I set off on my Old Dubai trip for many reasons, which you can read in my Foot journey of Old Dubai post. Much of my journey has also been shared in my Old Dubai Exploration post. One topic I left wide open was the role of photography. I wanted to walk the street with an open agenda, no shooting list attached. As I mentioned before, the exploration would have been successful even had I returned without images. At the same time, it felt really odd to leave a camera behind, both personally and commercially.

So it was yes to a camera and the big question that followed was what to bring? The options available; iPhone, Canon 35mm, gimmicky Polaroid camera, Hasselblad or even something new to me like a digital Leica or Fuji. The iPhone would have been an easy choice. It’s easy to carry but then it holds little commercial value for stock or prints. Canon would bring me back to a normal way of shooting volume, basically rattling through my journey through a viewfinder. Leica and Fuji would have been nice but were not to hand so I eventually went for a Hasselblad with two prime lenses, one wide and a tighter portrait. It weighs a ton compared to the others but, and this was my main decision, a medium format camera slows the pace down. The thought process is different when shooting medium format, the workflow is different … more thinking and less triggering. I called the team at Advanced Media and asked if they could support me with the gear and they kindly did. My thanks to Samir and Serine for your support.

 It found it particularly difficult to be without a shooting list. Instantly, I was thinking about a theme and during breakfast, found myself scribbling potential shots on the back of a napkin. I guess it comes naturally and where do you get viagra from is now embedded in my genes. Switching off wasn’t easy but I tried my best, walking the streets with my camera in a simple shoulder bag, pulling it out when my eye caught something of interest.

 So the images in this post and the one previous are very random. Obviously with such dynamic street life, there was potential to shoot all over the place. I loved the entrepreneurial spirit of the little shops selling such niche stuff; veggie stores, barbers, AC repair shops and such like. I also loved the wooden structures that porters use to move goods around. They’re scattered all over the place. And every wall or lamppost serves as a free marketing tool when it comes to offering accommodation or bed sharing. 996 frames is the total I shot over three days, 30 of which have made it to my favourites and a potential four will go in our online shop selling hand crafted prints (launching soon).

Wk.