One year later: a look back on an exciting week in Tehran (I)

As we are nearing the 1st anniversary of the controversial presidential elections in Iran, I want to dedicate June’s “photo of the month” to this part of the world. And you are welcome to help me making a selection! Until the end of May I’ll post 1-2 times per week images from Tehran – simply leave a comment and let me know which one you like best (the one with the most votes will become the next photo-of-the-month). Not all photos are politically charged – I also spent many hours at street corners photographing the courageous motorbikers in the capital. About “photo of the month”: it’s a project currently running exclusively on my Facebook fanpage. Each month we are offering on FB one archive image for download and free (personal) usage. Just connect to my FB-fanpage and become a photography collector! And hurry up, as each photo-of-the-month is only available until the last day of the month.

Winner of our 1st photography auction announced!

Mr. Christian Gmuer, a Dubai-based financial adviser, is the winner of our 1st photography auction. Christian is now the proud owner of a limited-edition print, which depicts one of Russia’s leading ballerinas, Svetlana Lunkina, moments before entering the stage. Julia Kim, studio manager at Martin von den Driesch photography, hands Christian the photograph and the edition certificate.The image was taken 2008 at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, where the Bolshoi Ballet gave sold-out performances of “Swan Lake”. After this success, the Bolshoi returned the following year to give critically acclaimed performances of “Giselle”. For summer 2010 our studio is planning a coffee-table book entitled “Backstage with the Bolshoi”, with images from these performances.

To take part in future photography auctions, or simply to download our free photo-of-the-month, connect to our Facebook fanpage “Martin von den Driesch photography”.

Dubai World Cup 2010 - big, bigger, Dubai?!

Last Saturday Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum invited the world to discover how his latest vision worked out: the state-of-the-art Meydan racecourse, announced less than 3 years ago, opened its doors to the wider public.

You still can't bet on any of the races (it's illegal here), but if you were a jockey you had a chance to win big: the richest race saw its prize money increasing from last year's $USD6,00 Mio to a record $USD10,00 Mio - tax-free!
Even the otherwise strictly enforced Islamic rules of the Emirate were slightly eased for one night: until midnight guests could drink as much booze as one could possibly stand, all under the open sky. A giant lightshow and fireworks (Earth Day, celebrated on the same night worldwide, was courteously ignored) marked the end of the races, before Elton John and Santana finished the party in style.

Art Dubai online photography auction: countdown is running!

To commemorate the Art Dubai 2010 we’ve initiated on Facebook an online auction of this fine-art photo-print (currently displayed at the Tashkeel Gallery Dubai): it shows principal Bolshoi ballerina Svetlana Lunkina minutes before taking stage – in the Swan Lake role of Princess Odette – at the Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi.

The photography is 75×50 cm and part of a limited 10-prints-edition. You can either befriend me on FB and leave a bid there or drop your bid by mail to photodubai@martinvondendriesch.com. Currently, the highest bid is 550 AED (150 USD). 600 AED (165 USD) anyone? That’s 50% off the asking price at the gallery! Auction closes on Sunday, March 21, at midnight Dubai time.

Crisis? What crisis? Art Dubai opens its doors

Art Dubai: the art of partying - Images by Martin von den Driesch


Despite the worldwide economic turmoil of the past months, the Art Dubai 2010 - running from March 17 to 20 - has a bigger manifesto than ever. Expect a mix of Arab and western art buyers at the most important art fair in the Middle East ... and many after-parties!

GPP 2010 workshop movie: red Lamborghini, stunning DIFC architecture, wide desert

GPP 2010 Student Workshop Video from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.

Vincent Laforet has posted our group effort on Vimeo, please check it out. Amazing what you can produce with the new bunch of DSRL cameras like Canon's EOS 5 Mark II. Our class was a quite international mix - with students coming to Dubai for GPP from as far as Thailand and Nigeria. Think we all agree that it was worth every buck.

From Stills to Video - Gulf Photo Plus workshop with Vincent Laforet

Currently I am attending this intense workshop - a completely new world to me. But a very exciting one. This could be a challenge for any DSLR-shooter who wants to get more out of his camera.

But if were you thinking that shooting digital means traveling light, you better rethink: this might be true for stills, but professional HD-DSLR video productions will quickly require lots of gear you may have never heard of before. And better avoid flying with Ryan Air in the future!

Blast from the past

Currently, Vanity Fair online features a full account of “the unlikely life and sudden death of The Exile, Russia’s angriest newspaper”. Ah, those were the days! Remember the special body features they attributed to tennis queen Anna Kournikova … ?! The portrait of Ames and Taibbi I took at metro station Ploshad Revoluzii, and I was paid right afterwards in a barter at American Bar & Grill ...

Dubai: broke, but not dead

With much fanfare the new Meydan racing complex was opened last Thursday and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and vice-president of the UAE, could engage in his favorite pastime: the inauguration of mega-projects. It goes without saying that Meydan has the biggest grandstand in the world. Still, the ruler seems to be in a contemplative mood amid the crowd of visitors.

Masdar City - the green city

Here a shoot from Masdar City, described as the world's first carbon-neutral city. Right now it's basically a huge construction site. Taking environmental portraits of several CEOs and architects. Main issue is the light - noon sunlight might be good for these solar panels, but it's definetely a problem for getting a nice portrait. Sunset lighting works much better, but lots of testing required - good to have always a model available!