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Evening all! I put together a 1 minute video of the trip yesterday morning! I had a blast and whilst it wasn't fast it was nice and technical and defiantly figured out how to tackle soft sand and quick and steep ups and downs! Great meeting you all and catch you next week! Imran with the white FJ @imranaasghar81 @Tareq Ghosheh @Gaurav@Baskaran P.R @Trekado @William Fernandes @Michael Glavanis @Larry Cadden @Ashok chaturvedi @Ahmad Shaker @Arshad Roojee @Shehzada Umer Naseer @Yousef Alimadadi @Anish SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Trip Report: Thanks to everyone for being on time, we were able finish the briefing and head out by 7:15. With no fog and beautiful weather we headed out into a bit of technical dunes for about 90 minutes to make sure everyone was wide awake. We did have a few stucks and refusals that were sorted quickly by @Kailas and @Rizwanm2. Once I was sure everyone was awake, we headed into the long range dunes and for an hour practised some nice long ridge rides and criss crossing with a few sideys where everyone did really well. For the last hour, we went towards the bowls and did a few loops at a little higher speed with some more criss crossing and sideys. @Rizwanm2 thank you for being an excellent 2nd lead. You maintained the perfect distance for a 2nd lead giving me enough time to tell you when to reroute. Had not driven with you in a while and can see you have really grown in confidence. Well done. @varunmehndiratta when we started the drive, I noticed you were a bit shy on the gas over the smaller technical dunes. The small technical ones can be deceiving, at first glance you may think that you dont need to much gas to get over it but the minute your wheels touch it, you instantly feel it hold you back resulting in a refusal or stuck. I was happy though to see over the course of the drive, you kept getting better at it. @N@ved, driven with you on 1 newbie and 1 fewbie drive and have been really impressed with the way you handle the TJ. Whether it was a small technical dune or a higher sidey / climb, you were spot on with the amount of gas you gave it and never really saw you struggle. Well done. @VipinShetty, well driven and really happy to see you enjoying the JGC. You managed very well and had absolutely no issues. @topgear, Big improvement from the last time we drove together. I remember on our last drive you were struggling to find that sweet spot with the amount of gas to give it in various situations but you had it under control throughout this drive. Well done and hope the loops didn't make your son feel to sick. @Karthik Krishnakumar, you have a very capable vehicle so dont be shy to step on the gas when required and always stick to the track of the car in front of you. Overall you did quite well and I am sure you will fine tune the rest over the next few drives. @Kailas, Well done buddy. Thank you for the excellent support and keeping the convoy moving safely. Really happy to see you growing and taking on more responsibility with the drives.

Mahmoud Asar @Mahmoud Asar Mohamed Abo ElKomsan @Mohamed Abo ElKomsan Thomas Varghese @Thomas Varghese Shehab Alawadhi @Shehab Alawadhi Mohamed Seidam @Mohamed Seidam Szymon Stankiewicz @Szymon Stankiewicz Arman @Arman Alphin Aloor @Alphin Aloor Aus Alzubaidi @Aus Alzubaidi Harold Roberts @Harold Roberts I just looked at the awesome relive video from @Mohamed Seidam and the great photos from @Thomas Varghese to remind me what an epic drive it was yesterday. From Last Exit to Lisali is no mean feat for IM never mind Fewbie and you guys... well you guys were amazing. There's all sorts of reasons I did not advertise that we would be aiming for Lisali before the drive started. It might have added to the pressure both on you and me, and because, the truth is the routing meant that we were going against the slip face quite a lot more than would normally be the case in a fewbie drive. I was, however, quite sure that this group of drivers could and would make it. And you did not let yourself, or me down. @Mohamed Abo ElKomsan I am truly sorry we had to exit you early, but I knew where we were headed and if you look at the route you will understand why I did not want to take the risk of your overheating car into the next section of the drive. You might find that if the car is overheating now in the winter, it makes sense ot put in an aux fan for the drives? @Janarthan thanks for your support. Having your expertise and knowledge on the drives is a gift. Looking forward to supporting your drives very soon in the future. @Mohamed Seidam I can see how you are applying everything you learned over the months into the whole process of drivign and it's wonderful to see. A final word on technical dunes - in truth, we scratched the surface. Once you can drive technical with fluency the rest of this game becomes even more fun, so I will continue unaplogetically to take my convoys into these areas. If it's big thrills and spills that you want climbing hills and bowls, there will be drives for that as well, but do keep a look out because I am planning a technical fiesta day some time soon. Thanks to all for your amazing drive. I am not singling out anyone today for specific feedback - because very honestly, I was focused on getting the navigation right and leading to where we needed to be. The fact you all made it out says everything you need to know. See you soon in the sand.

Many off-road members have the Camel double cylinder heavy duty compressor which is an amazing compressor in terms of affordability vs performance, but as with many Chinese branded compressors, reliability is a bit of an issue sometimes. Luckily most of the faults are related to wiring and the on/off switch. Occasionally there might be an issue with the circuit board inside which contains the relays but this is less common. If you have a small multimeter with “ohms” setting you can easily measure the continuity and diagnose the fault. First things to check if your compressor stopped working: 1) Wiring. Have a look if the wires are not cut or damaged. 2) Battery clamps: the wires are soldered onto the battery clamps and sometimes become loose: 3) On/off switch. This is the most common failure as sand gets inbetween the contacts and eventually it will stop working: in this above case the switch was faulty and was replaced with another model. You’ll find these switches on Amazon or some shops in Deira. So if you ever start experiencing problems with your compressor, have a look at the above most common root causes before buying a new model.

TRIP REPORT Another fun filled morning with amazing people. Everyone deflated as I reached flags up and raring to follow our lead for the day @Pancho. It feels strange to have not driven with him in a long time and now I am supporting his drive. I must say that he has been really on top of his game and I loved the route he managed today. Also I should compliment him on the convoy numbering for the day as it turned out to be perfect. A big thank you goes ot to @Niki Patel who made photography make a little sense to me capturing my first pic for the day. I have added similar pics, I felt the tip he gave me made a huge difference and hope to take better snaps in future. Our second lead was @Hennie Schoeman and I must say I've driven more times with him. Today he impressed me with an impeccable second lead as he enjoyed @Pancho lead. @Danish Mohammad was next and our jokes about treating us for some breakfast and lunch continued from last week. Very pleased to seeing him able to self recover and enjoying to drive by being one of the first one on top of Faya waiting for the rest to catch up. His enthusiasm is contagious, but still has to refine his drive style in the desert and try to stay on top of the ridge. @Federico Galbieri was giving me the goosebumps everytime his V8 made sweet music as it glided through all the dunes. @Federico De Chirico was not far behind and did some low level flying in his Pajero. Watching him do the things in his Pajero makes you want to buy one. @Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader was our Center Forward today and did amazingly well with his Pajero. Also very cheerful and friendly guy who follows instructions amazingly well. We did have a pop-out which we fixed without much time taken, but makes me think there are still a few lessons to be learned here. He needs to find how momentum in this area behind Faya differs to the rest of the trip and find his throttle and steering control a bit better. I believe it was only his second Fewbie drive and maybe I'm a bit harsh with my judgement. But looking forward to a more polished driving ability from him as his support to us today was amazing. @Joe Biju Joseph with his H3 was looking mean and the way he handled his ride revived my faith in the Hummer as an off-roader. Really amazing drive and showing us what the H3 can do in capable hands. @Niki Patel always boosts my ego by telling me how he feels about watching me drive. But I have to quickly deflate my ego as I do my tires early in the morning. He is improving with every drive. I don't mean improving in the sense that he doesn't get stuck, as 2 weeks in a row and his FJ Cruiser has not allowed him that luxury. But just from last week to this one I have noticed him trying to emulate my drive style. The biggest compliment one person can give to another person is trying to emulate that person. I'm touched and sure he will find the poetry in driving. Maybe @Frederic can teach him about the rhythm of the drive as he is our house DJ and @Niki Patel can be dancing to his tunes. @AlexPol quietly drove the second Wrangler limo around the desert. He managed the whole trip without any trouble. Sure people say Wranglers are meant to do that, but the control i saw from up close was amazing and his skills make it look easier than it is. @Mikhail Lukichev comes with is quiet smile and an awesome camera, starts shooting pics like he is operating a machine gun. Ofcourse as he put it selecting those good shots from the thousands he takes on every trip is a task on its own. But we are lucky to have him on any trip as he absolutely glides through the sands, drives up Faya like he paid Salik on one of the highways and treats us to some awesome pics. What an amazing day with awesome individuals, I still have a smile as I type this out. Thank you to all.

I am using Dobinsons compressor, so far good no complains. I bought, since I used to have a smaller capacity compressor, which was taking more time to inflate.

Nice to know! Unfortunately, flash cannot help in outdoors 😃 By the way, I took some photos during our last drive. I used 700-300mm lens with a crop camera (1.5x). Most of the photos were taken at 200-300mm focal length. So, some of the photos were blurry, mainly @Pancho red Wrangler and @Hennie Schoeman gray Wrangler, while others were ok! Hence, the problem is not the photographer, but Jeeps =))) Seriously, I had some issues with my 3D following autofocus with the Wranglers. Not sure why. Probably, it's just me 😃

I've been in three Carnity drives so far and I've seen so many spots where garbage is left behind, it is really sad. Today, my son and I were in Al Qudra, we came across a spot (24o 47' 50" N / 55o 24' 32" E) where clearly there was a year end's party with lots of trash left behind, my son has been listening in the radio the campaign "Keep the desert clean" and asked if we could clean a bit, which I could not help but agree to. He used his little shovel to pile garbage, I put on gloves and picked up around 4 bags of trash, mostly whatever was on the surface, bottles of liquor, tin cans of all sorts, unused plastic plates, water bottles, etc. There is so much garbage still there, buried in the sand, if anyone can let me know how to send the location to DM then I will be happy to do so. We ensured we wore a mask at all times and sanitized well after picking up and dropping the bags in the trash bin.

I'm in it too

Maaaaateee! That drive was absolute bonkers. Truly enjoyed ever second. I had passengers who haven't been to the desert and that drive exceeded theirs and my expectations by a HUGE margin. Thanks to convoy leader @Pancho for picking a fairly technical and exhaustive route, fun to the max, thanks to @Rahimdad for sweeping the convoy and for providing constant tips and tricks to anybody having issues with the drive. The play area bowls were so much fun and honestly allowed me to learn so much about my H3. As an added note, the pictures taken by @Mikhail Lukichev are truly truly amazing. Cheers for all the hard work put in by everyone to make this drive worthwhile!

@Brette thanks for kind words. Off course there was struggle but just managed to hide it from you 😉 (Just like last benchers do from Teachers). Now you know where I used to sit at school 😆 Thanks again for a fantastic day out and lots of learning. Looking forward to another lovely day in the near future.

First time I see Dobinsons compressors. Build quality looks good but haven’t heard or seen any reviews about them. If your budget is in that range, consider the Mean Mother compressor and Bushranger models as well, and check which warranty you get (1y vs 5y)

Anyone with experience using the dobinsons compressor below? I liked the idea of a small tank built in and as a brand it’s welll respected (albeit for other products). http://offroadmiddleeast.com/product-category/compressors/ Sorry to hijack this thread about repairs ... hopefully still a useful redirection

Very well said, these hoses can be repaired by cutting off the broken part and using a small hose clamp to attach it again. Its always recommended to avoid having that connection piece at angle while using the compresor. It should be relaxed and not bent.

Now it’s over 6 months since I have it from DM and so far no issue except at the linking point where the hoses connect the rubber slightly loose otherwise all is good .

Another very common issue is the hose attachments heating and breaking or cracking up. Especially at the joint where u remove and connect each time. These replacement hoses can be found at D.M for around 40 to 50 AED which have around 9m tube to reach all tires. I am not sure if we can fix these cracked hoses @Frederic ?

WELCOME TO THE DESARTNAUTS TRIBE - Absolute Newbie Al Qudra Drive Report Dear Desert lovers, after completing your first drive you are all now part of the Desertnaut Tribe. Congrats. I hope you all enjoyed your first experience driving on sand with Carnity. You all drove well. You will find, if you decide to further pursue this hobby, that each one will develop her/his own style of driving, some more "aggressive", some more "elegant", so listen to the sensations you felt during yesterday's drive, as they are the prelude to the style of desert driving you will develop. Some of it will also depend on your car, and how you adapt to its strengths and weaknesses, as horse back riders adapts to the character of their mounts, to become one with it. Always remember, though, that a rider can only manage to extract its best from the animal. to lead and cajole the horse to go over an obstacle, but will never go where the horse does not want to go, or she/he will be dismounted. Similarly, you will learn how to get the best performance from your car, on each terrain and condition, and manage to overcome most obstacles (with momentum), but will never be able to take your car where it doesn't want to go (against gravity). Yesterday we did practice building momentum, and using it, to go over dunes (straight cresting/crossing), and to safely drive up and down the face of a dune (side-sloping), while we also experienced the feeling of driving on top of the flatter, wider dunes, in anticipation of eventually developing the skill of ridge-riding, on taller, sharper dunes. We also successfully went through a couple of well managed self-recoveries, from cars momentarily stuck on the side of dunes, practiced an assisted recovery (with the use of shovels) to get a car unstuck from a straight cresting), and finally saw the tow-rope in action, to solve a couple of stucks with a nice tug action. That's the most on can expect from any Absolute Newbie drive, which lasted 4:00 hours, covered a very good 39Kms, at an average moving speed of 19 Km/h. Having said this, I I would like to thank @Serafino for a well executed Second Lead. Congratulations to @Satish Mungse, @Hossam Anwar, @Samuel Hainsworth and @Robert Nammour for driving with great control throughout the morning. Allow me to remind @Ahmed Wagdy, @soumyasaklani and @ankit teotia, who all exploited perfectly the full power of their cars, not to counter-stear at times, as that will be making you loose the momentum which you all had properly built while approaching the last obstacle we faced. I truly would like to thank @Francis Fernandes for his patience in listening to my instructions, even when they were issued in the heat of the moment, with a sterner tone. You managed to get out of a couple of difficult places just using your newly acquired skills, and the power of your car: the ice has been broken, and you will be able to constantly improve from now on. Last, but not least, a big thank you to @Jeepie, for her outstanding support, as well as for always finding the right and reassuring words to lead every refusal and recovery. Thank you again for joining the drive. I look forward to seeing you all in the desert soon.

There is no denying that Jeeps have a tendency to disturb others 😜

Drive report As I was little early to the meeting point I came across @AnishS and @Veedooshee who came all the way from Lisaili. Soon the rest of the convoy arrived and everyone was hungry to enjoy the beautiful dunes. A few days back i was pondering the possibility of trying to get Newbies into the Lisaili dunes, which is normally quite difficult as Lisaili is consisting out of complete super technical areas with little baby dunes and soft sand that sucks you in immediately. I was lucky to find a farm track that leads from the pylon track straight into the long range dunes. This meant we had to drive on the pylon track for a good 20mins but I think it was totally worth it having once discovered those creamy beautiful unspoilt dunes that allowed us to do more sideys than we could possibly imagine. The whole convoy drove amazing, and refusals or stucks were minimal and easily dealt with. As the sun was going down we planned our way to the sabkha but had to cross a farm where the farmer has made his own fence of tyres, bushes, and even tent fabric along the ridge. Result was myself getting crested on that tough fabric and even the magic button wouldn’t be of any help. Kailas to the rescue and soon we exited towards the Love Lake dirt track. After a few hundred meter there was a massive queue with cars on the exit track that came back from love lakes. We had to turn around and go back on the pylon track towards Qudra. @Melenany as my second lead you never set a foot wrong and communicate perfectly towards the vehicles behind you. Amazing work ! @Adhir Saxena brought his little Pajero to the match this time and after some initial lack of momentum, soon he found the rhythm and drove fantastic. Well done ! @frederic demolder who has done his fair share of newbie drives is now in complete control of his discovery sport, with perfect self recovery and beautiful sidesloping. @Humayun Ghias And his Wisconsin buddy brought smiles to the drive and never struggled with the Patrol ! @Veedooshee as the perfect center forward helping out whenever and wherever needed. Smashing job ! @luwaimn little hesitant on the side sloping but very good support and no struggles throughout the drive ! @Gavin Hill That flag could be seen from miles away, but in no way did it slow down your beast. Your momentum for side sloping is perfect now as you glide like a pro. @Chris Meir That Wrangler got some small mods and looks beautiful. As usual no struggles from your side at all ! @rajeshkumar rathod the same applies for you my friend, the Xterra is such a potent car and you deliver every time. Well done ! @Junaid120120 you’re managing so well with the FJ, that needs no mods whatsoever as it’s a super capable off-roader. Good job ! @Mario Cornejo and @Kailas both at the back with two super capable cars, but both driving with amazing skills and attitude ! The fantastic support I had from all of you meant that I could shovel a bit less today and enjoy the scenic views 🤣 By now some of you have done 5 newbie drives and are eligible for a promotion to Fewbie. You can do this entirely online via below link: https://carnity.com/support See you guys soon !

Mira community where I live are doing regular desert cleanups on the weekend. Unfortunately my weekend is filled with Carnity drives, but they collect hundreds of trash bags and work together with DM.

This has to be one of the best drives I’ve done with Carnity 😀 My first intermediate drive was nothing short of sensational!@Emmanuel, a big thank you for everything. I loved the area you took us to, and I loved the pace of the drive. Everyone drove exceptionally well, which lead us to more driving and less recovering 😜 My poor FJ was back to normal in the morning. No lights on, no nothing. I guess she was punishing me yesterday for not taking better care of her 🤣 Al Futtaim came and took her to see if there is anything that got damaged. Hopefully not, but we’ll see... Thank you all for your support and camaraderie; you guys rock! @Islam Soliman thanks for the escort home and for checking up on me brother 😀 I’m excited to do this again, with no mechanical issue of course, very soon!

Yes, this was THE drive with action, good speed and fun !!! I Really enjoyed ! Thank you @Emmanuel for excellent and safe lead and also to our other leads, @Islam Soliman, @Pancho and @Kalahari pushing us through. Great !! See you again on sand !

@Frederic you deserve a sincere word of thank you ! yesterday I remembered this wonderful thread and it worked like magic with my X . I have been in this position ( left front in the air spinning and three wheels in the sand ) before and no matter we tried eventually a tug from the back was inevitable . yesterday I managed getting my self on same situation ( not on purpose , just didn’t navigate it Finley ) . Got it shoveled and then decided to try the trick , engine off , key out , kill switch off , key in ignition , engine start , 4L , and reverse , and the surprise after three to 4 blips and even only wiggling the steering right and left .. came out ... I could feel the difference that the power instead of going to the spinning aired wheel it went to the other three in traction as if I was in a diff lock ( no diff lock in my X ) cheers 👍

Thank you dear Richard @Wrangeld for the quite challenging route you took us yesterday and from the middle as CF I tried my best to keep the ball distributed equally back and forth and to keep the lead @Wrangeld and sweep @Janarthaninformed about the status of the ongoing game. Few times the ball went out ( few refusals and stuck ). Luckily we had awesome attentive players that could kick it in back and toward the right direction.well done all 👍 And for this one I am telling I am in and would be more than happy to be part of the game in any position I am put ( my favorite the last vehicle navigating tight technical baby dunes trying to roll on three wheel not four wheel dive as I just got the secret of it 😄) Great week 🌷🙏🏻🚙

Drive report Yesterday's drive was a pure joy, the kind of joy you can only find in Al Faqaa, these days, as it is one of the very few areas in Dubai and Sharjah where you can expect to find a real desert, literally, without seeing anyone around. Only breathtaking views, amazing long range high dunes, gazels... Pure joy also because I had a very strong convoy, drivers with whom you know from the beginning that you won't need to ask yourself when you do a difficult crossing : Is everyone going to make it? Safely? Yes. Can I increase the pace a bit more? Safely? Yes. Can I consider crossing 5-10 km of continuous slip faces? With no pop out? Yes, no prob. Can I...? Answer is always, or let's say at 95%: yes. Well done everyone, @Ahab Shamaa, @Goutam, @Abu Muhammad, @Jorge Stepniak Felippe, @Mukundan Nair, @Tero Vallas. Of course we couldn't have had such a good drive without the support of @Islam Soliman (fantastic 2nd lead), @Pancho and @Kalahari. This time I introduced a small change in our convoy numbering system. Considering that all intermediates members need to be trained for recoveries, I decided not to put anyone at "Center Forward" position and to make each driver responsible of the car in front of him. The few recoveries we had to do yesterday have been done by regular intermediate drivers under Pancho's and/or Kalahari's supervision. I think that this system works well, but please @Kalahari and @Pancho do share your opinion. Yesterday I also wanted to try a new entry point and explore a specific set of dunes at the beginning. Not a good idea: they were too soft and technical and I got myself crested while trying to crisscross my first ridge... Soon, we left this area behind and reached the first long range dunes where we were able to stretch our legs and follow the rest of the plan, which was to drive along the AD border and exit from the South of Little Sweihan, by the track to Solar Park. The only unfortunate event we had occurred at the end of the drive, when @Ahab Shamaa got an engine light and sudden lack of power in his FJ, but thanks to an incredible team work, we could avoid what I was afraid of: having to tow the vehicle through on several kilometers by night. Cleaning the air filter (strangely covered with sand), disconnecting and reconnecting the battery worked. Engine light was still on but Ahab decided to go with it and drove with no issue till home. Ahab, fingers crossed for your FJ, we all hope it's nothing bad. Please keep us updated. Everyone, thank you. And hope to see you soon.

Thank you @Brette for perfect morning drive. Enjoyed the company of all of you guys, Weather was perfect and terrain was even better.

@Niki Patel no need to dance, just move to the music and get in sync with the rhythm of the drive.

@AlexPol this is the thread we spoke about during the drive and @Mikhail Lukichev kind offer to host a group of us to practice and take similar style Astro shots! Browse through the pages... we are in the company of so many superb photographers!

Thank you for such kind words and recognizing my efforts to improve and learn @Rahimdad. Indeed I was trying my best to mirror your driving style ... composed, controlled and you made it look effortless!... which it definitely wasn’t for me! I tried to copy @Pancho in his manual driving but the textbook late morning attention drop hit me and being distracted (family chasing me to come home) and being a little tired (those cross tracks are draining) I left myself in gear (I thought I was in drive but I wasn’t) and later in the drive had a few refusals as a result ... which made me realize I wasn’t focused and didn’t get to ride to the top of Faya (being in a rush to get home isn’t the right mindset for a beginner like me to do a climb so I opted out)... I cannot wait to get up there soon! @Frederic cannot wait to be on a drive led by you the resident DJ!! Though I must confess I cannot dance and hopeful no one has to experience me trying

Lisaili with Freddie I had a whole day at Lisaili today and I had so much fun, 2 amazing newbie drives yet the route was so different. I am very glad that I could be part of it! Great driving guys... Special mention for @frederic demolder and @Adhir Saxena for some nice self recoveries..for @Melenany for being the perfect second lead... Thank you @Frederic for giving me the opportunity to extend my help and thank you @Kailas for a great sweep, we surely had a great teamwork yesterday👍

Mine is only 2 months old but unfortunately it's loosing power after working for a while and stops working. I don't think it's due to overheating because sometimes it happens immediately after starting and sometimes after 4 or 5 mins of working... was planning to buy a new one as it doesn't come with warranty. Thank you @Frederic for posting on this topic.

@Pancho, @Rahimdad and the whole convoy, thanks a lot for the wonderful drive! It was my first drive from the Fossil Rock to Faya and I found it absolutely stunning! Gorgeous dunes complemented by beautiful rock formations made this a bit technical drive absolutely stunning! @Pancho @Hennie Schoeman @Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader @AlexPol @Federico De Chirico @Federico Galbieri @Joe Biju Joseph @Danish Mohammad @Niki Patel @Rahimdad you can find some photos in the gallery. Just in case you would like to have the high resolution photos without watermark, you can download them following the link: https://yadi.sk/d/A2GNvk9Vn0mW_Q It will be active for a couple of weeks. Thanks!

There are no cons, the ATS is made for off-road and drives very well on road. You’ll notice better traction in the dunes as well and it will allow you to deflate to 10psi which will make your little Pajero float 😉

Really nicely done @imranaasghar81. Love this video much better than your last effort.

Good Evening guys and girls! It's been a while I hope your all well? I finally figured out how to make a "proper" video and here's my first shot I hope you enjoy I know a few of you were curious on the contraption I built attached to the side of my car check out the final result here : @Lee Wilson @Brette @Shehab Alawadhi @Ben84@N@ved @Alphin Aloor @imranaasghar81 @Michael Glavanis @Sreenath Giridharan @Hisham Masaad @ALI ALMOUMAR @syed salman raza @Thomas Varghese @Bala Krishnan @Arman @Santhosh kumar Rajasekaran @Sara EL FANIDI @Paul Zeitoun @ZakWarah

Thanks guys for a wonderful morning in desert. @Brette thanks a lot for taking it through a real good mix of ridge crossing nad slide slopes. It was a perfect setup to help us test and elevate our skills. Support from @Kailas and the fact that I had someone like @Rizwan to follow really helped me get going. Special thanks to @Kailas for all the flag chasing, as advised by @Rizwanm2 i used some WD40 and it's fitting in fine now... @naved thanks for lovely pics and taking it with ease the challanges i added for.you by moving a lot of sand on my way 😄 Small convoy size and collaboration among the team made this technical drive a real fun. Thanks all, looking forward to have the next ride with you all soon.

@Frederic I totally agree to what you said. As a beginner photographer the most difficult part is what is it you want to picturize. Portrait, Landscape or Wild life. Maybe go beyond earthly photographs and turn to astro photography. Each has to have its specialized gear. Initial years of this hobby you just click moments you think have to be captured. I bought a camera just for the heck of it. Once you have the equipment you start to experiment. You will reach a stage where the passion overtakes the equipment. Like my Xterra. I know its a very capable machine to take you to places. Until you are trained by a professional can u? Answer is a simple NO. During my absolute newbie drive I was thinking there was something seriously wrong with my car as it gets stuck at every corner. Then I realized its not the car but the driver who is at fault. The car is only a machine to amplify your abilities. If you have zero abilities the machine is also zero. Same with the camera. All the crazy upgrades the camera manufacturers offer you is simply to make you buy a new product when you didn't even use the older one properly. Actually most cameras capture stunning pictures if you know how to. Same with the car. For real astro photography you have to actually remove the anti aliasing filter which is inbuilt into the camera and probably renders it useless for any other mode of use. Same like modifying your 4 X 4 too much and renders it useless for daily use.

Thanks everyone for the great drive. Thanks @Rizwan Waheed for the tug. Thanks @Brette for the very balanced mixture of technical dunes and play area. My son is generally fine with long loops and technical but does not react well to short side slooping of newbie at Qudra. I was so happy was so happy that I did not struggle like the previous drive. Going down to 10psi made a world of difference.

@Frederic @Kailas @Veedooshee thanks again for all the support in this yet another great drive.. see you in the sand next week

Yes for me this also was indeed one of excitement drive with full of fun and I hope everyone liked it. Thank you @Emmanuel, @Islam Soliman, @Kalahari, @Pancho and everyone else. See you 🔜 on sand.

I am the worst photographer , hence I think it’s time for I phone 12 replacement 😅

Wow, mastering it now @imranaasghar81 . I made quick research about the GoPro and insta, looks GoPro wins. Now research on fittings how to fix on the car....soon will have it in sha Allah. Yesterday joined for the first time fewbie drive and was really good, and require to have a camera to record... Nice week a head for all.

Hey Lee! I use a go pro 360 and I used the standard GoPro software and check this I did all the editing on my mobile phone after hours of staring at the screen!!!! I'll take you through it next time we meet dude!

Fantastic day guys. Thanks @Brette for a awesome drive. Thanks @Kailas for keeping a check on all of us. Thanks to everyone for a safe and fun day. Looking forward to meeting up one of next drives.

@Niki Patel I will totally go with what @Thomas Varghese is stating: it’s all about using what you have and making the best of it, and most of all having fun while learning new techniques and never being afraid of showcasing your photos or asking for help. The 50mm prime lens with fast aperture is indeed THE BEST BUY you can do to start getting fantastic portraits. The IPhone 12 is an amazing piece of technology, and I followed the iPhone photography online classes that taught me a lot of getting the maximum out of it. Is it a replacement for a DSLR? maybe it is, as we always have it ready in our pocket and the software that got incorporated makes it now so easy to take stunning shots. It’s not a replacement for me but a welcome addition to my gear. At one point when you become a daily user you’ll come to understand what your camera lacks to get you to your next level, but until that day comes just enjoy your gear and get the best out of it.