A beautiful collection of photos in Black and White of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Wishing you all very Merry Christmas from the warm weather of Abu Dhabi in the UAE. It’s always nice to go back home and spend some quality time with family and friends, even though I miss my adopted home in Chiang Mai. In a few days I’ll be heading out to the Sultanate of Oman [...]
A shot taken in the Sweihan area, near Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates. We very often used to go camping in the desert or by the sea during weekends when I used to live in the UAE. It was a nice way to escape the chaos of the city and have some time [...]
This babouche seller with his colorful stand is located in the old part of Dubai, near the creek. There is a nice old souq (market) over there with cheap items and the ability to bargain with the vendors. The population around that part of the city is mainly Asian, from Indians to Pakistanis and Filipinos. [...]
Beautiful Arabic Calligraphy on the walls of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
These towers seen in an Arab souk (market) in the UAE are Wind Towers, traditional architectural elements mainly seen on residential houses. Often found in countries of the Arabian Peninsula, these towers are built high over the houses to catch the cooler breeze that prevails on higher level to redirect it in the interior of [...]
~~oOo~~ The strong and spicy fragrances of Arabic perfumes come from a combination of incense and oils but without the alcohol base that is normally used in Western perfumes. The word perfume derives from the Latin “per fume” meaning ‘through smoke’. Perfume in ancient times was used in the form of incense or burning oil [...]
~~oOo~~ Here’s another dramatic sunrise taken in the Sweihan desert near Abu Dhabi in the UAE. I waited until dawn on the highest dune in the region (trust me, it’s so tiring to climb a dune) just to capture this moment when the sky seems to fade from bright to darkness. It was worth the [...]
The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, known locally as the ‘Grand Mosque’ is the most imposing religious building and probably the most beautiful architectural landmark in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
I love the shapes found in the desert. With all the curves, ripples and wrinkles, it resembles a static wild ocean. The beautiful shadows from the harsh desert light on the dunes create opportunities for great abstract photos in black and white. This photo was taken during a desert crossing with some friends near Dubai in [...]
~~oOo~~ Sorry if I disappointed you, this is not about the TV show Gossip Girls. I used to live in a very hot and sunny country (ok I still do, but it’s a different one now) and we often used to escape the chaos of the city (Abu Dhabi or Dubai) and go camping during the [...]
Ah Dubai… Often associated with tall skyscrapers, modern architecture, crazy surreal projects (the best, the biggest, the tallest, the widest… Freud would have been happy..) and of course.. the Real Estate Crisis and bankruptcy.
~~oOo~~ This is one of the first “nice” photos I took when I bought my camera back in October 2007. I had no idea what I was doing with it but I just kept trying. These stairs descending endlessly into darkness attracted me and I had to take the risk. The ramp was lower than [...]
As the evening approached, I threw down the shovel I was using to dig a hole in the sand for the camp fire and grabbed my camera to wait by the sea for this picture: The last sunset of 2010. The past year was an awesome year, with many many highs and hardly any lows. [...]
“To the desert go prophets and hermits, through the desert go pilgrims and exiles. Here, the leaders of the great religions have sought the therapeutic and spiritual values of retreat, not to escape but to find reality” ~ Paul Shepard ~ I have always found the desert to be a mystical place. It is serene, [...]
~~oOo~~ What can be more gratifying than the Sun rising and washing away all your bad thoughts? I have already talked about how I feel in the desert, how it can be a therapeutic escape. It was again another camping near Dubai, in the UAE. I was in a bad mood that night, having had [...]
“The desert is the environment of revelation, genetically and physiologically alien, sensorily austere, esthetically abstract, historically inimical” ~ Paul Shepard ~ This is an old photo taken in March 2008 while camping in the deserts of the U.A.E. Along with a group of friends, we often went camping during our weekends to escape the [...]
I came in mid-April to the UAE to spend around 10 days with my family and head back to Thailand. My stay was unexpectedly extended due to the tense situation in Bangkok and I have now been here for about 2 months (I am heading back to Thailand in 3 days though). One of my [...]
