The power of the Instant

When I was a kid, my parents had a Polaroid Instant camera. We actually also has a 16mm film camera, which I loved too. I was really INTO those things, addicted even. I still am. The magic of the instant camera, its sound, smell, when the image began to appear… pure magic!

My youngest daughter, now 4 1/2 loves cameras too. When she was 3 I got her a kids instant camera which she adored. My wife and I have pictures of ourselves taken by her on our fridge door at home, we treasure them.

We are often too lazy to print our digital family photos, aren’t we? Personally, I have them backed up on 4 hard drives and 2 different cloud storage solutions - so I guess they are a personal memory archive, and I’d argue that the photos we take of our families are the most important photos we will ever take…

A day or so ago, I took my daughter with me on a photo expedition into the desert: our first as father and daughter. Of course, we took dad’s ‘big camera’, but we also took her instant camera and a spade to ‘dig for treasure’ (a great analogy for finding a great image too!).

My photos on that day were terrible. The clouds had gone, there were a lot of 4x4’s making tyre tracks in the pristine dunes, but my daughters images were super! She was (and I), very proud of her efforts. We even went for a horse ride on the way home to celebrate!

I can’t really put into words how proud I was of her on that day. An adventure with dad, an escape from the city, a first photo essay. If you have kids, buy them a cheap instant camera - they may surprise you, and at the same time, you have a pre-printed memory, right there in your hand, just as your kid saw it!

If you’re interested, here is the one she uses (we are not sponsored for this): Fujifilm Instax kids Camera

"Desert Rose" photography exhibition in Katara launches.

After weeks of preparation, including finalising the photographs and the final selection of images, working with the printing company and the wonderful people in Katara Cultural Village, Qatar, we finally opened the doors to show the photographs to the public. As always, I was thrilled to have my wife and baby with me during the opening night. My family is the cornerstone to everything I do.

You know, there is a HUGE difference between a 'like' on social media and a 'like' in person. To have the privilege of being present with those viewing your work, is truly magical. It is a visceral experience, a tangible experience and one I will never forget, as this was my first solo exhibition. If you are a photographer, I encourage you to have your work printed and displayed, even if only at home, it will make a huge difference to how you view your work. 

I want to personally thank everyone that came on the opening night, and in particular Mr. Ahmad Al Sayed, Deputy General Manager of Katara Cultural Village, Qatar and the rest of the wonderful staff from Katara.

The exhibition runs to 25th July, 10pm, building 19 Katara Cultural Village, Qatar. 

Huge thanks and and a great honour to meet with Mr. Ahmad Al Sayed again during the opening of "Desert Rose" photography exhibition in Katara.