Night Shots of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque, Abu Dhabi

I planned to dedicate an entire entry to the process of night photography…this is not it.  I want to get this post up quickly because a number of people are interested in seeing these shots of the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque in Abu Dhabi.  So rather than discuss the process of night photography, the requisite equipment, and how to set-up your camera, I will tell a short story about the night I took these shots (just two days ago) and otherwise leave this blog to the photographs.

ON Tuesday of this week, the night began with the intention of going to several locations around Abu Dhabi to take some night shots and to help a good friend of mine, Mohammed Al Hammadi, learn the techniques for night photography.

We chose the mosque as our first shoot of the night.  We set up for the shot on a nearby highway overpass.  The first shot in this post is from that location.  On this night the mosque was lit in blue.  The color of lighting changes on occasion, but I have not yet asked the question whether there is significance to the changing colors.

While shooting from this location on the bridge, a car pulled up behind us and a gentleman approached us then began talking with Mohammed.  The conversation was in Arabic, so I had no idea if this was a matter of curiosity, security, or it was notification that I won the lottery.

After a while, Mohammed informed me that I had not won the lottery, but from the view point of our intention for the evening, it was the next best thing; our visitor was associated with the mosque and invited us to shoot on the mosque grounds from locations not normally accessible.

As we were shooting I feared our new found friend would inform us at any moment he had to go (and therefore we must leave).  This thought motivated me to work quickly and take best advantage of the opportunity.

Over the course of the next hour or so, I set up and shot roughly 100 exposures.  Our host was very gracious, and the invitation to leave never came.  The remainder of the shots represent the best from that night.















I hope you enjoyed these shots.  I promise to return soon with some thoughts on how you can get shots like these and a continued discussion of the appeal for night photography.
Enjoy!
Craig