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Qatar-based Pakistani lensman Ibrar Ahmed is planning to bring out the first-ever photo book on Qatar’s skyscrapers.
Born and brought up in Kunri, a town in district Umerkot of Sindh province, Ahmed is a biomedical engineer by profession with 11 years of experience of working on genetics. A graduate of Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro, Pakistan, Ahmed moved to Qatar some five years ago. Thanks to the nature of his job, which involves extensive travelling, Ahmed is exposed to skylines of different countries. A keen photographer who considers photography as his passion, he never misses a chance to capture a memorable moment whenever he sees one. He has great admiration for the Doha skyline, which is abundantly reflected in his work. Despite being a cityscape photographer, Ahmed also appreciates street photography and renders his support to many charities. Although he learnt the art of photography by himself, Ahmed says YouTube has been a great platform to polish his skills. He was fortunate to conduct one-to-one sessions with international photographers like Atif Saeed, Vineet Vohra, Rohani Tanasal, Danny Yen Sin Wong and Arif Kaser. In an interview with Qatar Tribune,Ahmed spoke about his plans to publish his photo book on Qatar’s skyscrapers and also offered some tips to students. Excerpts:
Why are you planning to publish a photo book on Qatar’s skyscrapers?
Unfortunately, there is no book on Qatar cityscape. My book will focus only on cityscapes of Qatar. I am sure it will help promote tourism in Qatar.
How different is the cityscape photography from normal shooting?
Cityscape is an artistic representation of metropolis or urban area while normal shooting is capturing image of any object. One good thing of Qatar cityscapes is that most of the buildings are in grey and yellow colours, which look really good in the blue hour (after sunset). The architecture of the buildings in Qatar is also breathtaking. If you look at Doha cityscape from Fanar side, you will find Sheraton Hotel on your right side, which is an old building but its lights make it unique. On the other hand, if you see the Doha Bank building, a white building with yellow light, Burj Qatar looks like a mosque minaret with warm orange light because warm colors are eyes catching. If you are having coffee at the back of Museum of Islamic Art park at sunset, you will simply fall in love with the transition nature and building lights. Similarly, if you look at MIA, Fanar and Qatar National Museum, you will notice that these buildings are made on basis of light.
Do you have plans to bring out a book on any other country?
Yes, I will, especially on heritage buildings, to show to world how old style and vintage look in the modern time of lights.
Is photography your passion only, or you sell pictures as well?
I do not sell my photos but I gift these to different charity organisations. On their part, they sell them and use the proceedings for any noble cause.
Did you participate in any competition?
No, I have not focused on participating in competitions so far.
Have you ever showcased your art at an exhibition?
My work has been showcased at different joint exhibitions. However, I have not done any sole exhibition, so far.
Please elaborate on photo walks that you have been conducting in Qatar free of cost since 2016.
Photo walks are basically for helping each other. Mostly, we help beginners in learning photography and understanding how to shoot in light changing situations and understand compositions.
Have you ever conducted workshops for upcoming photographers?
I have conducted lots of workshops, which were mostly free of cost. My last workshop was organised recently by Nikon before the coronavirus lockdown.
What would you say to beginners who want to learn photography?
They should know what kind of photography they want to do. They should see the work of best photographers and try to take one-to-one sessions. They should never stop learning. They should always keep in mind that they have to learn a lot. This way, they will start learning. They should remain positive and they will get positive vibes from everywhere.
Do you think Photoshop is making photography easy or damaging the real work?
Photoshop or post-processing is everyone’s own taste. There is nothing bad if you are using it sensibly. Everyone should have basic understanding and they should know whether manipulation is sensibly completing their story or not. Like, for example, putting orange clouds in bright daytime does not make sense. If anyone is blending, they should explain it to the viewer that this is blended and clouds or another part of photo is from another photo. They should not cheat viewers.
Do you agree that expensive cameras and other equipment are a prerequisite to achieve good results?
Camera is just a medium to shoot. If one does not have understanding of photography, one will not achieve the best results even if one uses the world’s best camera.
How do you see the transition of reel cameras into digital cameras?
The world is changing very fast. Things are unfolding every day. It is good to live in modern world with old traditions and culture but it is not bad to utilise new technology with the old, traditional way of photography. Nowadays time matters a lot and technology is saving our time. Digital camera is a time-saving device. As I mentioned earlier camera is just a medium. Mediums might have changed, but the understanding of light and composition rules are still the same. Undoubtedly, technology has greatly helped artists to come up with new ideas. With new gadgets, we can focus more on creativity.
Do you view the constantly changing techniques and technologies such as high-resolution mobile cameras as something encouraging?
In the era of new technology, it is easy to document anything, anytime. But the drawback of new technology is that it has made us lazy. Gone are the days when photographers used to wait for hours to take a good photo. Now anyone can take a photo and edit it as they want. Mobile cameras give you the option of different features in a single device. You can take a photo and edit it at the same times. It is good for photo journalism but for big prints, it is not recommended.
What is the difference between a photographer and a videographer?
Video is a collection of moving photos with some speed. Most of the rules of photography and videography are the same. In my opinion, videography is a bit more difficult than photography because in photography you have a static object while in video that object is moving.
Do you agree that a photographer, like painters and artists, drives inspiration from Nature?
Yes, I completely agree. We just showcase Nature in our work.
Your advice for beginners.
They should spend more money and time on learning the basic rules of photography before buying expensive camera and lenses.
Born and brought up in Kunri, a town in district Umerkot of Sindh province, Ahmed is a biomedical engineer by profession with 11 years of experience of working on genetics. A graduate of Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro, Pakistan, Ahmed moved to Qatar some five years ago. Thanks to the nature of his job, which involves extensive travelling, Ahmed is exposed to skylines of different countries. A keen photographer who considers photography as his passion, he never misses a chance to capture a memorable moment whenever he sees one. He has great admiration for the Doha skyline, which is abundantly reflected in his work. Despite being a cityscape photographer, Ahmed also appreciates street photography and renders his support to many charities. Although he learnt the art of photography by himself, Ahmed says YouTube has been a great platform to polish his skills. He was fortunate to conduct one-to-one sessions with international photographers like Atif Saeed, Vineet Vohra, Rohani Tanasal, Danny Yen Sin Wong and Arif Kaser. In an interview with Qatar Tribune,Ahmed spoke about his plans to publish his photo book on Qatar’s skyscrapers and also offered some tips to students. Excerpts:
Why are you planning to publish a photo book on Qatar’s skyscrapers?
Unfortunately, there is no book on Qatar cityscape. My book will focus only on cityscapes of Qatar. I am sure it will help promote tourism in Qatar.
How different is the cityscape photography from normal shooting?
Cityscape is an artistic representation of metropolis or urban area while normal shooting is capturing image of any object. One good thing of Qatar cityscapes is that most of the buildings are in grey and yellow colours, which look really good in the blue hour (after sunset). The architecture of the buildings in Qatar is also breathtaking. If you look at Doha cityscape from Fanar side, you will find Sheraton Hotel on your right side, which is an old building but its lights make it unique. On the other hand, if you see the Doha Bank building, a white building with yellow light, Burj Qatar looks like a mosque minaret with warm orange light because warm colors are eyes catching. If you are having coffee at the back of Museum of Islamic Art park at sunset, you will simply fall in love with the transition nature and building lights. Similarly, if you look at MIA, Fanar and Qatar National Museum, you will notice that these buildings are made on basis of light.
Do you have plans to bring out a book on any other country?
Yes, I will, especially on heritage buildings, to show to world how old style and vintage look in the modern time of lights.
Is photography your passion only, or you sell pictures as well?
I do not sell my photos but I gift these to different charity organisations. On their part, they sell them and use the proceedings for any noble cause.
Did you participate in any competition?
No, I have not focused on participating in competitions so far.
Have you ever showcased your art at an exhibition?
My work has been showcased at different joint exhibitions. However, I have not done any sole exhibition, so far.
Please elaborate on photo walks that you have been conducting in Qatar free of cost since 2016.
Photo walks are basically for helping each other. Mostly, we help beginners in learning photography and understanding how to shoot in light changing situations and understand compositions.
Have you ever conducted workshops for upcoming photographers?
I have conducted lots of workshops, which were mostly free of cost. My last workshop was organised recently by Nikon before the coronavirus lockdown.
What would you say to beginners who want to learn photography?
They should know what kind of photography they want to do. They should see the work of best photographers and try to take one-to-one sessions. They should never stop learning. They should always keep in mind that they have to learn a lot. This way, they will start learning. They should remain positive and they will get positive vibes from everywhere.
Do you think Photoshop is making photography easy or damaging the real work?
Photoshop or post-processing is everyone’s own taste. There is nothing bad if you are using it sensibly. Everyone should have basic understanding and they should know whether manipulation is sensibly completing their story or not. Like, for example, putting orange clouds in bright daytime does not make sense. If anyone is blending, they should explain it to the viewer that this is blended and clouds or another part of photo is from another photo. They should not cheat viewers.
Do you agree that expensive cameras and other equipment are a prerequisite to achieve good results?
Camera is just a medium to shoot. If one does not have understanding of photography, one will not achieve the best results even if one uses the world’s best camera.
How do you see the transition of reel cameras into digital cameras?
The world is changing very fast. Things are unfolding every day. It is good to live in modern world with old traditions and culture but it is not bad to utilise new technology with the old, traditional way of photography. Nowadays time matters a lot and technology is saving our time. Digital camera is a time-saving device. As I mentioned earlier camera is just a medium. Mediums might have changed, but the understanding of light and composition rules are still the same. Undoubtedly, technology has greatly helped artists to come up with new ideas. With new gadgets, we can focus more on creativity.
Do you view the constantly changing techniques and technologies such as high-resolution mobile cameras as something encouraging?
In the era of new technology, it is easy to document anything, anytime. But the drawback of new technology is that it has made us lazy. Gone are the days when photographers used to wait for hours to take a good photo. Now anyone can take a photo and edit it as they want. Mobile cameras give you the option of different features in a single device. You can take a photo and edit it at the same times. It is good for photo journalism but for big prints, it is not recommended.
What is the difference between a photographer and a videographer?
Video is a collection of moving photos with some speed. Most of the rules of photography and videography are the same. In my opinion, videography is a bit more difficult than photography because in photography you have a static object while in video that object is moving.
Do you agree that a photographer, like painters and artists, drives inspiration from Nature?
Yes, I completely agree. We just showcase Nature in our work.
Your advice for beginners.
They should spend more money and time on learning the basic rules of photography before buying expensive camera and lenses.
