Photo of the Day – Star of Unity

Photo by Shabbir

Special thanks to Sukaina, Erteza and Hamza for their beautiful shadow art.

10,000 words…

No, it’s not the length of this blog post, so don’t turn away ;). Let me ask you: What is worth ten thousand words and sideswipes the thousand words conveyed through a photograph? A moving picture or what is plainly known to us all as a video is the right answer. With life moving at a pace that is akin to a marathon runner, it’s a delight to have a DSLR like the Nikon D300s which processes and captures pics at the speed of life.

For someone who loves to shoot street scenes, the fleeting moments of amusement, excitement and zaniness that are to be found on the streets of San Francisco satisfies the photographer in me. But that satisfaction has grown twofold ever since the Nikon D300s arrived at our doorstep; the HD video recording feature adds the flexibility of capturing moments in fluid motion or churning out a sequence of images that are saved to the memory card faster than you can say “Life in shutter clicks!”  In spite of having HD video recording functionality, the D300s is not the best in the market for this purpose, though it’s excellent and on the mark when it comes to making images.

Here’s a video from an outing to Fisherman’s Wharf, a popular San Francisco attraction. The video was color corrected in Sony Vegas. I’m working on a video project with footage shot on the D300s and the focus is on San Francisco city. Until that video project comes to fruition, enjoy this little clip… Shabbir

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A Dime a Dozen

Bay Bridge at night

San Francisco… a beautiful city, with lovely weather (except for now!), but a sore in the neck when it comes to finding photography related work.

We’ve all heard of the idiom ‘a dime a dozen’, but for the first time I have realized how it feels to be that dime a dozen… times a thousand! There are so many photographers in the San Francisco area; the established ones and those starting out. A post by someone seeking a photographer on craiglist.org goes away as quickly as it makes an appearance. This had me annoyed to the point that I started checking the site at three in the morning just to jump on any opportunity that pops up. We were lucky occasionally and very unlucky almost all of the time.

I remember what my teachers at UC Berkeley and my photography guru Kohi Marri used to say: “You have to offer your client something unique, something that nobody can offer”. I do believe that your work should set you apart from everyone else, but I now know for sure that it takes a while to reach a greater level of achievement and that only happens with trial and error. You can be technically sound when capturing an image but you are never sure if it’s
captivating or interesting for the client.

For my husband and I starting out in a new place is a lesson of survival in a jungleland filled with professional and primitive photographers. It goes without saying that we will get through this phase of being just a speck on an elephant’s back. As for now, we are offering a New Year Engagement Photography Package for $300 (it’s actually a $500 package but as they say, ’tis the season to be jolly fa-la-la-la-la…)

And for those of you who do not know what I’m going on about, let me welcome you to Shabbir & Salma Photography; a husband and wife duo pulling no stops in becoming recognized photographers in the SF Bay Area and to boldly go where no husband and wife photographers have gone before. – Salma

A bit of marketing :) ….. view our portfolio here: http://tiny.cc/2iVyC

You know we love comments so leave one :) :D :P

Photo of the Day – Rock it!!!

Photo by Umme Salma Hamdani

Photo Shoot of a local band The Paper Sons for Yeah Live! TV.
First ever project of Shabbir & Salma Photography.

View more pictures at: http://tiny.cc/k5BbE

Photo of the Day – Meet Mr. Chaplin

Photographer:  Syed Shabbir Siraj

Hidden Inspiration

Inspiration is a stimulation of mind or emotions or the condition of being stimulated. I am not a street photographer and I can never capture random pictures when traveling. Most of my work, be it professional or personal, is sparked from being inspired for example by the colors of autumn or the story of a film. I find inspiration in the work of my mentors, in things all around me and especially words in the form of prose and poetry.

This photo of mine was inspired from a single word: hidden. I believe that it is how you identify an inspired idea and incorporate it in your work that defines your personality and your personal style. The featured photo is my very first inspiration after venturing into photography. I did not care about the technical details while capturing this scene as at that time I had a point and shoot. What mattered most was to bring my idea to life and the result is here. I feel proud when I say that this was published in an Australian magazine for a fictional story. It became my very first published picture which in turn gave me the confidence in creating better pictures.

The moral of this post is that it should not always come down to the sensor size or the availability of a gazillion mega-pixels in order to make your winning shot; just follow your ideas and you’ll never go wrong. – Salma

View in Large:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/umme/2227401949/

A fresh click

There is always a first time for everything. Take this blog for example, the first time either of us is venturing into creating a photography blog. So what’s this all about? Giving a glimpse of our work, professional and casual documentation of everyday happenings, and sharing it here is what inspired us to bring this blog to life.

Selecting the header pic was a no-brainer; it portrays the emotion we most relate to as human beings and that is love. The photo was taken at Port Credit in Toronto, Canada on a cold and windy October day. More to follow! — S&S