I had the opportunity to be a nosey neighbour the other day, and shoot internal and external shots of a villa in Dubai for a friend who's marketing the property on behalf of the owner.
It was a funny experience, as even though it's a 13,000ft2 villa, you're never more than 10ft away from a cheap tissue box. Funny because every time I moved a tissue box for a shot, composed, took the picture and then moved on to another viewpoint the tissue boxes miraculously reappeared as if never moved. I was followed constantly by two very intrigued Indian house staff wherever I went. It's difficult enough avoiding reflections of yourself and your tripod, but even more challenging with 2 followers!
The villa itself was decked out in Versace and Armani with some pieces seemingly very tasteful, and some slightly less so (tiger print sofas just aren't my bag, baby!). My brief was to take 360 degree panoramas of each room for a virtual tour (which I'm not allowed to post) but to back up with photographs of exterior details, rooms, interior finishes and joinery. A fun experience overall, and a challenge with the varied lighting, natural light (or general lack of it) and high dynamic range between internal ambient light and window light.
So here are a few shots that didn't make the cut (30 million Dirhams / 8.2 million US in the unlikely event that anyone's interested, which i seriously doubt as you're all far too tasteful and sensible to invest in Dubai!)
p.s. ultra wide angle buffs out there will easily recognise the horrible non linear distortion of the Sigma 10-20 - not ideal for architecture, but as they're only to be viewed at 800 x 600 resolution on a slideshow, not to worry!) - It's proving to be an excellent lens for 360 panoramas though
1. to 4. front externals and design features
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5. to 10. A few of the interiors
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