samamara

@Niki thanks so much for your kind message! It was really nice to meet you as well. Your comment on the radio about the rocket lens I was using made me and my friend laugh 😂. I have already joined this lens lovers group; photography was one of the reasons I wanted to join the off-road club (as well as to meet new friends and learn to enjoy the desert in a safe way). 

Like others in this thread, I started photography back in film days but got away from it shortly after life got in the way. I came back to photography about 7 years ago and it's become my number one passion. I enjoy shooting just about anything, though my preferences are wildlife (including insects and birds (Indian rollers are my favourite)) and astro 😍🤩. 

I am a Canon gal and use two cameras. My primary, ride-or-die partner is a 5DM4, and I also have an 80D that I use now and again. I use a number of different lenses depending on what I'm shooting, but my go-to ones are usually a Tokina 11-16mm for astro (which is not for a full frame camera but still works great at 14mm), a Canon 100mm macro, a Canon L-series 24-105mm workhorse and the rocket you saw yesterday 😂 a Sigma 150-600mm Sports. I also have a DJI Mavic Mini that I want to use more. I've only made one video with it so far - mostly because I haven't had much time to shoot and edit. 

It's so great to meet everyone and see so many happy photographers! I hope I'll get to meet more of you in the coming months. I'm happy to be a part of any drive, particularly any that have photography as a "focus" 😉. 

I'm including here a few of my recent favourite images (not too many, I hope!) and this is the link to the video I made with my drone in December, if you'd like to see it 😊. The images don't look great here because I made a collage and took a screen shot, but you can see them more clearly on Instagram if you want 😂. 

Thanks again @Niki - see you soon!

30 minutes ago, samamara said:

thanks so much for your kind message! It was really nice to meet you as well. Your comment on the radio about the rocket lens I was using made me and my friend laugh 😂. I have already joined this lens lovers group; photography was one of the reasons I wanted to join the off-road club (as well as to meet new friends and learn to enjoy the desert in a safe way). 

Like others in this thread, I started photography back in film days but got away from it shortly after life got in the way. I came back to photography about 7 years ago and it's become my number one passion. I enjoy shooting just about anything, though my preferences are wildlife (including insects and birds (Indian rollers are my favourite)) and astro 😍🤩. 

I am a Canon gal and use two cameras. My primary, ride-or-die partner is a 5DM4, and I also have an 80D that I use now and again. I use a number of different lenses depending on what I'm shooting, but my go-to ones are usually a Tokina 11-16mm for astro (which is not for a full frame camera but still works great at 14mm), a Canon 100mm macro, a Canon L-series 24-105mm workhorse and the rocket you saw yesterday 😂 a Sigma 150-600mm Sports. I also have a DJI Mavic Mini that I want to use more. I've only made one video with it so far - mostly because I haven't had much time to shoot and edit. 

It's so great to meet everyone and see so many happy photographers! I hope I'll get to meet more of you in the coming months. I'm happy to be a part of any drive, particularly any that have photography as a "focus" 😉. 

I'm including here a few of my recent favourite images (not too many, I hope!) and this is the link to the video I made with my drone in December, if you'd like to see it 😊. 

Thanks again @Niki - see you soon!

I'm so sorry 😂 I deleted the images because they were so huge! I will make a smaller collage of them and post that instead. 

1 hour ago, Thomas Varghese said:

@samamara I think you may have dropped the radio somewhere. The speaker inside that radio is very cheap. Unfortunately the repair costs more than the radio - almost double. Better buy another one and salvage the battery from this. I use the radio whose speaker is not working with headphone while I drive as its more clear than the built in speaker

Hope you took @Niki's offer and participated in the drive. 

@thomasvargheseNo, for sure I didn’t drop it. I just got it and this was meant to be my first use of it. Yes @Niki lent me a radio ans I fully enjoyed the drive 🤩 and even maybe got a few nice shots as well 😃. 

2 hours ago, Thomas Varghese said:

I'm not sure but looks like the speaker in your radio has died. I have the same problem in one of my Boafeng radio and it will only produce sound when connected to its earphone. 

Thanks @thomasvargheseI’ll give it a go and see 😃

Just now, Niki said:

@samamara bring the radio charged … I have a spare unit with all the frequencies programmed so if we cannot make it work I am more than happy to loan you it (we can just switch batteries if mine is not carrying enough charge). I will sanitize it before passing your way so we are covid compliant.  
 

see you in the morning.  

@Niki - You are AWESOME! Now I can sleep restfully! See you all in the morning

9 minutes ago, Lakshmi Narasimhan said:

 Don’t worry some one will help you setup in the morning.

Thanks @Lakshmi Narasimhan - I deleted the message because I thought I had it figured out but I'm afraid my radio is not working 😩😩😩! I have gone through everything and the channel changing is fine, all the lights, all the menu options, etc., but there is no sound. I mean none of the beeps are there (even though it's set in the menu to do so). 

I'll paste my message here again in hopes that @Ale Vallecchi or someone can tell me if there's something missing. I really don't want to get turned back to RAK at 6:00 😩🙏🏼.

Original message: Ale Vallecchi or anyone who has or knows about Baofeng UV5R radios, can you help? I did the Absolute Newbie drive a while ago and then was sidelined medically (not Covid, don't worry) so I've only recently got my radio. I'm looking at it now and I've got the channel in but my radio doesn't seem to make any noise. The videos I'm watching has their radios beeping and telling them when they've switched modes and making lots of sounds but mine is making nothing. Is that normal? Does anyone have any insight? Other than the lack of beeps everything seems on (the numbers, the channels, the lights, the flashes, etc.). Please let me know if you know. I am coming into Dubai from RAK in the morning, leaving at 4:00-ish, and I don't want to get turned away at the last minute because my radio isn't working 😩 when it's brand new and never used. TIA!

2 hours ago, Ale Vallecchi said:

Dear Desertnauts.

Here are the last minute's info and recommendations for tomorrow's drive.

First, about the meeting point, it can be reached, as indicated by Google Maps, by driving from Qudra's Last Exit toward the Bab al Shams Resort, and entering the drive's area after circling the third roundabout (you'll see an ambulance stand and a mosque): cross the first opening in the guard-rail, the bike track (watch out for bikers, and for the road works), and drive though the gate until you should see my car waiting for the convoy on top of a very small hill. Please arrive at 6:00 AM sharp (or earlier). As soon as you arrive you can start deflating, and tune into Carnity Channel #3 (446.056).

We will leave as soon as possible, but while the convoy is deflating you'll likely be able to start warming up to the photo hunt theme, by shooting the sunrise, on the left of the sand track, due to happen at 5:45am (hence, perhaps, you'd better reach the meeting point earlier). 

As mentioned in the drive's presentation, we'll be able to take pictures of the most scenic sights, ONLY 1) from inside the car, or 2) just standing next to your car (not in groups), and 3) taking portraits one at the time, while the rest will be waiting their turn, in the same order as the convoy's.

The convoy will line up as follows:

@Foxtrot Oscar (Angela) in SL

@samamara in place #3

@aaron kamall at #4

@Anoop Nair #5

@Sunil Mathew in the #6 spot

@tarek at #7

@Niki will anchor the convoy (Center Forward)

@Lucas Neo in #9 place

@TT_Dubai with jersey #10

@Russ in the #11 spot, and 

@Desert Dweller (Jamy) closing the convoy at Sweep.

Get ready for the drive with a restorative rest, and to enjoy a picturesque drive. See you tomorrow.

1 minute ago, Frederic said:

@samamara for now it is limited to 10 signups due to COVID, and also due to the fact we help out others and want to make sure it's doable to spend time with people who are doing this for the first time. Keep an eye on the topic the coming days as we always have some cancellations and will update the waiting list accordingly.

Thanks @Frederic- I'll keep my eye on things. In case it makes a difference I'm a photographer (very enthusiastic amateur) and have done astro many times (stars, milky way, star trails, etc.). I won't need help but will be more than happy to help others 😊 !

3 hours ago, Ranjan Das said:

Thanks @Frederic. Looking forward to the stary-stary night!

@Frederic - any hope that the size of this drive will be bumped a bit?

16 minutes ago, Ale Vallecchi said:

Hi @Sunil Mathew (formerly known as Aragon). No worries for bringing your family. For wildlife shots I would at least bring a long lens, as I cannot guarantee how close we can get to the animals. 

See you on Friday. Thanks. 

We don't need to get super close to them @Ale Vallecchibut if you could manage to ask a few oryx to stand silhouetted against the sunrise for us, that would be great 😂😂😂!

Thanks @Ale Vallecchi - really looking forward to it! I hope to see some of the owls people have been spying a lot of these days, in addition to the amazing gazelle and oryx 😍. 

@Wrangeld, @Jeepie and @Alexander Alcala - thanks so much for our drive on Friday morning! It was amazing 😍! Thanks for teaching us and keeping us safe, and thanks to everyone else for a great morning. I hope to join again soon!

Thanks @Wrangeld - looking forward to it!

11 hours ago, Wrangeld said:

https://goo.gl/maps/esxXscREBGSn1dZ16

https://goo.gl/maps/esxXscREBGSn1dZ16

Thanks @Wrangeld - see you there 😃

Good morning all 😊! What is the meeting point for Friday morning at 6:00?

Will do @Wrangeld...thanks! 

Ok, I’ll have a look at what they look like when I meet you and I’ll go from there. Do they have flags there too 🤔?

28 minutes ago, Wrangeld said:

Wow - thanks so much for all that information. Amazing @samamara. Really looking forward to meeting you. 

The car sounds perfect. I drive a Pajero as well. It's more or less unmodified. Pajeros have tow kooks as standard. I will explain when we meet the potential pain points in the Pajero long term. 

You have some amazing experience on which we can build so that you can get deeper into the desert and take your photography hobby to a completely different level - or join some of the other avid photography enthusiasts in the club. 

The equipment is perfect for the first drive. What you are missing at the moment is an off road flag and a radio - neither of these is needed for Absolute Newbie, but it needed for any drive after that. 

Please make sure you view the video tutorial before the drive. It will help you understand a lot of what is going to be shown to you on Friday

Thanks @Wrangeld for that feedback! Really looking forward to joining. I was going to bemoan the fact that I didn't have a flag; I will look for one after the first drive, though each place I've checked seems to be out. Also, please advise (assuming I make it through the Absolute Newbie drive 😂😂😂) where to get a radio. Thanks...I can't wait!!

Hi @Wrangeld - thanks for this post 😁. I'm super excited to get started so hopefully my vehicle and I will be able to join. Let me answer you questions here: 

Vehicle: 2011, 5-door Mitsubishi Pajero, automatic transmission, not modified as far as I know but I am not the first owner and wouldn't know what to look for in terms of modification. I've had it for five years, though, so I'd probably have noticed something out of the ordinary. I know there are the normal gears of 2WD, 4WD, 4LLC and 4HLC, centre diff lock. I'm sorry, I don't know the clearance and I've not checked the tow hooks 🤔 ; I'm not really sure what to look for. Perhaps you can help me look when I arrive for the drive or I can send you pics ahead of time if that will help.

Experience: I'm quite comfortable driving in rocky wadi areas and more worn desert roads and do so often. I've driven off road in the desert many times in such tracks, even if they were fairly sandy, using 4WD. I've done this in Al Qudra desert, UAQ desert (near Fulaj al Muallah) and in Rub al Khali. I've not tried to drive up dunes but I have near the bottoms. I've been stuck three times; twice needed help getting out when I knew absolutely nothing, but got myself unstuck this past weekend in Al Qudra, though I'm sure I didn't do it correctly since I still don't know much 😂.. 

What is it I want to be able to do: I'm not sure that I plan on climbing Moreeb any time soon, though perhaps one day! I would for now like to be able to have more confidence driving in deeper desert areas and helping myself and/or others getting recovered. I am an avid hobbyist photographer and enjoy exploring and camping in UAE's natural world and photographing the wildlife, particularly the desert. I'd like to extend my off-road driving skills to enjoy the country even more in this way. Since I got stuck that first time I've done a lot of reading and whatnot about off-roading and I've gotten some equipment to keep in the car including a compressor (attach to battery kind), a tire deflation kit, a recovery strap (not tow rope), soft shackles and hard rubber tracks to lay under stuck tires. I would also like to learn how to use these items safely.  

So there you have it. Let me know if you need any other information from me.