Cityscape photography: Capturing Dubais view from the top
(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) At EPyC the cityscape photography talks and workshops are the most in-demand.
Dubai is all about larger than life. The city likes everything super-sized — cars malls events and of course its iconic buildings. While the famous Dubai skyline has steadily taken shape over the past decade and a half with an outline as recognisable as that of London or Manhattan there’s another passion that’s rising with the high-rises: the popularity of cityscape photography.
“It’s very obvious that the unique architecture of the UAE’s cities and the number of high-rise buildings have given way to this particular form of photography” says Amr Anabtawi co-founder of the three-year-old Emirates Photography Club (EPyC) in Dubai. Daniel Cheong one of the most famous photographers locally for his iconic photographs of Dubai architectural landscapes credits his work going viral entirely to the city’s unique skyline. “When I moved here in 2008 I initially started shooting at ground level but soon found ways to access the taller buildings to shoot from there” says Cheong. The popular photo-sharing site featured him in one of its blog posts on “24 hours in the life of a city-scape photographer” and that gave his photos huge exposure worldwide.
Since the UAE has witnessed its growth spurt in recent times it has been able to develop a cutting-edge architectural landscape. “Western cities don’t have the modernity that you see here now — like Dubai’s twisted buildings tallest tower etc” says Cheong.
At EPyC the cityscape photography talks and workshops are the most in-demand. “Usually it’s natural landscape photography that’s popular everywhere but since we’re in the midst of an urban jungle and the whole purpose of photography is to capture something outside normal circumstances Dubai hits the mark with its bright lights awe-inspiring structures and city captures” Amr says.
Photography is all about high visual impact agrees Cheong. “Probably because forms like landscape and street photography have existed for long and people from around the world get to see Dubai from angles they’ve ever seen before cityscapes provide a whole new viewpoint. With its skyscrapers and fog Dubai’s photos are no less than magical.”
Cementing the UAE’s status of a photography hub are prestigious awards like the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) which gives away a total prize money of $400000. “Similar to Dubai HIPA has also achieved international status since its inception. The great quality of participants is only exceeded by the amazing quality of photographs received both in terms of technicality and aesthetics” states Ali Bin Thalith secretary general of HIPA.