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Michael R. Cruz Dubai Photographer Car Photography Workshop Nikon School

Car Photography Workshop at Bahrain and Oman for Nikon School

If any of you are at Bahrain on May 21, 2016 and at Muscat, Oman on May 22,  please free to check out my Car Photography Workshop with Nikon School.  This is going to a FREE workshop!  Absolutely free of cost.. so please drop by and say hi 🙂 I will be sharing: composition tips essential equipment used in car photography camera settings different lighting techniques post processing workflow BAHRAIN: Register here: https://nikonschool-bh.com/workshop/Essentials-on-Car-Photography OMAN: Register here: https://nikonschool-om.com/workshop/Car-Photography-Workshop

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Cars / Workshop 3:06 pm , March 22, 2016 0
X-Pro2 Michael R. Cruz Dubai Photographer

Fujifilm X-Pro2 : Review | Dubai, UAE

In case you are following me in my social media (Facebook/Instagram), you probably know that I attended the Fujifilm X-series 5th Anniversary event in Tokyo, Japan.  I haven’t use the X-Pro2 prior to the event.  I think traveling around Japan with the X-Pro2 would be a good way to test the camera and compared it to my main Fuji X camera, the X-T1. The X-Pro2 is now  Fujifilm’s flagship camera.  Apart from all the advancements over its predecessor, I’m really looking forward […]

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Reviews 10:18 am , February 1, 2016 20
Travel kit Japan Michael R. Cruz Dubai Photographer

My Photography Travel Kit for my Japan Trip

I’m currently in Kyoto, Japan while writing this post, it is raining outside so I decided to chill a little bit in my hotel room.  I recently attended the Fujifilm 5th Anniversary of X-Series cameras, also known as Fujikina, at which Fujifilm announced new products including the X-Pro2, the X70, the XE2s, the 100-400mm and the EF-X500 flash. Since I have nothing else to do, I decided to share my travel gears that I have prepared for this Japan trip. Here […]

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Photography Gears 6:14 am , January 18, 2016 2
Nikon D810 Michael R. Cruz Dubai Photographer

Nikon D810 Review from a Canon & Fujifilm user

The kind folks from Nikon Middle East let me borrow the infamous Nikon D810 with some lenses, namely the 14-24mm f2.8, the 24-70mm f2.8, 85mm f1.4 and the 16mm fisheye lens.  I have been a Canon user since the beginning of my photography journey and in 2011, I became also a Fujifilm user.  As a Canon user, I always wondered how it is to be on the other side of the fence.  There has always been a Nikon-versus-Canon debate and […]

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Reviews 8:00 am , January 7, 2016 7
Dubai Hot air Balloons. Michael R. Cruz is an award-winning, professional Commercial & Advertising photographer based in Dubai, UAE. His expertise is Fashion, Editorial, Corporate, 360 VR, Automotive and Landscape Photography. Dubai Photographer.

Dubai hot air balloons

I took this photo of Dubai with hot air balloons few days ago during the Dubai World Air Games 2015.  I am lucky that my balcony is facing this view.  This was taken from my balcony.  To be honest, I don’t see this kind of view every day, because Dubai can be really hazy.  However there are a few occasions that I see the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Skylines really clear.  I have to zoom at 200mm (x 1.5 […]

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Architecture / Landscape / Photography / UAE 2:03 pm , December 16, 2015 0
Dubai Photographer

Dodge Challenger SRT shoot with Nikon D810

If you are following my blog, you would know that I have been looking for a high megapixel camera that I could use together with my Fujifilm X-T1. In commercial work, there are times in which you are required to give large-resolution images to your client.  That is my main reason for looking for a high-megapixel camera; fortunately, I was lucky enough that the kind folks from Nikon Middle East here in Dubai let me borrow one of their most […]

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Cars / Photography 7:50 pm , December 12, 2015 4
Michael R. Cruz Dubai Photographer. Cloudy Dubai

Cloudy Dubai!

Yesterday was one of the best Dubai skies I’ve seen.  There are massive clouds and surprisingly clear too, not so much haze.  Dubai is not really known for cloudy skies but as we enter the cold season, we are getting our fair shares of clouds. I took this photo from my balcony at around 7:30 to 7:45pm.  From there, I can see the Dubai skylines and Burj Khalifa standing out of that crowd. Gear used: Nikon D810 + 85mm f1.4 […]

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Architecture / Landscape / Photography 10:22 am , December 9, 2015 0
Michael Cruz Dubai Photographer Synology NAS device

Synology Diskstation 1815+ Review | Dubai, UAE.

If you have read my previous blog post about backing up, this is sort of a prequel for the part 2 of that post. I have been searching for a good “long-term” network storage device.  What I need is something reliable, versatile, with a good CPU power, which is expandable.  Then I came across this, the Synology Diskstation. I was thinking of getting the 5-bay storage at first but then, the price difference with the 8-bay was not far off, besides I […]

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Reviews 11:57 am , December 8, 2015 7
Jeep Wrangler Dubai, UAE, Automotive Photographer Michael R. Cruz

My Jeep Wrangler in Dubai, UAE

Feb 16, 2015, I sold my 2013 BMW X5 x35i and got this… A Jeep?!? Let me backtrack, before I purchased the X5, I was driving a 2009 Toyota FJ Cruiser for 4 years.  I loved the FJ Cruiser, its a no-nonsense car that can go anywhere and I loved it; helped a lot with a lot of photography projects and shoots.  Since it doesn’t have a lot of “luxury” features, I guess, you always crave the thing you don’t […]

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Cars / Strobist 9:00 am , November 25, 2015 0
Backup guide dubai photographer michael r. cruz

Backup Guide for Photographers: Part 1 (Basics)

Before I start, this will be a 2 part article.  In this first one, I will discuss some backup concepts that might be useful for photographers or videographers out there.  On part 2, I will discuss my own backup system. Just to share my background; I’ve been in the IT industry for more than 15 years, I was into building and modding computers when I was in college and became a network engineer after finishing my degree in Computer Science and Computer Engineering.  I work for […]

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Photography Gears / Reviews / Workflow 11:29 am , November 17, 2015 4