30-NOV-2016
Dubai Metro Station, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2016
Until recently, the 47 mile long Dubai Metro was the world’s longest fully automated driverless metro transit network. (The driverless Vancouver Sky Train surpassed its length in 2016.) I made this image inside of the Emirates Towers Station, which was just next door to our Dubai hotel. I stood at the top of the escalator and waited for a person to enter the door of the station below. That small, silhouetted figure becomes the focal point of the image as it stands out against the highlighted entry, whle the swooping rails of the escalator lead the eye right to it. The interplay of light and shadow, as well as the sweep of my 24mm wideangle lens, create a futuristic scene.
01-DEC-2016
Where East meets West, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2016
The UAE is a federation of seven states that has grown from a quiet backwater into one of the Middle East’s most important economic centers. Dubai is its business hub. I made this image in the lobby of our Dubai hotel, featuring the blending of cultures that gives the UAE its character and purpose. I anchor the image with an abstracted man in Arabic dress. He is using a cell phone, while seated in a massive golden swivel chair. In contrast, the six people in the background are wearing western dress. A wall of glass elevator shafts fills out the image. In this photograph, east meets west in a luxurious commercial setting.
02-DEC-2016
Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, 2016
This mosque is the newest and the second largest mosque in the UAE. Built to resemble Istanbul’s famed Blue Mosque, it opened its doors in 2015. In this image, I contrast the sparkling new mosque to one of the city’s old gates being restored in the foreground. I also contrast the old gate, as well as the new mosque, to the city’s commercial skyline that fills the background.
03-DEC-2016
Salesman, Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, 2016
Fujairah is one of seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates. It is among the smallest, with a population of less than 200,000 people. Many of them cater to the tourists that enjoy its beaches along the Gulf of Oman. This man is selling rugs and bags made of colorful fabrics. He was standing in the entrance of his shop, looking for customers. As I was about to make this picture, he turned towards me and struck this odd pose. He froze for a brief moment in this position, probably wondering why I would want to make a photograph of him. His body language is expressive – he stands with one hand in a pocket, and touches his neck with the other. Of Fujairah’s 200,000 people, he was the only one who earned a spot in this gallery.
05-DEC-2016
Fishermen, Bombay, India, 2016
Hundreds, if not thousands, of people earn their living catching fish in the Bombay region. You can see them anywhere along the city’s vast shoreline. I found these fishermen having a business conference in the middle of Bombay harbor, and used a long telephoto lens to reach out over the water and bring my viewers into the meeting as well. That boat flies a red flag that whips in the wind. Several of the silhouetted fishermen are gesturing, their arms echoing the pattern created by the four horizontal boats in the scene, as well as the flag fluttering above them.
05-DEC-2016
Victoria Terminus, Bombay, India, 2016
This splendid building was built in 1887 to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of England’s Queen Victoria, also known as the “Empress of India.” This Victorian Gothic building still stands in the center of Bombay, India’s largest city. Since 1995, Bombay has been called Mumbai, and the railroad station is now the “Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.” This building became world famous in November, 2008, when two terrorists murdered 58 people and injured 104 others in its central passenger hall. I abstract this historic structure by showing only its central dome. The “Statue of Progress” stands at the top, while our eyes are left to feast on a wealth of extravagant Victorian detail. Among the detail is the flag of India, bringing one of the few spots of color to the soot-colored dome.
06-DEC-2016
The sweeper, Bombay, India, 2016
I used a wideangle lens to expand the space that flows around the small, silhouetted figure sweeping leaves from this Bombay courtyard. By optically expanding the space, I emphasize the size of the space still left to be swept, and contrast the size of that small figure to that large space. The spatial relationships in this image tell the story here.
05-DEC-2016
Marks of time, Bombay, India, 2016
This grand old home, built when India was a British colony, stands just around corner from the house that Gandhi occupied when he lived in Bombay. I express its character by moving in on the faded colors and decaying decorations. The color and details are abstracted in the dappled shadows, leaving us with only a hint of its former beauty.
05-DEC-2016
Decay, Bombay, India, 2016
This visit to Bombay was my third. I first visited the city back in 1990, and came back again just nine years ago. On my most recent visit, Bombay is known as Mumbai, and has grown larger. Its economy has boomed, and its streets are now filled with cars instead of bikes and motorbikes. New construction has changed its skyline, as well. Yet one thing has not changed – its infrastructure is still plagued with decay. I wandered into the side yard of a building in a Bombay neighborhood frequented by tourists, and made this image of building badly in need of maintenance. Pipes of various kinds, some of them deeply rusted, dominate the scene. These pipes might still function, but one must wonder for how long?
06-DEC-2016
Motorbikes, Bombay, India, 2016
By 2020, there will be more than two hundred million motorbikes and motorcycles on the road in India. Bombay is already flooded with them. I made this photo of a small motorbike shop in Bombay’s Muslim Quarter. Motorized cycles seem to flow through the midst of it. Some are halted for the moment, while others are either parked or are in motion. The yellow and red sign above the shop leaps out at us. We see a man in Muslim dress relaxing in a chair, watching the parade of cyclists roar past. The window of this shop is filled with helmets, but woman riding in the back of the motorcycle in the foreground does not wear one. Cycling accidents take many lives each year in Mumbai, the growl and sputter of engines is constant, and this city’s infamous air pollution is not getting any better.
06-DEC-2016
A face in the window, Bombay, India, 2016
I made this image from a moving bus, just we passed another bus that had stopped for a moment to pick up passengers. A young boy, sitting next to a window in that bus, caught my eye as we passed. He was looking right into my lens, his eyes wide. Yet he displays no emotion. He makes an effort to look over his shoulder at us, yet neither my camera, nor our bus full of foreigners, seems to provoke an emotional response. We are left to wonder what he may be thinking at this moment.
06-DEC-2016
Bus Stop, Bombay, India, 2016
At rush hour, Bombay’s public transportation system is stretched to its limit. This crowd, already stacked five deep, is jammed between a billboard and a cable as they await the next bus. In this image, I found a range of expressions, body language, and costume. A man in the very rear of the crowd is even hoisting a stack of cooking pots over his head as he waits. I made this image from the window of my own bus – one designed for tourism rather than for commuters.