As an introverted person, I sometimes find being a street photographer difficult, especially when getting close to people.
This photo series began unexpectedly when I found that photographing people behind windows and maintaining a distance made me, and the people I photographed, feel more comfortable. I purposefully frame myself in the reflection of the window to see into the space I’m photographing. I feel every window tells a different story.
This image was taken when a couple of other photographers and myself attended the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival in 2018 in al-Rumahiyah, Saudi Arabia. We stopped in the middle of the desert to get some gas when I noticed this car of young Bedouin men. They looked like they were enjoying their journey, so I couldn’t resist. I walked up to them while taking photos until the teenager in the front felt a little embarrassed and started to laugh. I like this moment because it was real. They said they were on their way to the camel festival as well.
I just love taking genuine moments. It makes me fall in love with that memory, and it’s forever captured in a photo.
Part 2 of our series celebrating AramcoWorld’s 75th anniversary this year highlights “visual vagabonding”—the magazine’s expanded use of vibrant images over the decades to fulfill the mission of cultural connection.
This photo was taken off Ambon Island, East Indonesia in 2010. It is one of my favorites, illustrating the free-spirited nature of the children in the rural archipelago. While some children in the big cities may stay inside and play computer games, the children in Ambon with easy access to the water see the ocean surrounding their village as their playground.
