The Australian photographer, Yasmine Carey, confirmed that the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award, highlights the interest and appreciation of Dubai in this art, and the work to spread the culture of photography around the world, noting that it employs its images for the same goal.
The artist, who is the first woman to win the grand prize in the Hamdan Bin Mohamed International Photography Award for this year, whose title was "Water", added that "her relationship with the world of oceans and seas - rich in surprises that cannot be expected - started a long time ago", explaining that "when She attends the trip, leaving all of her expectations on the boat on the surface of the water before diving, because the world of the depths is based on discovery, and cannot be planned or expected.
In her interview with Emirates Today, the Australian photographer revealed the details of her grand prize-winning photo and its importance, saying: “I took a photo of a humpback whale sleeping next to her two-week-old baby in Tonga, in the South Pacific, and in fact when I feared the light, and the clouds began to fade, the light was dim in the water, and I saw the whale and the mother with each other, and they were honest in their embrace, and I think they felt our existence, but that did not hinder their bond, and I wanted to take a fair picture of the beautiful scene ».
Yasmine sees that “being near whales is the best experience in life at all. The very idea of having an animal the size of a bus admits you are really nothing like any other feeling in life,” pointing out that “all feelings come out in one moment, yet feel One can get rid of life’s problems as if their soul is melting in the water, so this experience puts all things right, and gives one a lot of joy. ”
Reason for selection
On the reason for choosing this image specifically to participate in the Hamdan Prize for Photography, she stated that “what I deliberately did was to follow her sense of choosing the image to participate, and selected the image that highlights her style, which I found more expressive of the title of the award, which is water, and the choice was successful.” She commented on her winning the award, as she still does not believe her victory, as she feels proud, because the award highlights the interest and appreciation of Dubai in the art of photography, as the goal of the award is to spread the culture of photography throughout the world, and she uses her pictures for the same goal, as she is keen to introduce the audience to the ocean , By showing all its strange and wondrous things, and how happy they feel, to feel as though they are with her on the journey, and indulged in excitement and horror.
Through her pictures, Yasmine Carey hopes that everyone will feel the importance of preserving and protecting the oceans. As for the financial aspect of the award, she admitted that she had not put forward the plan to dispose of it until now.
She noted that art, especially photography, that does and requires travel, has been affected by all the travel restrictions imposed by the emergence of the emerging "Corona" virus, adding that they "put new ways to confront the current circumstance and the new style of work, which may impose itself in the future."
Long time ago
Jasmine’s relationship with the oceans and seas started from a long age ago, admitting that in childhood she was afraid of water, and the sea meant huge waves and salty water that affected her eyes and nose with burning, adding: “After that, I loved marine creatures, and I was looking for crabs and other creatures between the rocks "Until I learned to dive at the age of 20, I began to enjoy the state of peace that I feel in the oceans, no matter what happens on the surface of the water."
Regarding her planning of photography trips, she indicated that she is preparing the full plan for the photography trip. First, she brings in the necessary and necessary equipment, all the way to the list of shots, stressing that it is very difficult to plan everything under the water, as the photographer must adapt to every second of every second. A day during his journey, because nature changes, so the beauty of this life cannot be planned, especially in the depths of the oceans. She stated that she "believes that the cameraman must be tolerant of the concept of control and control, and that he let marine creatures give him the image that he cannot take with planning."
Aesthetic trips
About the details that she plans before starting a photographic trip, Yasmine indicated that she is looking at the issue of weather and tides based on the location, and then determines what can be done through the available equipment, pointing out that «understanding the behavior of animals is very important, animals are granted The image that was not planned at all, and what is interesting is that you cannot expect what you will find on your trip, and that knowing what can be taken in the oceans, gives the artist a picture of what he can take from the pictures, but the most interesting aspect remains what will happen when We find marine creatures, and will the animal allow us to take the picture we want? ” On describing the aesthetic of excursions in the oceans, the Australian photographer asserted that: “Once immersed in the ocean, the world around you melts, lives the daydream, and feels calm that can be heard, the body appears very light, and free from tension, and that pure joy manifests itself in the eyes with a vision The aesthetics, colors, and stature of the creatures, but the most beautiful thing in the experiment ... the different discovery each time, one does not realize what feeling he will experience and what beings he will see.
Water office is constantly changing
Australian photographer, Yasmine Carey, does not recognize the challenges in the world of ocean photography, as she does not view some of what she faces as difficulties but rather as an adventure.
"In this type of work, you must adapt quickly and think like you are standing on your feet. It is a water office that is constantly changing, so one has to flow with it and go along with it quickly, be patient, and leave all of its expectations on the boat on the surface of the water before diving into the depths."
"Through my photos, I seek to make everyone feel the importance of preserving and protecting the oceans."
"In the depths of the sea, one feels eliminating the problems of life, as if their soul dissolves in water."