photography by wasim.

Tag: Personal Journeys

  • Photography Lesson Learned – Don’t Fight It, Just Succumb To It (It’s More Rewarding)!

    Photography Lesson Learned – Don’t Fight It, Just Succumb To It (It’s More Rewarding)!

    Samsung NX300_Wasim Muklashy Photography
    When you feel something, your mind and body are trying to tell you something. Listen. Don’t ignore. Today was just another reminder of that basic instinct that we so often and easily seem to lose touch with in our hyper-‘connected’ day and age. There were a few things going on that were weighing heavy a bit on my mind, and something just kept tugging at me saying, forget everything you’re doing right now and just go. Doesn’t matter where or what, just go. Get out of here.

    Go!

    But I had work to do, and I was on the clock, and so I kept pushing back…”No, no, you can’t just go. What are you thinking?”  (more…)

  • Ken Block Gets Crazy With VectorMount for GoPro In Gymkhana 6

    Ken Block Gets Crazy With VectorMount for GoPro In Gymkhana 6

    Ken_Block_Vectormount_GoPro
    Ken_Block_Vectormount_GoPro

    So I don’t know if you guys remember the company I was doing video and photo work for until early this year, VectorMount for GoPro (there’s one of my pics above that you might recognize), but all that time and effort has begun to finally pay off in immeasurable dividends, especially throughout the racing community, most evident in the Hoonigan production of Ken Block’s latest iteration of the Gymkhana series…number 6, the Ultimate Gymkhana Grid Course. If you haven’t seen this followup to the now legendary Gymkhana Five, in which he drifted through the streets of San Francisco, DO IT! In this one, Block basically drifts his souped-up Ford Fiesta through a video game obstacle course, replete with wrecking ball cranes, police-laden Segways, Lamborghinis, and shipping containers. Yeah, he’s a bit off his rocker, but that’s precisely why it’s already got 15 MILLION views in less than a month. 

    The flagship VectorMount product, if haven’t checked it out, uses a wind-vane and centrifugal force to automatically turn the camera in the direction the car turns in, so you’re effectively seeing the angle of the view that the driver is seeing, versus a static mount, which, well, gives you a static shot, so you’ll just see whatever is off to the side, rather than the angle the car is heading into. Anyhow, Steve Greenthal, the owner and inventor of the VectorMount has been tweaking and adjusting and modifying and perfecting the bugger in his usual mad-scientist ways over the past 8 months and has managed to make the VectorMount into a prominent part of this Hoonigan production! I suppose I’m just a bit proud that I got to be a part of this thing from it’s infancy and was there at Formula Drift in 2012 where Ken Block and the Hoonigans crew got their first look at it. Seeing it plastered all over his latest madding production just reinforces the long way it’s come since we used them on Go-Karts with Tony Hawk and Kev Jumba less than a year ago.

    Anywho, that’s it for now. Just got off the phone with Steve and saw the videos and figured I’d throw this around! Any of the shots from the roof exterior that remain focused on the course while the roof underneath it swivels left and right…that’s the VectorMount in action!

    Above is Ken Block and Hoonigan’s official Gymkhana release, and below is GoPro’s cut of the same course as well as a few of Steve Greenthal’s pics of Ken Block pimpin’ one of the VectorMounts used during the Gymkhana 6 taping.

    Check out more about VectorMount at www.VectorMount.com (they make holiday gift recipients love you more…).

  • Ok Mirrorless, Here I Come! I’m Officially A Samsung Imagelogger!

    Ok Mirrorless, Here I Come! I’m Officially A Samsung Imagelogger!

    Wasim Muklashy Photography_Samsung NX300 Sample Images_SAM_0170_1200

    So I’ve been curious about them for at least a year, and have been hearing more and more about them especially in the last several months, and now I finally get to experiment with the new mirrorless camera systems myself…in a very unexpected way. Samsung reached out to me to see if I was interested in joining their Samsung Imagelogger program. Basically I’d get to be one of 50 lucky buggers who are getting cameras and gear from Samsung over the next half year or so to experiment and play with and report back on and post images from.
    Uhhh…YEAH!!

    Needless to say, I’m pretty hyped on the opportunity to get intimate with the latest mirrorless systems and see what these things can do.

    So as of Wednesday afternoon, I’ve got the first camera they’ve sent out to us in my hands, the NX300, and we just had our training session, so I preemptively apologize if my posts hit a slight overdrive. Since this is the first new camera system I’ll be using in about 2 years, as well as my first foray away from Nikon DSLRs, and, of course, my first adventure into the mirrorless space, it should be interesting to see where and what brain circuits this experience might fry or invigorate.

    Nx300 arrival 1200sfw1

    Anyhow, the header image above is one of the first images taken with this mini-beast, and the camera itself? Well, I must say, the brown leather color scheme is pretty shnazzy! It took me a few minutes to get acquainted with this thing (the biggest adjustment being not using a viewfinder), but once I got the hang of it, I had a blast. Anyway, only got to use it for a few hours between gigs today, but there will be much more to come soon.

    If you want to follow along to all the images taken by myself and the other Imageloggers (trust me, you’ll want to follow along…The Candid Frames‘ Ibarionex Perello, The Giving Lens‘ Colby Brown, renown pro photographer Valerie Jardin, and the most unique father blogger you might ever run across, 8BitDad‘s Zach Rosenberg, are amongst the shutterbugs that’ll be contributing), check out www.DitchTheDSLR.com, where they’ve set up a crazy interactive map of the country as a home for the photos taken by the Imageloggers. It’s fresh now, but it’s gonna start filling up with eye-candy in a hurry!

    Below are a selection from the first batch of images that came out of the NX300 in my hands.

    Ok…let’s do this thing!

    Samsung NX300 Sample1B

    Samsung NX300 Sample2

    Samsung NX300 Sample Images

    Samsung NX300 Sample Images

    Samsung NX300 Sample Images

    Samsung NX300 Sample Images

    Samsung NX300 Sample Images

    Samsung NX300 Sample Images

    Samsung NX300 Sample Images

    Samsung NX300 Sample Images

  • Nelson Mandela. A Eulogy.

    Nelson Mandela. A Eulogy.

    Nelsonmandelasbday2013julyAt first it was just news – a ticker under some inconsequential sporting event on the TV above the bar as I sat with a friend, dipping pita bread in hummus and scraping at the final bits of a mound of shawarma sitting between us.
    Then it was just another part of the never ending social media stream…Google Plus, Facebook, Twitter – another one of those mindless swipe up…swipe up…swipe up…

    oh…stop…pretty picture.

    ok…swipe up…swipe up.

    Then, when I got home, when I sat down on my couch, and when I found myself suddenly and uncontrollably weeping, that’s when it became real.

    He was gone.

    Nelson Mandela was gone. (more…)

  • New Photo App, OKDOTHIS, Feeds Creative Block To The Fishes!

    New Photo App, OKDOTHIS, Feeds Creative Block To The Fishes!

    OKDOTHIS_App_Screenshot_Wasim_MuklashyIt happens more often than I like to admit – I want to make images, but either I’m not feeling inspired, or there’s always the lame default ‘I don’t have my camera’ excuse. But more and more lately, that hasn’t been the case as I, along with the rest of the world, always have a camera with me. In my case, it’s an iPhone, and I’ve found myself using it more and more, perhaps not for paid gigs and official shoots, but for, brace for it…FUN! So there goes that excuse. But I was still left with the ‘I’m not feeling inspired’ nonsense.
    Enter OKDOTHIS.

    It’s an app.

    It’s barely been out for a week.

    But I’ll tell you this right now – this thing is gonna be big. (more…)

  • I’m Feeling It And I Had To Spread It Around…(No, Not The Flu!)

    I’m Feeling It And I Had To Spread It Around…(No, Not The Flu!)

    Fall_Autumn_Trees_Colors_Mulholland_Highway_Malibu
    I just wanted to drop a quick post before this long holiday weekend to thank each and every one of you for helping to enrich the past year beyond belief. The friendships and relationships I’ve made here and beyond have sat at the core of my motivation and inspiration to keep doing what this each and every single day. With each shutter click and word typed, I am filled with absolute gratitude that I have a chance to do this and such wonderful beautiful people to share it all with. In a particularly rough last few years, when I needed it absolute most, your work and words and actions have inspired me incredibly and add an element to life that I can only hope everyone can experience to at least some degree.

    It’s the essence of what keeps me going.

    It’s the essence of what keeps humanity going…

    each other.

    So thanks again for everything. Your encouragement and support are SO insanely appreciated and I can only hope I’ve been able to offer back even a sliver of that. I cannot wait to see what the next year holds for us all. Now get off the computer/tablet/phone/glass/smoke-signals and go be with the ones who make it all worthwhile. And make sure to let them know as much!! Happy Thanksgiving to those that celebrate it! And to those around the world that don’t, ignore this post…JUST KIDDING! No joke. Thank you all! To the utmost degree!

    Much love,

    Wasim.

  • My Stuff On Stuff For Your Stuff (Again)…I Just Saved You From Shopping Psychotica! (Free Shipping Until Cyber Monday!)

    My Stuff On Stuff For Your Stuff (Again)…I Just Saved You From Shopping Psychotica! (Free Shipping Until Cyber Monday!)

    Bryce_Canyon_National_Park_Spires_Hoodoo_Sky_iPadZion_National_Park_Utah_MugYosemite_Snow_Fog_California_iPhone_Case
    Yup, I know I posted this last week, but wanted to make sure to remind you to order early so that you receive the products in time for the holidays.

    So the holidays are here and shopping is poo! So let me take care of that for you! Screw the malls, the parking space road rage rush, running around like a madman or woman with minutes to go before closing time only to grab the last box of cologne that’s just going to sit under the sink until next year anyway. Instead, order my stuff!! Stuff that they’ll actually use every single day and won’t break the bank. Mugs, laptop skins, iPad cases, iPhone cases, framed prints, canvas prints, throw pillows (yes…throw pillows!). Even the cards!! I got you! And you don’t even have to leave your couch to do it.

    Just go to my ‘BUY’ page and it’ll break down what’s available at each of the following outlets: Society6 (where there’s free shipping on selected products until Cyber Monday), Fine Art America, and 500px. And if you have ANY questions, or have a special request for an image on a product, please feel free to contact me!

    Here’s just a few examples, many many more on those links! Happy Couch Shopping (hopefully)!!My Stuff On Stuff For Your Stuff (Again)…I Just Saved You From Shopping Psychotica! (Free Shipping Until Cyber Monday!) (more…)

  • The Giving Lens’ Colby Brown Goes To The Philippines – Shows Why He’s The Real Deal

    The Giving Lens’ Colby Brown Goes To The Philippines – Shows Why He’s The Real Deal

    Colby_Brown_Philippines_The_Giving_Lens
    Figured in light of Colby Brown’s impromptu brave decision to head down to the Philippines to help with the aftermath of this month’s insanely devastating typhoon, this was a good time to re-share this. It’s an article I wrote about his philanthropic photographic organization, The Giving Lens. It originally appeared on Kotori Magazine, but his dedication to using his craft and his heart to lead his humanitarian-heavy path is freshly demonstrated with his recent move, so it seemed a good time to rehash it for those that may have missed it.  (more…)

  • My Photography Just Got Physical!

    My Photography Just Got Physical!

    Rocky_Mountain_National_Park_Colorado_Wasim_Muklashy_Photography
    Rocky_Mountain_National_Park_Colorado_Wasim_Muklashy_Photography

    So this week gave me reason for a good bit of excitement and had to share it somewhere, so figured my own site is a darned good place to do it. Last week I posted about some of my images on various products that I’ve made available to cure your holiday shopping woes. As a result of that, and the wonderful connections and relationships that I’ve been blessed to make and build over the years, especially through Google Plus, I’ve sold my very first ever physical art print.

    The wonderful Shonie from the town of Musselburgh in the Scottish countryside will soon have a piece of Rocky Mountain National Park hanging in her vicinity as she was incredibly kind enough to order a metal print of my image “Just In Time” through my FineArtAmerica store, along with a pack of cards adorned with the image “The Second Pool.”

    Shonie, just wanted to give you a public and emphatic ‘THANK YOU!’ for your kindness and your continued support…that means so much, you have no idea! I’m flattered and humbled at the same time. Thank you thank you THANK you!

  • A Photographer Just Cured All Your Holiday Shopping Anxiety (You Can Thank Me Later)!

    A Photographer Just Cured All Your Holiday Shopping Anxiety (You Can Thank Me Later)!

    Zion_National_Park_Utah_Wasim_Muklashy_Photography Yosemite_National_Park_California_iPad_Case_Wasim_Muklashy_Photography Bay_Bridge_San_Francisco_Wasim_Muklashy_Photography
    So the holidays are coming and shopping sucks! So here I come to save the day! Throw pillow covers, mugs, laptop skins, iPad cases, iPhone cases, framed prints, canvas prints. Even the cards!! I’m all over it! So screw the lines, screw the big-box stores, screw the merry madness, and support the little guy…me…all without leaving your couch. I’ve chosen several of my images that seem to have gotten the best response over the past year and put them on various items using some really cool services like Fine Art America, 500px, and Crated. Just go to my ‘BUY’ page and it’ll break down what’s available at each outlet. And if you have ANY questions, or if there are any of my other images that you’d like to see on certain products, please do not hesitate to contact me! Here’s just a few examples, many many more on those links! Happy Couch Shopping (hopefully)!! (more…)