panoramic Burj Dubai photo

at the newsstand now:

the business magazine IMPULSE
published my Burj Dubai pic -
as a 4-page-panorama fold-out!
The pic looks great ... and
it fits just perfectly into the
IKEA panorama frames! :)
Now I hope that the Burj will be soon
better illuminated in the evening, to
get a striking sunset image ... right
now it's rather a dark monolith at night.
Another photo-story in the journal covers the Arab-German Family Business Summit
in Bahrain, which took place in early November
at the Ritz Carlton Bahrain.

Friday the 13th - not always a bad day

These pictures were taken with the first rays of sun on Friday the 13, 2009. Without time to apply for an official location approval - needed e.g. for a helicopter flight around the Burj - we decided to check into the luxurious The Address Downtown Burj Dubai hotel. With the help of a friendly Scotsman we were then able to get the shoot we wanted.
To be published as a 4-page fold-out panorama in the next issue of IMPULSE magazine, a business monthly by Gruner & Jahr publishing house (whose portfolio includes Financial Times Deutschland and STERN). Can't decide which version we like better - color or bw?

Moscow Never Sleeps ... and Dubai??

On November 7, the Moscow Motion party on The Palm in Dubai saw Russians and expats alike having a good time. DJ Smash, Gorod 312 and Russian music sensation Emin performed on a stage set on a private beach in front of the magnificent Atlantis hotel. Dress code was glamorous (which excluded local Arab dresses). More photos for viewing and purchase you find in our vast photo agency archive (click here and login with "motion")

Arab-German Family Business Summit 2009 in Bahrain

Just returned from 3 interesting days in Bahrain, where I went on assignment for German business magazine IMPULSE. Here's a first selection of images. More to be posted soon on my site.

Dubai Fashion Week, backstage shots

Leaving now for a weekend assignment in Bahrain, back on Monday. Dubai Fashion Week ended last night with a Grand Finale. I spent most time backstage - check out this updated Facebook slideshow with portraits of models and designers.

glimpse backstage at Dubai Fashion Week SS2010

Today DFW closes with a Barbie-themed show. Check out this slide show with backstage images from last night.

Dubai Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2010 - Day 3

It's not only black abayas in Dubai. The event runs from October 25 till 29 - see more photos here.

Dubai Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2010 - Day 1

Running from October 25 - 29, the Dubai Fashion Week shows work by 33 designers, both established names and newcomers. The DFW is quickly getting a reputation as the main industry event in the region. More images will be soon available at my Photoshelter archive.

78 important rules for photographers

Read them, follow them and you will instantly become a better photographer! But don't take them too seriously! Still, they are mentioned as submission guidelines by art magazine EUROPEAN PHOTOGRAPHY, so they can't be completely wrong, neither.

desert portrait photo shot

We recently drove early morning into the desert near the city of Madam (45 minutes drive from Dubai - beautiful place!), for a portrait shot. Got some company when a camel walked by ... here it looks as if she rests on Marina's shoulder, doesn't it?!? Which shows that even in the wide desert you can make new friends!

Dubai - past and future

here 2 snapshots taken recently in Dubai - a city which has developed so rapidly during the past 40 years that one can be excused from forgetting about its beduin past. To ensure that history and traditions do not fall victim to Dubai's race into the future, its ruler, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, stresses the importance to revive old dances and music.

"natural style" vs retouching

Personally, I like to keep portrait photos natural. However, if you plan to give your portrait a star treatment, but don't want to plunge into the depths of Adobe Photoshop, there are alternatives:


one of my favorites is Portrait Professional - in less than 5 minutes you get really impressive results. Just don't call it natural any longer:) What do you prefer - the natural or the touch-up version?

got on the 1st Dubai Metro train!

When the financial crisis hit Dubai, many saw us here going back to camels as the primary transport mode. Quite the opposite is true: on a date to remember - 09/09/09 - the first line of the Dubai Metro was opened by Sheikh Mohammed, Ruler of Dubai. There is no circle line in sight, but it's nevertheless great fun to ride - air-conditioned and fully automated!

How to beat the Dubai heat; in a creative way

One of my favorite places to spend time in Dubai is Tashkeel Studio in Nad Al Sheba. Whatever your creative mind fancies – photography, sculpturing, painting, 3D work, silk printing – here you will find the utilities to go ahead with your vision. Or just read for hours through the extensive book and magazine library. You have to apply for a membership, which is a quite straightforward process. Afterwards, you pay a weekly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly usage fee.
Opening hours are Saturday to Thursday from 8 AM till 10PM; during Ramadan it will be 9 AM till 5 PM. Here a few snapshots of the place:

The Black Snapper: new photo-portal with prominent guest curator

For those of you interested in good photography sites: starting August 1, The Black Snapper website presents each day another photographer. Selection is done by weekly guest curators. Kick off does Abbas, an Iranian photographer with MAGNUM agency. Worth to check out.

Deadline! PX3 "aftermath" photo competition

PX3 (Prix de la Photographie Paris) is having a photo competition entitled "Aftermath" - but you have to hurry up, deadline is July 15, 2009. Good luck!

turmoil in Tehran: new photos

Here 3 images sent last night by my friend M.D. from Tehran (for understandable reasons, he does not want to have his name published ... simply too dangerous these days in Iran). What a change from the rather peaceful atmosphere during election campaign just 3 weeks ago!

all ready for exhibition opening tomorrow evening!

all prints framed and hanging now ... hope to see you all thursday evening at the tashkeel art center (location map). if you can't make it - the exhibition runs until august 20, 2009. see also my last post for more info.

here another motif from our group exhibition (actually, we use this one on a postcard, too). took this photo last year in satwa, when the whole district was supposed to go down very quickly. reminds me now a bit of a scene from the new "transformer" sci-fi movie, for which i saw the trailer last weekend. autobots entering satwa...?!

invitation: "made in tashkeel" group exhibition on june 18, 7pm

dear friends! you are cordially invited to my first group exhibition in dubai. 5 images of my "satwa" series will be on display at the "made in tashkeel" exhibition, which is running from june 18 until august 20 at the tashkeel art center. opening is this thursday, june 18, at 7pm. tashkeel is located next to the nad al sheba police station, not far from the nad al sheba racecourse. best have a look on their webpage (or on their facebook-group) for the location map. hope to see you all there!
my series portraits the central dubai district satwa, which seemed to be doomed less than 12 months ago, as it should make way for another grandiose real estate project entitled jumeirah village city. at least for now, this project was brought to a halt by the economic crisis and many residents have some extra time to relocate.

Tehran: progressive new driving rules, part 2

Greetings from sunny Tehran! Maybe the "axis of evil" just points to its main road. Hell lot of traffic. Driving can't get more eco-balanced than this...with up to four people on a bike!

Ready for more? Well, you might download the complete slide-show, and you'll find out how many people can find space on a Honda bike (more than on the pic above, promised!). If you drop me your 10 favorites by mid-June, I'll forward you a photo-print. Just get a LARGE cup of coffee and a pen first.

Tehran: progressive new driving rules, part 1

After unsuccessfully pressing for lowering the voting age from from 18 to 15 years, the government apparently has succeeded with a radical traffic reform: looks like they lowered the eligible age for driving license holders to 12. Months, not years! The reaction of this young driver? "De do do do de da da da". We understand.
Also, my first story from Iran is online now - thanks to Jozsef and Alexander for helping me bypassing the blocked internet.
Have a nice day! Posted from Iman-Khomeini-Airport, Teheran

new photos: Iranian election campaign heating up!

Greetings from Iran! The presidential election campaign officially started here on Friday, and Ahmadinejad seems to become increasingly nervous ... as Facebook and Twitter have been blocked since last weekend!! Still, Hossein Mousavi appears to become the most serious contender and he manages to draw many young Iranians.
On my photo from yesterday you see Mousavi supporters (easily recognizable by their "green wave" ribbons) being confronted by a pro-Ahmadinejad man (center) . Within seconds the situation escalated, not least due to the walkie-talkie units which many of Ahmadinejad's people carry to request immediate support. Luckily, only arguments were exchanged. Hopefully, I will be able to post the full story soon on my webpage (uploading images seems to be blocked, too)!

martinvondendriesch.com online now

Happy to announce that my new site is finally up and running! Many thanks to the people at liveBooks for hosting, and to Rolf Wessel for setting up the overall design. Much of support I also got from New Zealand (thanks, Robin), Germany (danke, Bernd) and the United Arab Emirates (shukran, Jozsef. Eeh...hvala lepo, of course). Champagne, anyone?
What else is going to come on this blog? I'll regularly keep you posted on different aspects of my work (like, how to do street photography under the merciless desert sun). Plus, Julia will soon start a "russian corner" (in Russian language) - so check out this space whenever you find time.