And here was a complete stranger letting me into her life in such a beautiful way, without expecting anything in return other than mutual respect.

She vowed to be in touch, offered me the yurt whenever I wanted so long no one was renting it, and off I went.

I do not remember the last time a day like this happened, and I am so grateful for meeting her and taking the chance and heading out there and everything the day brought with it. It was incredible and throughout it all, there were so many moments where I would normally have just left or felt uncomfortable, but that moment never happened today. It just came, and then disappeared, and I was grateful throughout the entire process. And it felt good.

Basically, I had a genuinely good day, and that is something I have needed for a much longer time than I’d like to admit.

Anyhow, if you’re ever in the Los Angeles area, and are looking for a place to stay, use Airbnb, search for yurt in Malibu, and make sure the host is Bibi.

You will not regret it.

Guaranteed.

Today…

. …was a good day…

Malibu, California. Wasim Muklashy Photography

April 17, 2013
DP Experience

So I’m kind of hyped. The new episode of one of my favorite photography podcasts was released today, and every week they choose a few photo posts from their Google Plus community and talk about and critique the photos. This week, they chose one of mine, the second time that’s happened, and I couldn’t be happier about which one…it’s the oak tree from the earlier post about Malibu Creek State Park and the borer that’s threatening California’s oaks. Any attention I can bring to that I’m happy about…it would be an incredible tragedy if we lose those iconic oaks.
Anyhow, check out the podcast, it’s called Digital Photo Experience (http://dpexperience.com) and it’s hosted by two extremely well-respected names in the photography industry, Rick Sammon and Juan Pons. If you download it, I highly recommend listening to it all, it’s the April 1 episode, but if you just want to skip to the photo critiques, they start with mine at the 1:02:45 mark.

April 2, 2013
Beware The Borer!

So after all that, they didn’t even remember to have us present our projects…but that didn’t stop me from moving with it. Not because I felt I needed to prove anything but because I truly want to do what I can to help out the park system. Budget woes are apparent all over, but that’s driving the passion of the volunteers, myself included, to make sure people are aware of the parks and these public spaces. They’re frickin’ insanely beautiful and they’ve basically saved my sanity and I know that anyone that shows up will feel the same. It just does that. So I created a Google Plus page for the Malibu Creek State Park Docent program, started posting to it, and plan on getting it going. So if anyone’s reading this and is on Google Plus, add us to your circles. If you’re not on Google Plus, well, you should be…just sayin’. (more…)

March 24, 2013