My portrait session with Abid from Dubai, had been the most rewarding yet, and also the most challenging to do. Rewarding, because I had countless of photos to play around with after 3 full days of shoots.
And I am happy with the results. Challenging, because we had to come up with whole productions to accomplish the concepts agreed upon – with a rented Harley Davidson (we were told it was quite a collector’s item), a stable-ful of horses, a boutique hotel in Chinatown, Bangkok, classic guitar and others.
It’s the fruit of months of conversations regarding concepts, but all the props and the locations were put together in just a few days. My whole team had fun looking for all the materials we needed for the finished product to look according to our guys ‘specs’ (who had zero tolerance for the half hearted, as I am), and it was equally fun to put them all together behind the lens.
Abid, I would have to say, is a dream to shoot – he knew what he wanted, but he also lets me do what comes to my head, and let me get away with the creative genius once the momentum kicks in.
He and I have something in common – we believe that once you go out to do something, you gotta to do it right. You can only imagine what it must have been like for him to run barefoot on a sandy path, with no concrete, and also with nothing between small rocks and bare skin. But like I said, the results speak for themselves.
The other thing we both believe in – is that moments, and times in our lives, such as our time of youth, only comes once in a lifetime. And so they have to be preserved in photographs. Abid has worked hard, with his trainer, to sculpt his body. And it was only right that he spent some time to capture the results of that hard work in memories that exist (thanks to technology) in digital as well as hard copy form – in photographs. As years go by, it is something he can always go back to, with his wife and 3 kids and other members of his family, with his friends, or even just with himself – with fond memories of the time he was in Thailand and decided to capture this time of his life.
To come up with a production like Abid’s, lots of exchanges need to happen between us with regards to concepts, props, costumes, how long it will take to take all the photos. Equally important is the booking of the locations and getting all the props in place. But once all these logistics are out of the conversation, we can get away with hundreds of photos that are worth keeping for a lifetime!
The fun that goes with a whole production such as this lasts years for everyone involved, too. I look forward to my next series of shoot with the man, and the remarkable products we can produce together.
Photographers Notes:
Camera used:
Nikon D300s
Lenses Used:
Nikon 17- 55 mm f/2.8
Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II
