Steps in B&W.

Steps – converted to black & white: made with Nikon D800 & Nikkor AF-s 35mm f1.4G.
A new interpretation from my files of November 2014.

Intricately carved door.

Intricately carved door.
Nikon D800 with Afs 35mm f1.4G.

I have a B&W version of this door made around November 2014 : where does the time go !

Dripping water.

Mineral build-up from constantly dripping water.

Nikon D800 with Nikkor Af-s 35mm 1.4G

Decorative windows & lights.

Wall inlay décor.

Wall inlay décor.
This panel is made from a number of individual tiles with an incredible consistency of both pattern & colour.

New leaves.

Arches & shadows.

Arches & Shadows.

Store room.

D800 – AF-s 35mm f1.4 G Nikkor.
Store room.

P.s This is part of my New Year resolution – going back through my files for colour images that I made at the same time as the black & white ones.

Architectural Detail.

Nikon F4 with the AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.4G.

My Nikon F4 with the AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.4G.
Made with the D800 and 55mm f2.8 micro Ai-s Nikkor, so opposite ends of the same reasoning.

Out of curiosity I wanted to see how well (if at all) my F4 worked with the 35mm Af-s f1.4G: I can confirm that the F4 lives up to its reputation of being able to take any lens Nikon has ever made.
The lens performs very well with one caveat; no f stop ring meant the only modes I can use are: Program high, program & shutter priority. So the down side was hyper-focal focusing was not an option (overcome by focusing about a 1/3 of the way in to the image) happy days. In shutter priority I could select for aperture by turning the speed control knob and as I quite often use the camera in manual it was not a problem.
The AF focusing was decisive and fast so no worries there, in actual fact it probably means that batteries will last a lot longer. Although in all the years I have had the camera, I have never needed to replace the AA or rechargeable type in the field.
This means that I might just talk myself into buying the AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G. The 50mm f1.8 AF that I am using at the moment, has become very imprecise when focusing (age and a lot of use!) also I have the 55mm Micro Ai-s for the manual cameras.
As a matter of interest; why the f1.8 & not the f1.4 – the answer is exactly the same as with the previous 50mm AF lens; price and diminishing returns….. Looking at both lenses, the f1.8 is sharper over most of the range I use and at less cost, so at the price I could afford to do exactly what I am now considering; if I wear it out – get a new one.

If anyone is interested in the two books the camera is sitting on; they are from the Folio Society, see below from their site.

The Icelandic Sagas book image from Folio Society. The Icelandic Sagas
Magnus Magnusson (ed.)
Illustrated by Simon Noyes
Punctuated by a series of eerie illustrations by Simon Noyes, these great Nordic stories of mythology & exploration are chosen and prefaced by Magnus Magnusson.

Gardens – SQGM.

A walk around the gardens before most visitors arrive – but there is at least one person visible in an image 🙂

Main room SQGM.

As you can see from this image, there are numerous smaller versions of the central chandelier – about half the size of the main one; gives some scale I hope.

Cloister No3 – SQGM.

Cloister No3 SQGM.

Chandelier – SQGM .

Chandelier in the main room – everyone seems to mention the very large hand-made carpet, but I think this view is the pièce de résistance on entering.

I am sorry if this is a little off in quality – needed 1600 iso and -1ev not to mention f5.6: hand-held. I wanted the detail in the chandelier but also preserve some in the ceiling.
All a bit beyond my capabilities – wanted to show how incredible the workmanship was; almost Elizabethan in its style.

A cloister with arches SQGM.

Cloister with arches.

The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque No2.

One of many entrances.

The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque.

One of many covered walkways.

In 1992 HM Sultan Qaboos declared that his country should have a Grand Mosque. Building work started in 1995 and it took six years & four months to complete.

As there are National Day holidays over this weekend here in Oman, I decided that rather than joining the crowds escaping the capital, I would visit some of the local attractions.
The Grand Mosque is just down the road from where I live and as I had not been there for a number of years, I thought it was about time I went back.
An architectural delight, that avoids the ostentatious façade of wealth and splendour which a lot of modern building can have. It does have an awe-inspiring visual impact, but in a dignified way; in keeping with many of the great places of religious worship around the world.
I got there before it opened to the public (anyone can visit on any day apart from Friday) so for a couple of hours, was able to walk the grounds with only the gardeners & cleaning staff present. At 08:00 sharp – opening time, I entered the main building which was before most people would be arriving – perfect for making photographs.
A very enjoyable walk around with my camera, no restrictions on using cameras as long as one remembers and respects that the building is a place of worship.
A tranquil and carefree morning out, with a lot of images that I will work on over the coming days.

Abandoned fortified ruins.

Perfect place for camp site.

Just the place for an end of day camp site – a couple of Guinness, dried fruit with cheese & biscuits: Watch the sun say goodbye, perfect.

Wadi Tayeen – Devil’s Gap B&W.

On the road to Devil’s Gap – having crossed two water obstacles that stretched across my path and unknown to me at this time, three more. It became safer giving up the comfort of my Landrover and getting wet feet !
With terrain response engaged, the LR2 happily takes most things in its stride BUT……. there is a point when caution is the better part of valour 🙂