Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my family, friends, colleagues and clients... you are so very much appreciated! Last but not least to all my blog readers and my followers who made my blog a superb and sucessful one. I love all of you, and wish you the very best of everything... Peace and Goodwill to you.

Greg Skehan - New Eyes Photography

Graig Skehan is a teacher and photographer from Australia who has been living and working in Azerbaijan over the past twelve years. The first time I met Graig about ten years ago at the photo lab where I used to work. However, it happened out that I changed my job and left Baku so somehow the connection with Graig was lost. Recently I saw the announcement on the internet about the photo exhibition in Baku of the Australian photographer and to my great surprise, it was Graig whom I have not seen for ages. So it was really great to see him again on the exhibition opening.

The next day after the opening we met with Graig at the photography club where he was invited to talk about his photographs and share his experience. I took these photos of Graig while he was talking about his works. I liked the different expressions on his face, which clearly indicated that he was truly passionate about photography. He has incredible photos from different parts of the world, so feel free to also visit Graig's New Eyes Photography website that he launched recently.

Here is a slide show with all photos from that day.

Old City Faces

Few days ago I met with photographer Melek Mirzoyeva and we discussed the possibilities of doing a joint project about the people in the "Old City" of Baku. I was mainly inspired by the "Strangers Project" of the British photographer Sachin Khona and wanted to do something like that in Baku. The idea was to shoot portraits of people who live, work or just walk in the Old City. So, this Sunday Melek and I started our project which we named "Old City Faces". Below are some of the portraits we shot on Sunday. Melek also made great portraits, so make sure you also check her Facebook page with photos from this project.

Behind the scenes

Wedding photography prices

Finding the right photographer for your wedding is very important. Most important are those that are capturing your memories; the photographer and the videographer.

Sometimes you may complain that the cost of the wedding photographer is too high. But think of these thinks as well: Wedding photography is an art. The equipment photographers use costs thousands of dollars. Having the right type of cameras and equipment is essential, but having the right eye for photography and video is vital. After your wedding day passes, you are left with only a few things. Your wedding cake will be eaten, the flowers will eventually wilt and the wedding reception will be over when it is time for you and your betrothed to head home and prepare for the honeymoon. After all is said and done, it will be the images of your day that will help you to always remember all of the emotion, laughter, tears and sacredness of that day.

Think of it this way: when you go to eat at McDonald’s, you expect the food to be inexpensive. Conversely, when you go out to a fancy restaurant or steak house you’d realize that the cut of meat is higher quality, the presentation is different, and the experience is heightened.

As a conclusion I want to share an inspirational wedding video from Shade Tree Films based in SoCal. I like these guys and they really rock! Enjoy!

Zaur Gadirov - The Black Eagle

Zaur follows every single match of his favorite team Beshiktash. He knows almost everything about his team statistics, standings, players and history, so he is more a participant than a spectator. Zaur believes that it is necessary to be engaged emotionally in the life of the team in order to impact positively on a team's performance. He is a real "twelfth man" as football fans describe themselves. Besides everything he is also a good football player himself.

Saleh is 4 years old!!! Happy Birthday!!!

We celebrated my son Saleh's birthday yesterday! We started the celebration program from Baku Marlin Dolphinarium. It opened less than a month ago and has already become a favorite spot for both kids and adults. There are a number of shows throughout the day, and visitors can watch dolphins and sea calf in action. A great way to educate, entertain and learn for the young and the old. The show was great!!!

We got back home after the show and birthday celebration dinner began. Kids were playing and sharing their emotions after the dolphinarium while the adults feasted on the meal prepared by my lovely wife. There were variety of salads and appetizers on the table. Of course no any birthday dinner or celebration would be without kebabs in Azerbaijan, including lamb, beef, chicken, and fish (baliq) kebabs.

For dessert we had Tiramisu, one of the the most popular Italian cakes. Since Saleh is crazy for cars we put little car candles on top of the birthday cake. 

Somebody light the candles...


Look, I am 4!!!

Absheron summer cottages (dachas)

Absheron dachas played an important part in the lives of Bakunians for centuries. Those dachas are mainly located in the villages and towns around Baku and along the coastline. Mardakan, Nardaran, Lyaish, Kurdakhani, Pirshagi and others are the oldest villages of the Absheron peninsula the territory of which is composed of the unique, unparalleled Absheron sand and well-known for its flowers, local varieties of figs, grapes, and other gifts of nature. The northern coast has wide though less-than-pristine beaches which are popular local tourist attractions. As beach season begins people prefer moving from the noisy, fuggy and hot Baku to their dachas and cottages. Usually the dacha season lasts till the end of September and with the beginning of autumn most of the people return back to Baku. I am currently working on my personal project about the dachas in Absheron and below images are few of the photos I took for my “Absheron summer cottages” series.

40 days old Ziya

It was such an honor to photograph baby Ziya. He is a newborn baby of my friend Rustam. Last week it was the first chance I meet this cute baby boy when his parents invited me to the small family party. Since I had my camera with me (usually in my car) I decided to make a few shots of Ziya without any preparations and studio lighting setup. Looking forward to shooting Ziya's great portraits in my studio very soon.

My first camera - Smena 8M (Смена)

I got my first camera when I was 10 years old. My uncle gave it to me on my birthday. My joy was endless when I took my first picture using “Svema 65” - 35mm black and white film. My father, who was my first guide on photography, helped me to develop my first film and print the images in our small bathroom. I still keep my camera and old black and white negatives as an important nostalgic piece to remind me of an earlier life.

Smena (Russian: Смена) is a series of low-cost 35 mm film cameras manufactured in the Soviet Union by the LOMO factory from 1953 to 1991. These cameras were designed to be inexpensive and accessible to the public, made of bakelite or black plastic for the later models, and totally manually operated. Even winding of film is separated from shutter coil. All parameters should be set manually and without any helping system. 

The word "Smena" (Смена) is roughly translated into "Young Generation" in English. True to its name, the Smena line of cameras were designed to provide inexpensive, accessible, and excellent photography tools to the hard-working young Soviets of the time. The popularity of this line was so enduring, that Smenas continued to be produced until the late 1980's. The 8M model is the late 70's to early 80's incarnation of the Smena lineage. Its look is classic Russian design. Largely crafted in lightweight plastic, the Smena has a brushed aluminum nameplate and lens housing, striking a somewhat bizarre mixture of materials. It feels toy like in your hands, yet offers surprisingly robust controls and funky, icon-based exposure calculation. Wild looks aside, the Smena shines most brightly through its lens.

Specifications

• Lens: Triplet 43, 40 mm, f/4, 3 elements
• Focal range: 1 m to infinity, scale-focus
• Shutter speeds : B, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250
• Shutter type: 3 blades diaphragm shutter
• Apertures: f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16
• Film type: 35 mm film
• Size: 70 x 100 x 60 mm
• Weight: 289 g