'Shadows travelling on the sea of the day' is a recent installation in the North of Qatar, near Zubarah Fort by Icelandic/Danish Artist Olufar Eliasson. Under the patronage of H.E. Sheikha Al Mayassa Bint Hamad Al Thani, it sits in the desert approximately 5 minutes drive from Zubarah Fort.
Shadows travelling on the sea of the day
North of Qatar, near Zubarah Fort.
Olufar Eliasson has had wide ranging shows encompassing installations, painting, sculpture, photography and film that have appeared in art galleries all over the world. You can read more about his work over on his website.
I visited his art installation at the weekend with my daughter. It was about a 75 minute drive from our home and there was plenty of father and daughter talk on the way and she had her trusty Fujifilm instant camera with her (yes, she is already better than I am at photography).
Circles, mirrors, sand and sky and… shadows.
You have to experience the other worldly feeling here! Incredible.
The artwork transports you to your inner self, the mirrored surfaces, when you look up to them, reflect the earth between you, you are caught in this kind of ethereal limbo, almost floating in space, it felt. This feeling led me to process the images in a black and white ‘other worldly’ style… this is how I felt they ought to be, what do you think?
Which way is up and which down?
The desert is reflected back down at you from above via the vast disc-like mirrors.
My daughter took her instant camera along
Without dad’s guidance, my daughter was free to roam around and get these awesome shots on her Fuji Instax camera!
Proud dad moment
She’s got the photographer’s eye, alright!
As someone who lived in Denmark for 6 years, I am thrilled to have artwork from Olafur here in Qatar.
Out shooting that day, we took an instant camera, one of my 3 GFX systems, the 50S today and an adapted Canon 17mm Tilt Shift lens. Hurry up Fujifilm and release the GF mount 30mm shift please!
Camera gear for the day
See that gaffer tape? Always take gaffer tape!
Fuji GFX 50R with Canon 17mm tilt shift lens
ND and polarising filters from NiSi filters.
Taken with camera phone… look at that wide angle distortion!
See how the image looks ‘warped’ - that’s often a problem of mobile phone photography. Behind the scenes shot.
Filters are a must for long exposure photography.
Buy the best you can afford.
If you have any questions about the shoot, the GFX system or using til shift lenses, leave a comment below.