Lack of interest, refusal to publish, and the appearance of pictures behind her absence
Emirates Photographers .. Rare collections are in limbo
The first picture of Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa in his open-air Majlis, with sheikhs and citizens, taken by the German photographer Berkhardt during his visit to the Persian Gulf and Abu Dhabi in February 1904. The National Archives
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, in a photo dating back to 1947. sir wilfred Thesiger
picture
The subject of photography, its history and its beginning in the Emirates, is one of the important research topics that still need a lot of research and study, as the available information about it is still scarce and in need of scrutiny, especially since much of the available information was contained in foreign books and documents.
The Emirati researcher, Hussain Al-Badi, points out that he did not find in the writings of any of the writers and researchers who wrote about the history of the UAE in the nineteenth century, who relied on foreign images and documents of multiple sources, that is, a mention of the role of citizen or Arab photographers in documenting the history of the region like others Of the foreign photographers, who if he wrote about one of them, they exaggerate in raising his status, pointing to his knowledge that most of what a "negative" photographer owns belongs to other people who delude them. When these films were developed in his laboratory since the sixties of the last century, he would keep them in his laboratory instead It would be lost if it remained in their possession, and then soon appeared in albums as being from his photography, adding in a paper published in "Al Dhafra" magazine in successive episodes during 2010: “We find him claiming to attend and photograph one of the occasions in the sixties of the last century, while the documents The British remember that he was absent from the country to spend his annual vacation in his country.
Lack of interest
Al-Badi attributed the lack of interest in the National Photo Archive to the lack of interest in the scientific, cultural and heritage centers and the National Archives centers in the country in this matter, as well as the visual and read media, and it may be the result of the shortcomings of the writers, or the lack of interest of the owners in their pictorial collections, and their unwillingness to publish these collections for private reasons. This contributed in their absence, and in making their owners and photographers among the forgotten or unknown, and therefore no one remembers them except for some of the elderly who were contemporary with them, while the foreign owners of the mock groups were interested in publishing their groups and bringing them into the space of light, media and publishing, and from Certainly, the role of the citizen photographers who photographed the region with their own cameras is no less than the role of the foreign photographers who won their right.
Zayed the Great and Sons
Among the photographers who stop in front of them are Al-Badi, Dr. Muhammad Habib Al Reda, and his father, Dr. Habib bin Redha bin Hashem, Abdul Karim Kabtan, Muhammad Saeed Ali Badri and his brothers, and Muhammad Ali Boudbis, famous for "Al-Akkas". The researcher stops in front of a famous photo of Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (Zayed Al-Kabeer) and his sons commenting: “Perhaps the photograph taken of Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (Zayed the Great) 1855-1906, his sons and the notables of Bani Yas, in Abu Dhabi at the Ruler's Palace, is from Habib bin Rida’s group. So far, its ownership has not been proven to any photographer or party. It was said that it was from an unknown photographer who visited the area and picked it up, and she was among the group of the Viceroy in India, Lord Corps Darbar, and that he took her to include her in a report that he worked on after he visited the region and met with the rulers of the Emirates in Sharjah on 11/21/ 1903, he gathered a group of photos to support his report and other reports on the region, and this image was among a large group of pictures that the photographers did not know, and it was published under the name of the Lord Corps Dyarbar Group without indicating its owners, pointing out that Dr. Muhammad Habib Al-Reda carried his camera with him as he traveled around the Emirates, from Abu Dhabi to Al-Fujairah To treat the rulers and the sheikhs, and every needy person is sent to him to come and provide treatment to him, and to this day his grandchildren keep his camera, which dates back to 1896 AD.
Abdul Karim Captn
The researcher Hussain Al-Badi talks about one of the pioneers of photography from among the people of the Emirates, Abdul Karim Kabten, noting that he used to photograph most of the prominent figures and faces from the people of the region, which enriched his collection and made it at the forefront of the rare and diverse groups in the region, and because of his proximity to the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, may God have mercy on him, and visiting his home and council, and accompanying him on his trips outside the country, got the opportunity to take many and rare pictures of the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, whether inside the UAE or in Britain, Italy, France and Egypt, among the most prominent of which are the pictures he took during The first visit of Sheikh Rashid to England in 1959, where Sheikh Rashid was invited by Queen Elizabeth, so Sheikh Rashid and his companions set off on the deck of the ship "Queen Elizabeth 2" that crossed the Suez Canal and stopped at Suez Port, and they were received by Mohammed Anwar Sadat, Vice President The Republic of Egypt at the time, to be hosted by President Gamal Abdel Nasser for a few days, during which they wandered around several regions and cities, and during that trip Captan documented their course with a photograph, and from Egypt they headed to the port of South Hamtoun in southern England, but during the So they stopped by Italy, and France, near its famous Eiffel tower, took rare photos of the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum. He also accompanied Sheikh Rashid on many official and private visits and sniping trips in Iran, Pakistan and inside the Emirates.
«Reversal unscathed»
There are many names of Emirati and Arab photographers who have known the region at different times. Among them is Salem Al-Suwaidi, who was born in the thirties of the twentieth century in Dubai. He was known to the camera in its primitive form after he was appointed as a photographer on Aramco TV, which was known as the "Dhahran Channel." Among the first television stations in the Arab Gulf, and after years of working in Dammam, he returned to Dubai to practice professional television filming in Kuwait TV from Dubai, which began broadcasting in 1969, and then moved to Abu Dhabi TV, where he worked for nearly 12 years, to finally move To Sharjah TV, who continued with his film crew until his retirement in the 1990s. According to what the writer Ali al-Sharif mentions in his book "Unscrupulous Reversal", pointing out that Al-Suwaidi presented a large group of pictures that documented life in that period, including various pictures of the founders of the UAE and official figures, most notably the former Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Abdul Khaliq Hassouna, During his visit to the UAE to celebrate the establishment of the Union. In addition to Salmin Al-Suwaidi's interest in documenting public landmarks, such as “Naif Market in Dubai”, “Dubai International Airport in the 1960s,” “Kuwait TV from Dubai,” “Rolla Square in Sharjah.”
Sheikha photographers
The name of the photographer, Sheikha Al-Suwaidi, stands out as one of the first Emirati women to work in photography, and she was born in Dubai in 1936, and she learned photography at the age of 17 years, and then went to the daughter of Dr. Muhammad Habib Al Reda, to learn from her the ABCs of this light world in photo development, while The first camera you bought was a type of «Agfa - Umm Khartoum», and its price at that time was only 10 dirhams, and it was bought from the stores of «Abdul Karim Captain», the first agent of cameras in the Emirates at that time. During her career in this field, she took pictures of neighbors and friends, and landscapes, as well as documenting important events with the camera, such as the fire that broke out in Dubai in the early sixties, in which most of the houses of "Arish" were burned, and it extended from the Al Fahidi Museum at the court of the ruler of Dubai to the Sea of Shindagha. Another for the sinking of a merchant ship in the Dubai Creek, and the image of the first bank established in Dubai, the "British Bank".
Sheikh Zayed and photography
The late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul, loved photography and owned many photography and video cameras, and he often photographed by himself what was accomplished during his inspection tours of the projects that he was ordering to implement in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, or in various parts of the country After the declaration of the union. He was also keen to document all the projects that are implemented through photos and video clips, and to keep them in specialized institutions, foremost of which is the Center for Documentation and Studies (the National Archives now), and it was located at that time in Qasr Al Hosn.
The photo of Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa 1855-1906, his sons and the notables of Bani Yas, has not yet been proven to be owned by any photographer or party.
Abdul Karim Kabten used to photograph most of the prominent personalities, making his collection at the forefront of rare collections.
«Memory of the Nation»
A weekly page provided by "Emirates Today", in cooperation with the "National Archives", affiliated with the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, with the aim of introducing the way life in the Emirates before the federation, and during its early beginnings, and the great effort made by the founding fathers of the state for its establishment, and linking it to what the UAE leaders achieve today And her sons from the achievements witnessed by the world.