Dusty Wyndow Blog

Never thought I'd admit this, but here we go, this is officially the most emotional bday I ever had. I was surprised in the most amazing ways, I was shocked in the loveliest manners, I was moved like never before. From my coworkers' little surprise(s) to Rayyan's messages, I felt like the world was paying me back. A collage of the pics I spent my morning taking :) I love them all, for everything they did. For the rush of Suha printing the poster that last minute after asking me about a photography quote I liked best. For the remembrance and possibly the overwhelming thoughts of what to do that Rayyan went through till she finally sent me those memorable messages and eventually making me weep. For the effort some put into reading my last year's post and more importantly putting more effort into doing any sort of action. I love them all for the initiative they took, for the steps they did, wandering from colleague to another gathering money and thinking of what sor...

It wouldn't take me much to think of how splendid the idea of asking the management of Al Baba sweets for a photo session a while back ( Passion for Food blog post) at their Beirut Branch, it turned out to be even more amazing ever since I got another chance of being there at their Zouq branch to hold a photosession in their coffee shop. Technically speaking, two cameras were used. My own Sony for its powerful artistic features, and a 450D Canon with a standard 18-55mm lens for closeups, great image quality and a powerful manipulation of the depth of field. F/8, ISO100, 1" Ambient lighting was the hardest hurdle at the moment, different light sources were there, with, obviously, different temperatures and tones, thus leaving me with no solution but to be my own light manipulator, of course with the help of the great staff. Here's a shoutout for Mrs. Amani by the way who was the first person to ever see this collection and gave me the push to share it here. Occasional...

This post is to talk about Lebanese humans, nothing more, nothing less. And for your information, Humanity STILL exists in my country, whether you've seen it or not, whether you agree or you don't. A few minutes after 2:30PM yesterday Friday OCT 19th 2012, a huge explosion shook the building I work at and of course, the whole area, to the point that I thought glass was going to break all over. It was easy to see from my window people in the street looking towards one direction, that is of the nearby Ashrafiyyeh. My colleague thought it was the nearby gas station that exploded, but going to the building's roof, it was more than clear. Sassine was on fire. I had so many friends over there, Reine worked in the Hotel Dieu Hospital, Maryam lives there, Navia and Riwa also live/work there, Chris also, and they were all one minute away from the explosion. Lines were down, both fixed and mobile, congestion prevented anyone from calling any person that was there. I mana...

I think you'd love to hear what happened before the free hugs, much more than the flashmob itself. Taken by Talha It was Saturday, the day that the factory works only half a day, and thus we finished work at 2:00 PM, went back to the hotel and headed directly to a nearby mall for a quick meal. Meanwhile, I had had sent a msg to my Turkish friend Talha to see whether he has some free time for the afternoon or no. It was a confirmation indeed. Fast forward to 5:30PM, I met him outside the hotel and he automatically notices my camera, asking me about my photography chances in Eskisehir, I replied with "none so far". He was kind enough to withstand my blabbing, my on-going sudden stops in the middle of the crowd only to get a photo I needed to take. Honestly, if it weren't to Talha's tour yesterday, I might've left Eskisehir without visiting anything but the hotel and its surrounding. The town's history is one more marvelous thing added to my experienc...

Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without. (Read more about the  30-day Challenge ) Enough Said...

This is NOT for the people having any sort of a mind. Please take off your shoes, the shoes of your soul, and come along, you'll be seeing miracles. (more below)

Ever been in a bus/train/taxi and noticed a spot where you imagined yourself standing with your tripod shooting the photograph of the year? Exactly what drove me to a pretty far location away from where I lived, only to capture what I thought was the photo of the year. At some point while going there I said to myself "Hold on, I'm REALLY far now and I can't guarantee I'll manage my way back at midnight". So it was either to lead myself to that spot whatever might happen later, or I go back home. Just as my closest friend taught me, I found myself there at last, in the depths of the highway night, nothing to be seen, no fresh air to enjoy, nothing but the sizzling sounds of cars driving by on the highway at top speed. At some particular recent time in the past I used to disgrace my camera, hated its guts for its LOW performance in one of the occasions at the time. This got me frustrated pretty bad and got me looking for other alternatives, even though my budget ...

Only you I choose among the entire world. Is it fair of you letting me be unhappy? My heart is a pen in your hand. It is all up to you to write me happy or sad. I see only what you reveal and live as you say. All my feelings have the color you desire to paint. From the beginning to the end, no one but you.

That's the spirit I admit that the air was filled with that stench I only tasted in Germany. It was indeed something made outside Lebanon, people were happy, flowers everywhere, children playing around, mouths being fed, artists in action, and actually no one was pissed, well except for that old hag that kept criticizing the food. I found out today, oh no, not found, but actually went through that sensation where you lose your appetite for your most favorite hobby because of that "thing" that was wrong.

Oh and, did I mention that I woke up today to find that the door was open the whole night? That's nothing compared to the fact that my wallet, keys, phone and also including Credit Cards, ATM Card and all that important non-sense were within the eyesight of any bypasser the whole night. Alas, Meetings with Remarkable Men is yet another extraordinary yellowish movie from the 70s. I was intrigued by people having super powers, well it's only science, actually we can all have super power you idiots. And Georges Ivanovitch Gurdjieff was one of those few.