Photo Blog: Calabar, 11/11/18
Calabar is my mecca!
I am yet to really know this beautiful place but I always have a disposition to escape to her whenever my head gets stuffy and I need some sort of serenity. Thanks to a very close friend who resides in the city and is always a good host, I can embark on this retreat rather often.
I was talking about the therapeutic characteristic of water with another friend just a few days ago. Maybe it's the sound as it scorches against its banks: that unending chaos. Maybe it picks up a kind of smell as it snakes its way through thousands and thousands of bushes. Maybe it's just something beyond human cognition.
Yesterday I took a stroll into the Marina Resort, this time not to relive the relics of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade in the Slave History Museum; but to behold this healing stream from nature.
I happened to go with a camera... I mean that's what people do when they buy a new stuff. Packed in my bag was a variable ND filter (4-11 stop), and I had a tripod too. So I figured it wouldn't hurt to try something I have only known of theoretically: long exposure in the day.
Below are the results. Be kind with the criticism, it's my first time. I admit before hand that I pushed the filter too far towards the extreme stops, thus the ugly vignettes which I don't want to ruin the photo much trying to remove.
ISO 100, 20s, f/16
ISO 100, 30s, f/16
ISO 100, 20s, f/16
ISO 200, 6.5s, f/16
All rights reserved. Original images shot with a Fujifilm X-T20 w/ 23mm F2 lens.
Cheers!
Ubokobong "Misterakpan" Akpan
If you are in Calabar and want to hook up, comment below. I am around a couple more days.
I love your pictures. They reflect the calm the water brings. I live close to the see and yes, the water is calming. I like the third picture very much. It reflects the simplicity and calm of the place. Keep doing a good work with your pictures!
The sound of water scorching against its bank sure is a peaceful, sweet and refreshing type of chaos. Seeing water doing its thing sure is therapeutic and a sight to behold...
I have never been to the Marina museum but it sure doesn't just hold history but great views as well, maybe someday, I will stop by there...
I think your photos are cool, the "ugly vignettes " as you call it, gave it a unique type of effect, in my opinion. I am sure I would have done really badly when given a camera to take photos..😆, so, yeah! You did a great job! Looking forward to seeing more of how you explore this new camera of yours...
Glad to hear those. And happier even that you think so highly of the images. If you ever happen to be around the south of Nigeria, holla at me and we plan some adventures together. I promise to never cease the chatter on how to make the most of any camera. Lol.
Calabar is a beautiful city, isn't it? I will be sure to holla at you whenever I find myself around there. Its gonna be mad fun, I am sure of that. And for the camera chatter, I will be so glad to hear them...😊
Beautiful pictures, even if it is your first work that is greatly done, love that cloudy water and the stones in the water look so mysterious. It is almost like a mystery movie when you wait that every second something will immerse out of it :)
Hi misterakpan,
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I like the vignette effect in these shots. It adds to the moodiness. The long exposure with the water and industrial setting really works. I have no criticism at all :)
Sweet! Made my day 😊
Glad to! You have great talent and an awesome subject, so you cannot go wrong.
Let us put an end to kwaruption on steemit
Congratulations on the trail @misterakpan, well deserved! I love the misty/cloudy looking images.
Thanks you, @dandays! I am glad you appreciate them :)
These are some pretty good photos for the first time trying :) I like the first one a lot. It looks peaceful and somehow natural. I must admit that I was laughing a little bit when I saw the one with the boat. Not because it's not good but because it looks like a ghost pirate ship :)
Thank you for sharing and have a good Sunday!
Hahaha. As soon as that canoe approached I saw that picture in my head, and immediately stopped down to ~ 6 seconds exposure to drag just enough to have the canoe fill a small portion of the frame while maintaining much of its form. I am glad you saw the "ghost" too. Lol. Thanks for stopping by :)
First I want to ask you something. That's where the museum of slavery is? that country is nigeria? or camerun.
on the other hand I like nature, it can be a lake or it can be a waterfall, as you say, is very therapeutic the sound of water. to me in particular I relax and desterza.
I have a longer nocturnal exhibition because I don't have the neutral density filter that is very effective for this type of photography. however I have been able to make some graphs in other cameras of some colleagues.
I must say that you learned well the theory, you have done very well, perhaps what you must take into account for a next time is that the more elements are moving within the frame you make, the more movement effect you get from the photographs.
gracias por compartir estas excelentes
Thank you for sharing these excellent footographies.
Greetings
Hello, friend! I really appreciate the comments. I am not sure there is a slave history museum in Cameroon as they are less transparent with information as a nation. But I know for a fact there is one in Calabar in Nigeria, just a few miles away from the city I mostly reside in. I know because I have paid there a visit on many occasions. This one is iconic because Calabar was a major port of export during the transatlantic trade. I made a post about the place many months ago, here. Sadly much of the information I shared there was in the form of a video which was uploaded on @dtube, and they deleted my footages long ago... because they are shite :-(
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Thanks, team. Appreciated as always :)