Iman Alimi, PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG

Malaysia 2010

2010-11-20T11:28:00.000-08:00

I have been in Malaysia for 2 months. It was a great moment for me and a very good opportunity for taking a lot of pictures. I was not a tourist in Malaysia; I lived with Malaysian people, I worked there, I took buses, monorail, LRT and rent an apartment there. I did daily shopping, and I had a great experience there.

When you live with people, I think your pictures would be much purer! I mean when I lived with Malaysians, I became one of them.

I went to their holy shrines and temples. I found a lot of friends: Malaysians, Indians, Chinese, and etc.

I saw a lot of animals, birds and reptiles in the pure nature.

The KLCC (The Twin Towers) was also a spectacular scene, It was like a hallucinations for me!

And on the way back in the airplane, I took some shots from my favorite scene: The Sky!

Arad

2010-09-09T08:19:00.000-07:00

These days, I'm packing my stuff to try my chance of moving to another country. Thus, These are my last days of my life in Iran.
I had promised to Elnaz, who is one of my best colleagues in the office, to take some shots of her two-year-old beautiful son; and I kept my word which was of course, one of my best hobbies on earth: Children Photography.

I used my Canon 70-200 f/2.8 lens and we went to a park near their house. He was so kind and of course, very naughty and energetic.

It was a great day for me and I enjoyed a lot taking pictures with the family.

Caspian Region

2010-08-31T08:27:00.000-07:00

Last week, I went to the Caspian region for a small trip and it was a great one indeed, especially for my photography.
When I was wandering around in the yard, I suddenly found a spectacular ray of light within a tree. I looked down the tree and I found this little stylish spider dancing in the light. His web was empty and I was sure that his stomach was the same! but he was happy seeing the camera.

That night, it starts raining. in the morning, I found these little dews everywhere in the yard. While everybody was asleep. I grabbed my camera and took some shots in the yard.

Just A Tube

2010-08-14T09:25:00.001-07:00

Just a useless and a never-be-seen tube wanted to be seen :)
First day of Maryam in Iran :)

Romina

2010-08-14T09:03:00.000-07:00

I have a great friend in the office, whose name is Samira. Samira has a naughty daughter whose name is Romina. She is so sweet and at the same time, she is a real evil! I really mean it! but when she is asleep, she is so sweet and kind. you can see it yourself:

But when she is awake, you have to hide yourself somewhere!

I was joking. She is so nice, sweet and kind. I won't forget: one day, I was taking pictures in the office and she was struggling with me to see the images on the camera's LCD. Suddenly, she came to me and gave me a kiss and hugged me from behind. Then suddenly something softened my heart and not only I let her see the images, but to also I let her took some shots by herself! I love her.

Elahe's Pool

2010-08-14T08:58:00.000-07:00

We recently found a good friend, who has a great coffee shop with a spectacular view in the north of Tehran. The coffee shop is located inside on of Shah's palaces with a fantastic atmosphere. She is a kind girl and we all love her a lot. Her name is Elahe. :)

Little Note on the Mirror

2010-05-28T05:35:00.000-07:00

I always have to remind myself to do exercise!! This note is for grab my sport bag-pack before leaving the house every morning!

Sa`Die

2010-05-06T08:39:00.000-07:00

Saadi, was one of the major Persian poets of the medieval period. He is recognized not only for
the quality of his writing, but also for the depth of his social thoughts.
The Tomb of Saadi is a spectacular structure, but I thought everybody has a picture of the site. So, I decided to shot a different view of the tomb. Here, you can experiment the grandeur of his grave.

Every Body Loves The Sad Man

2010-05-05T11:12:00.000-07:00

There is a garden in Shiraz, called Eram Garden which reminds me of paradise. It's really fantastic. I haven't seen such a beautiful place in Iran. In the garden, I found a lake full of fishes. The interesting subject was that all the fishes gathered around a sad man sitting beside the lake. I thought they gathered to calm down the boy :)

Zandieh Bath

2010-05-05T08:15:00.000-07:00

Persepols

2010-05-02T02:41:00.000-07:00

Persepolis is one of the most beautiful historic sites in the world. A unique place that everybody must observe once in their life.

and, Persepolis in Maryam's writing:

Persepolis

"Takht-e-Jamshid" was the ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire during the Achaemenid dynasty (ca. 550-330 BCE).
Persepolis is situated 70 km northeast of the modern city of Shiraz in the Fars Province of modern Iran. In contemporary Persian, the site is known as Takht-e Jamshid (Throne of Jamshid) and Parseh. The earliest remains of Persepolis date from around 515 BCE. To the ancient Persians, the city was known as Pārsa, which means "The City of Persians." Persepolis is the Greek interpretation of the name Πέρσης πόλις (Persēs polis: "Persian city").

UNESCO declared the citadel of Persepolis a World Heritage Site in 1979.

Old Lock

2010-05-02T02:34:00.000-07:00

I was taking pictures in Shiraz, and I faced with this old lock. I deliberately overexposed some parts of the photo to create a sense of freedom.

Mountains From Top

2010-05-01T11:45:00.000-07:00

As we were flying to Shiraz, I was intrigued by the mountains and the clouds over them. I quickly opened my new backpack and took some shots. The interesting points of the image is that the UV and the polarize filter on my camera, made a fascinating effect with the UV filter of the airplane's window. Here is the shot:

Nasirol Molk Mosque

2010-05-01T11:37:00.000-07:00

One of the most spectacular places of Shiraz was Nasirol Molk Mosque. The pictures will tell everything:

Specially Dedicated Hafiz Tomb!

2010-05-01T11:32:00.001-07:00

I was on a trip to Shiraz for the last three days. I haven't been there before and I can say it was spectacular! The city was wonderful and the trip was awesome. First of all, I have a bunch of pictures for my blog which I'm going to share them with you. Then, I wanted to say that the Hafiz Tomb pictures is dedicated to my friend, Maryam.

Sally's Hand

2010-02-19T10:27:00.000-08:00

Last week, we all went out to celebrate my birthday. In the restaurant, I saw Sally's hand and took a picture, without her permission. I hope she likes it! :) and also you like it either.

The light condition was poor and of course I made some changes in the colors of the image. I used my 18-55mm-f/5.5 lens.

Donut

2010-02-19T09:52:00.000-08:00

This is still the Iman Project. Eating Donuts with Mamrez in this place is one of my hobbies these days.

The donut store is in an habitat complex in Tehran. It called Park Prance. here is a picture from the complex, too.

Both pictures make you feel unbalanced, which is intentional, due to some changes in my life recently.

Desk Light Helps the Photographer!

2010-01-31T09:28:00.000-08:00

My new desk light is helping me to take some new shots, with a new lighting condition inside my room. :) I'm experiencing something new in my room! :P

My New Desk Light

2010-01-31T09:22:00.000-08:00

It was such a ling time since I wanted to by a desk light for my desk. Last week, I found this one accidentally, and bought it without any thinking. Because I simply liked it! :) I liked it that much that I took a shot of it!

This is the light which helps me to read in my bed! For instance, long printed e-mails!! :P
I think she reads with me. Isn't she nosy?!

Start Photography Again

2010-01-31T09:16:00.000-08:00

These days something important happened for my friend and instructor. I hadn't picked up my camera for 3 weeks until Maryam encouraged me to take some shots again. Here are the results.

These shots, and the following which I'm going to share, are still from the Iman's Project collection.

PS: Thanks Marmar jan.

Experience

2010-01-10T11:56:00.000-08:00

These days, I'm experiencing new facts in photography. Mehrane told me to take pictures of my room. She wants me to express me, my habits, my experiences and everything that Iman do inside his room. This post and the previous one was about this subject.

Here are some facts that I recently found out:
1- The Ultimate result is not to take some shots, but is to feel the environment.
2- What is important is what you learn from your experiences.
3- The picture which has nothing to express, is just an image.

Iman Project

2010-01-05T11:54:00.000-08:00

Dear all. I have started a new project, actually, it is my assignments of the class with Mehrane. She got me a clue, and I'm trying to bring something out of it. Here are some shots of something which is in my mind. I'll explain later what is in there!

Technical infos: In the first picture, I manually made it out of focus. I used ISO 1600, due to the lack of light in my room. I hate ISO 1600: you can find grains in the shot. I used 5200K in WB setting, to make a warm atmosphere; It's my room and it has a warm atmosphere, indeed!

in the second shot, I used Photoshop, which is obvious. I don't have light gears in my room, and I wanted to take a shot like this. So, I made it in Photoshop. I don't like post processing myself, but I didn't have a choice to make the image I wanted to take.

have fun

Auntie Shahla

2010-01-05T11:33:00.000-08:00

My auntie Shahla came came to Iran after about three years. She lives in Sweden and I love her a lot. She is so sweet and nice and she is not the older among my aunts, but she is the most mature one!!
And this sweet woman is my grandmother. She is not the best grandmother on earth, but she is the best for me!! :)
She left Tehran last night, and I missed her a lot.

SKY 2009/12/14

2009-12-15T12:04:00.000-08:00

Here is the view of my balcony on work. The view is fantastic and I have the Milad Telecom. Tower view, too. Whereas you know that I became interested in sky, and I started taking pictures of it, I took some new and am going to share them with you:

0.8 sec - f/9

1/6 sec. - f/6.3

You couldn't believe the color range of the sky. All my colleagues where looking to it.

PS: Yesterday, Mehraneh (My photography instructor), said: "Welcome to the world of professional photography!!!" YAYYY!!! She said my works was good, and I'm very happy about it!

Lonely Clothespin

2009-12-11T02:03:00.001-08:00

Today, while I was taking pictures of the beautiful sky of Tehran on my balcony, I saw this little clothespin. He was watching me surprisingly, thinking what kind of creature I am. Suddenly, he noticed that I was looking at him, and for two or three seconds, we stared at each other astonishingly. Rapidly I grabbed my camera and took some shots of him; At first, he was frightened, but after two or three shots, He trusted me and posed himself and stood still for a while. At the end, he blinked at me and smiled :)

The pictures of the sky were great, but the pictures of my new friend were more interesting. So, I shared them first :) I think he is alone, too.

Pania's Birthday

2009-11-30T10:50:00.000-08:00

Finally, I passed the TOEFL exam and I feel freeeeee, I mean I feel REALLY freeee!! :) it was like a burden on my shoulder; and I start photography again.
Last Wednesday, I was invited to a birthday party to take pictures of the party:

It was Pania's birthday, a little sweetie girl which I love her a lot. She is so cute and funny and she calls me:"doost joon!" which means something like dear friend! She is the girl, and of course he is her boyfriend!

And these are her cute friends:
And finally, the shots that I love most:

I really love kids, specially little girls. They are really innocent and you can find their feeling through their eyes. They wear what ever YOU like, they wear every necklace you prefer, and they do what ever you order. They are really obedient.

Well, you may understand from the pictures that the light condition was a nightmare. So, I chose ISO 1600, and that's what I hate most. It really ruins the pictures. I tool my favorite lens, 70-200 f/2.8, and all the shots has taken with this lens on f/2.8 due to the light condition. I set Av setting on my camera, so that the camera set the shutter speed. I hope you like them.

Sky again!

2009-11-22T10:59:00.000-08:00

I don't know why I am fascinated by the sky recently. Maybe that's why I am making a collection of sky pictures. Today, I saw a big cloud above the building of Tehran Traffic Control. I took this image, as fast as I could and shared it with you as rapidly as I could!

The company that I work for is moving to a new place. Today, I was intrigued by the view of the window of my room in the new building. The view of the sky from my room is fabulous. Tomorrow, I intend to take my camera and take some shots from the balcony. I'll share them with you, too.

Rainy Night

2009-11-22T10:48:00.000-08:00

Two Days ago, Tehran faced with a magnificent rain. The rain was one of those autumn rains which smell up the scent of dust. Ones who raised up inside Iran can smell what I say. I really love the rainy days of Tehran, and I never loose walking in or smelling the odor.

Here are some shots of that day. I hope you smell the dust too :)

Those Days

2009-11-19T05:23:00.000-08:00

I was searching for a picture in my archive, I suddenly faced with this sets of images. I know they are old, but they reminds us some marvelous days. Lets remember those days again.

His place is indeed empty:
Always proud flag of Iran:
We will guard you with our heart forever:

Cell Cam

2009-11-13T11:20:00.000-08:00

Recently, I bought an iPhone. The camera of the phone is not satisfying, but I can say it's acceptable. Despite it's bad quality images, I'm trying take picture with my little iphone, because it's always with me. Well, I decided to share some of them with you :)

This is the first ones:

I'll share more soon :)

The Night Shots

2009-10-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

In the last session with Mehrane, she got me an assignment to take outdoor pictures at night using the existing lights of the street. Tonight, after about 4 weeks, I decided to do my homework. I grabbed my tripod and my 18-55mm lens and took some shots in a small park near our house. to be honest, they didn't hit the target for me! With these shots, I can't afford even a Copper Sticky Star! I just wanted to share them with you.

The last shot took 2 seconds @ f/5.6 and the water and light beneath the pool made a funny color combination.

The Manipulation

2009-10-12T01:12:00.000-07:00

This man is the grandfather of Dorsa (Take a look at her pictures here), whose name is Mr. Nasiri. He is my colleague in ICIC. I took this picture, when I was taking pictures of Dorsa, in Taleghani Park. We call him father Gepetto in work. He indeed is our father in the company. Everyone loves him.

Well, Here is his original Picture, without manipulation in any image processing software:

In fact, I made some changes in colors of the image in Photoshop. here is the "After" image:

I know I made him looks like an old man, But I, myself, prefer the second image. which one do you prefer guys? I think the "After" image represents his character better.

Magnificent Sky

2009-10-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

While I was taking pictures of Dorsa, (look at the previous post) I looked at the sky and I couldn't believe what I was watching! I quickly installed my polarized filter and took some shots. The result was fantastic too!

I don't know. Am I improving or the world is!

Dorsa

2009-10-08T09:03:00.000-07:00

Today was a fantastic day for me. I was to take some shots from the granddaughter of one of my colleagues. I chose 4 o'clock for the photography, due to the sunlight condition. We were supposed to meet each other in a park near their house. I went on time. Everything was fantastic, except the sunlight! It was cloudy today, and worse than that, they came at 4:30! The sun was really going down and it was getting difficult taking pictures in that situation. So, I installed my 70-200 f/2.8 lens on the camera and turned the camera on! Oh, God, I couldn't believe it! The battery was almost empty!! I could only take 50 or more pictures. So, I started taking pictures with a lot of tension.

Fortunately, the child was very sweet and calm. Her name was Dorsa. I took some shots of her to take the necessary portraits that every customer wants. here are some of them:

Well, now I could take some shots that I wanted for myself! Here are some of them:

The sun was really down and there were a little bit of sunlight in the area. So, it was a good moment for taking some silhouette shots :)

Well, Dorsa became tired and started moaning and crying. It can be a nightmare for every photographer, but a good scene for taking pictures:

of course I made some changes to the colors of this image in Photoshop. Because the light condition was poor and the picture was a little bit dark.

It was indeed a fantastic day for me. After about a week, I finally took my camera and took some shots that I, myself, really liked.

They didn't understand anything about the battery pack!

Heaven Photography

2009-10-01T02:29:00.000-07:00

sometimes, you overexpose your shots intentionally. I love this technique, because it make the image look like taken in heaven. when I photograph children, I take an overexposed shod too to inspire that sacred sense to the viewer.

He is Erfan, the only child of my tennis teacher:

Last month, I was in Kelardasht, a region near Caspian Sea, with my friends. I found these two little villager children there and I took some shots rapidly. here is one that I overexposed:

and also she is my mother, who certainly came from heaven:

Lazy photographer

2009-09-29T13:05:00.000-07:00

I haven't taken a shot for about 4 days, despite of I have a lot of assignments for my class with Mehrane. of course I have a lot of work to do, and also I started my Aikido recently after a gap of 1.5 years. but I know, they all are just subterfuge. I have to take my assignments. come on Iman, do something.

I wanted to thank you all for your sweet and encouraging comments. and a special thanks to Maryam jan, who persuaded me to create this blog and announced the world to come and see my shots. :)

Color Paradigm

2009-09-29T12:49:00.000-07:00

As taking pictures of color, the assignment that I mentioned before, I found her color very attractive and vivid. so, I used a green background to make a "rich", "trendy" and "vital" sense to the viewer.

I asked Moji to pose in order to make a curve on her neck to make a vacuum space in the left portion of the image.

thanks moji jan.

Column of sunlight

2009-09-27T13:24:00.000-07:00

About 4 weeks ago, I went to the Great Bazar of Tehran. I found a column ray of sunlight, in a street inside Bazar, and I waited about 15 minutes beneath that light, taking some shots. here are some of them:

Those shots where taken due to the light assignments of my photography class with Mehrane. She liked them.

still color photography

2009-09-26T14:15:00.000-07:00

I'm still on my color photography, the assignment:

it's again with 50mm f/1.8

My first painting

2009-09-26T13:36:00.000-07:00

I have a photography instructor whose name is Mehrane. She is so sweet and kind and helped me a lot on my job. Actually, it is not my job indeed. I am a civil engineer who just simply loves to take pictures. anyway, my assignment for the last session with her was to take pictures of color. she emphasized on making the pictures, instead of just taking them. so, I thought a lot, and finally, I decided to draw my first paining with oil color in my life. I used my mother's colors and made this on the canvas! :) I liked it!

then, I started taking pictures of it. I used my 50mm f/1.8 lens in the natural sun light inside my room. here are those that I liked:

the first experience was not bad! I kind of like it! :)