#TravelTuesday :: 14 things I did in Dubai
It truly has been long since I wrote a blog post. Life has caught up with me y'all. Like a week passes then another then another and it's December. What is going on? I have been shooting and travelling a lot though so I have quite a number of blogs that i'm preparing to out out as soon as possible. So expect a lot, or don't. Expectation can create let downs. Keep calling me out on twitter though so I blog more often.
Last I was in Dubai, I had one of my most memorable times there. I realised the big difference is who you're with. Last time I hang out mostly with my friends who are based/have grown up in Dubai. This was a world of a difference. People, not buildings make a place. I knew this but I realised it first hand this time. For once I made no personal plans. I joined whatever plans my friends made and shot around where I was living, The Marina.
Here are a few things I did. In no particular order; Long Post Alert.
1. Walked around the Canal while some of the foot bridges were still under construction. I mean, we could still use them but they weren't open yet. I fed my love for architecture here. My friend Herald suggested this for our hangout and first time meetup through Instagram, duh!!! It's how I meet people these days. We also hooked up with Shaima and went exploring. They both have dope Instagrams so check them out under their photos.
2. Had breakfast at the Emirates Towers. After the morning exploration, it was nice to have food It might have been lunch. I had a wrap. Plus there's a beautiful instagram-worthy wooden structure right outside the towers.. Guess what we did?
@i.am.shaima I know, I took many photos of her. I wish I could say this was the last one.
3. Caught the golden sunset from the Dubai Marina. We'd rented an AirBnb at the Marina and on this specific day, my friend Bruce and I were supposed to go catch the sunset somewhere else but the view and light from our balcony was so sweet that we didn't go anywhere. We stayed and shot the sunset from the apartment. This is the beauty of flowing with whatever happened without laying solid plans. I even made a vlog about how I shoot and edit architecture. Watch it below if you're interested in that sort of thing.
https://youtu.be/hqGYkaEjl_Y
Same view at night from the balcony at the Marina.
4. Saw Dubai from the top of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel thanks to Visa and Jumeirah and an invite from Herald. This isn't something I ever imagined would happen. The view from the roof was great and the juice even better. How neat are those umbrellas on the beach in that shot below?
5. Started a day with an Instameet at Wild Wadi. Didn't swim though. What a bummer. Wasn't ready to swim and I can't say why. I am ALWAYS ready to swim but somehow not in Dubai. And Wild Wadi is such a dope place to be let loose to rampage in. Instead I took photos while some people enjoyed themselves.
6. Went to the Burj Al Arab. What opulence! Wow! This hotel is so grand that if I slept there i'd probably stand in the corner so I don't mess anything up. I loved the colors in here and took many photos; of the architecture, portraits of the people we went with, lots of shots.
Did I mention the mode of transportation? No?
@layasmeen is probably one of the first Dubai gramers I met a couple years back. We've hang out severally since then. She is good people.
I met @karenmattar on this day. Thanks, Instagram. She's a yogi with a spine made of rubber.
7. Had a gold mocktail at the 'Gold on 27' in the Burj Al Arab. We were hoping for the helipad on top of the Burj but since we had no choppers to land there, we settled on the 27th floor for mocktails. Started with this gold mocktail which seemed to be on the move in the glass. Am I classy now?
@GibsterG makes dope photos and films. Go see.
@CizenBayan is a Dj & blogger from Turkey. We happened to be in Dubai at the same time thanks to Google.
8. Played with harsh light at the Sharjah Art Foundation. Yasmin took me to see some art at the Sharjah Art Foundation and the place itself ended up being so inspirational. White washed walls with awesome shadows and light play. Obviously, we stayed longer after seeing the art to shoot shadows. @ThaNabster was also in Dubai at the same time so we all met up for this wander about.
@ThaNabster is a DOPE Kenyan photographer. You should definitely check him out.
9. Saw Yayoi Kusama's Dot Obsessions. I first went to Yayoi's exhibition in Stockholm so it was a great pleasure to see her work in Sharjah. If you don't know her, do yourself a favor and google her.
10. Had bomb 'actual' breakfast with Silvia at the Marina. I had the pancakes, she had the full breakfast. The coffee was good too. We were together in Dubai for #DubaiwithGoogle with Silvia so we hang out after it was over.
11. Made even more portraits. For someone who doesn't shoot portraits like me, it's getting harder and harder to explain that I don't actually shoot portraits for money. When I meet people though, I feel like taking their portrait is one way of getting to know them. Beats small talk for me.
@WanderWithStephanie is a travel photographer doing dope work.
@Pixeleville is a height lover so we have that in common. I'm sure her work will blow you away.
12. Went to check out the weird thingy's that poked out of the sand. Geny took me to this place one morning. I think my last morning in Dubai. I kept wondering what these could be. I'm sure the explanation is a lot simpler than it seems.
Somehow @genyvb never really appears in front of the camera. She has to be far or facing away or something. At least all the times we've shot together. She was part of the #ShotoniPhone6s campaign btw. Dope person, cool photographer too.
13. Listened with weak knees to this Audi roar. Last thing I did in Dubai was shoot this cool car that @Pixelville had for a few days to photograph for Audi Dubai. I grabbed a few shots, said goodbye to the gang and she dropped me off at the airport. Didn't I tell you Dubai people are the coolest.
14. Flew Back Home. Window seat is almost always a must. Technically not something I did entirely in Dubai but....How else to catch the views?
And that's all I did in Dubai. Long post. I know. Making up for lost time. I hope you enjoyed it. What things have you done in Dubai (If you've been)? If not, what looked like most fun among these things?
Have a great week and God bless ya'll.