Pakistan - 2013 (published)

 

Another new year, another February and another Pakistan-yatra (trip to Pakistan).

 

Last year in Feb I travelled to my homeland (with family) when it was first visit of Musa. This time around he is Mashallah running and all talkative and has developed a bit of personality as well such as he knows what he wants to do and how he has to do it. It is great to see your little one learn and grow.

 

This time we are going to attend a family wedding there and that is why the excitement levels are pumped up and preparations have been done to match that event too i.e. special shopping, wedding dresses, suits, gifts, and etc etc. Looking forward to a fantastic time. Also another exciting (for me) thing is the car that my brother has bought, our first family car (in Pakistan). Allah ka laakh shukar. So this time I will be driving our own car and that means one less thing to worry i.e. transporting the family and self (not that I have to worry last time even). However only thing to worry is the shortage of fuel but will see.

 

Alright this time as well, as the tradition goes, I have plans to eat the local continental food there and list is not shorter than the list of last time, if not longer. I only have one wish is that I can manage time to tick all or most the items off that list :P I may sound greedy but I don't mind because I am, haha. All my hard work into getting fit by running (6 km in 35mins 3 times a week) and gym sessions at two different gyms) will go down the hose but I care NOT (while on this visit). Though I will have to restart the effort after I return back to Sydney, and that I will as I have to get fit and ready for the City2Surf. Enough time.

 

Only two more nights to sleep before the third one will be in Pakistan inshallah. I am as excited as a squirrel who has just spot a nut on a busy road, hehe.

Xmas & New Year Holiday Season 2012

This time around the Xmas and New Year's holidays season, I got some time and opportunity to exercise my favorite thing i.e. taking photos.

A friend visited us from Victoria and that was the ideal for me to show off my new DSLR and skills :P We went to only a few places like Manly Beach, Darling Harbor & Watsons Bay but managed to take few photos worth sharing here.

I am going to add them below. Feel free to leave a comment/feedback (if you happen to crash on this blog).

I took this photo at Manly beach. This was some type of a cone on a tree and I liked how it looked. Quickly took this shot while there were people behind me coming down the narrow track.

 This was at Watsons Bay when it started to rain and we were waiting inside the cars for it to slow down so that we can setup our BBQ in the shed in the park. I took this shot of the rain drop on the car's window. You can see the reflection of the building across the street in it.













Taken at Manly Beach as well.

 This was at the Manly Beach as well. Kept it out of focus for the added affect of the lights. Love it.

These little fountains are like brand-ambassador for the Manly Beach. When you see these, you know it was the Manly beach :P



















Overall had good fun with friends during the Xmas & NY break. Good food, lots of driving (mainly around Sydney) and lots of fun. It was a good holiday (but never enough) :(

Anyway, happy new year to everyone !!

Another 5K Run @ Balmain Fun Run

Note: I started this post last month but only could finish and post it today

Within a month of the last run Run4Fun, I registered for another run and this time it was a longer run i.e. 5K compared to last 3K run. This was on 2nd December and event was called BalmainFunRun.

Once again my running buddy-cum-mentor-cum-running adviser-cum motivator AF encouraged me to register and run in this 5K event. In total 3 of us (I and my work-colleagues AF & AW) participated and we all did very well. It was a beautiful weather on Sunday morning as I call it 'nice running weather' with overcast sky, bit of cool breeze and water-side running track with other runners.

Run start time was 8:30 and I was aiming to keep my finish time under 30 minutes - owing to the fact that I have not been running regularly in last two weeks. The track was different to what I have been running on and I didn't know if it would include uphill / downhill run as well. When the run started and we took the first turn on the track and came towards the end of the ground where the run started from, suddenly track wen uphill and that put me in the first gear, exerting the sweet energy I wanted to reserve for the last 10 mins of the run. The heart beat jumped up to the tops and that's how the run begin. The next 5K went in forcing myself to push and keep running till around the corner and then switch to walking for a minute before resuming the run.

In the end I managed to force and push myself enough to complete the complete run without stopping and within 30 minutes. To be exact it took me a surprising 25 minutes and 36 seconds. That made me happier than I was for completing the 5K runing.

Here is the winning shot from the collection of the run.

At the finish line they arranged for some fresh fruit and drinks. Enjoyed the fruit, did some stretches and went for a coffee with the team.

Next run - City2Surf may be ?

Run a Little Run a Lot - Just Run !

So since my last post about running, I have continue running and have completed the 8th weeks and next week will be the 9th and last week of the C25K program that I have been following.

It feels great that now I can run for 30 minutes straight, compared to earlier when I started and could run for couple minutes only in one go. I found it to be a continuous argument between your mind and body such as that your body may take you beyond what your mind tells you can actually do. So when it comes to running I like to follow this quote that my work colleague, my running mentor, buddy and motivator (AF) recently have shared with me.

 

So while I was in week 8, I also participated (along with my running buddy) in this charity run Run4Fun that took place in the Sydney Olympic Park on 4th November. Since it was my first ever run, I registered for 3K run only and surprised myself by finishing in 15 mins and 40 secs. Felt great, accomplishing actually.

Got my first medal for participating and finishing the run.










In few weeks, another run is happening in Balmain for 5K which I'm not so sure about yet, only because it is bit far from my place but will see if I can register for that as well.

Next target is surely the 10K mark because after graduating from this #c25k program, I will already be running 5Ks in one go. So 10K is the next target (iff I keep on running that I'm hopeful about).

Until then, my motto is going to be 'Run Shak Run' (self motivation often is the key to achieve what you want).

Nostalgia - Sahiwal - Home

9th November 2012 00:00 hours : Sydney - Australia.

It is heavily raining outside and I can hear the sound of heavy downpour inside my living sitting at the kitchen bar stool listening to old indian music "Wo Kaghaz Ki Kashti". Totally nostalgic atmosphere and I am missing my birthplace, my city, my home in Pakistan. I stepped into the balcony and let my feelings and memories take me back home standing in my courtyard at night time when it is raining heavy as well in the summer season. I still remember when it used to rain this heavy (any time of the day) while enjoying the initial moments we used to get worried and pray to the ALMIGHTY to make it stop because too much rain was bad for us and our neighbourhood. Old houses below the street level and heavy rain with the help of poor drainage system used to create more tension for the people than to enjoy the change of weather as summer season is usually very hot and dry there.

I love rain, specially of summer season and at the start of winter season. I loved to take shower in rain and I still do. It is refreshing, joyous, mood changer for me. It always remind me of my hometown, my home street, my childhood time and friends. It brings happy memories of those times when I was not aware with the meaning of tension / responsibility and all I knew is to change into shorts and shower in the rain. Go out with friends on the streets in the rain, play and enjoy it. Years gone by, I would still do this (in fact have done it last season here in Sydney) because it makes me happy.

This post may give an impression of me of a person who likes to live in the past, but that is not true. The fact is that while I do like to recall and cherish the old times, but I do not live in the past. I do take time to recollect the good, happy memories of the past times but that is about it. Stop, recall, rejoice and resume.

I think you should never forget your past because it has made you what you are today.
Rather remember your past, learn from it and invest it into your future.

Run Run Run ..

I have been planning to start running during my lunch hour but have been procrastinating for all the reasons of laziness and slackness :P

But finally last week I have moved my 'butt' and did some running over and around the Sydney Harbor Bridge. On first day, I walked and ran (mixed) over the bridge to the city end and returned that counted for over 6KMs and that made my legs sore the next day. But it was like a case of "his first flight" for me because even sore legs didn't make me not go the next day and I must acknowledge the 'motivational talk' of one of my colleague "MG", that helped me go running despite the aching legs. But it felt great actually afterwards due to that sense of achievement. The total distance from my office (North Sydney) to the end of the bridge (bridge stairs - The Rocks) and back to office is, as per Google maps, just above 6KMs but if I use Sports Tracker then it calculates it to be around 9.5 KMs; don't know - don't ask.

Based on my earlier experiences, I was under the impression that working-out makes me sleepy but I wasn't regular at it, then. Since I've become a regular gym goer and lunch-runner, I have discovered that it actually feels great and refreshing which everyone else agrees to as well. I have found that it is very very important to take a shower after the work-out, otherwise you'll end up feeling sleepy too.

Lunch time run has many benefits for me; 1) There are many people out there running/working-out on/around the track that I follow and I found it encouraging 2) It is also a good time for exercising because stomach is empty and since it is midday usually you still have left enough energy to go out running 3) It feels lively because usually people come out of their offices for lunch break/walk/run/sunbathing /relaxing and that gives the whole atmosphere its hustling bustling look which I like 4) Being a part of the hustle bustle refreshes me as well and helps me relax during a working day full of pressure/stress 5) Above all it helps me burn some calories, lose weight and stay fit which is my main objective to do the lunch-run.

The only drag is that I don't have a partner to join the lunch-run with me, which can be a real drag at times (I know this - knowing self) but nevertheless I have to keep pushing myself out of office regularly for the run and hopefully I will achieve my target (Weight-10) in next 5 months time (no expectations just a try and hope).

Until then,

Happy Running - Shakeel !!!

Learning Panning Photography

Panning is a photography technique in which the objective is to capture a photo of a moving object while capturing the speed as well i.e. the resulting photo will also show the fact that the object was a moving object.

In the last post, Learning the Shutter Value, I have noted that how you can control the speed of a moving object using different shutter values. We touched base with how a fast shutter can freeze a moving object as well. Panning, although is related but, altogether a different concept as mentioned above. In panning you work on 2 objectives; 1st is to capture a sharper image of the moving object and 2nd is to also capture the speed of the moving object.

Panning is done by moving the camera along with the moving object to shoot. This can produce amazing results depending on how skillful you are at this technique. Using panning technique, the main object comes out sharp while the background gets blurry effect evidencing the movement of the object. This requires a lot of practice and patience along with good handling of the camera such as it should not shake vertically while you are panning horizontally along with the moving object. You should 'pan' the camera at least at the same speed as the moving object i.e. along with the movement.

I am new and learning this technique myself. Last week I have tried it for the first time and here are a couple of photos that I can share here (i.e. that came out better than others :P)

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I took this shot near Bondi beach while standing at the road side where our car was parked. I quite like this one as this was a curvy road (wasn't straight which is recommended for a better panning shot).

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This shot was taken from the back seat of a moving car and the bike was crossing the car on the left side. This may not be called as "Panning" (i'm not sure) but still this does blur the background slightly while the image is comparatively sharper.
Nevertheless I still like it :)

As I said I am a photography enthusiast, student myself and this is my first ever attempt at this technique, therefore I don't claim whatever I wrote above is 100% true but I know some of it is valid. I am recording this for my own learning and will be adding more as I learn more.

Here is a blog-post "Mastering Panning - Photographing Moving Subjects" where from I have learnt some about this technique. I hope you can also learn some and please do share / leave a comment on the post if you have benefit from it.


Happy Panning !!!

Happy Learning !!!