a day in the desert

Hiiiii.

Somewhere along the line I lost track of time and haven't been here in about 6 months.  Long story short I finished NYSC in one piece and took a trip back to a country I love. 

I've been thinking of what to post for a while and I'm happy that I'm coming back with a little knowledge to share with you all. Whenever you hear about UAE, you think of the skyscrapers, fast cars and luxurious living. On Sunday the 17th, I got to see a different side of the UAE. Sure I've been to the desert and I've seen camels and gotten a taste of their culture but this trip felt a bit different. 

Etihad towers, Abu Dhabi. Image taken with an iPhone and edited with vsco.

Somewhere in Abu Dhabi. Image taken with an iPhone and edited with vsco.

At the start of the tour, we had the opportunity to visit Shams 1 solar power station. Shams 1 power station is located in western Abu Dhabi and is 6km from the town Madinat Zayed. The power plant produces about 100 megawatts daily and can power about 200000 homes. Energy produced from this power plant is transferred to the national grid and distributed for consumption. It was a beautiful site I must say. Here's a link to their website if you'd like to know more about the project.

 Shams power plant 

The next stop was the Al Dhafra festival. Al Dhafra festival is inspired by the Emirati culture and heritage. The festival is held under the patronage of His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Court Commander of the UAE Armed  Forces. 

The Al Dhafra festival is an annual festival that aims to bring together generations and is dedicated to protecting environmental and historical heritage and the culture of the Emirati citizens. I've seen camels roam around northern Nigeria but I've never really paid attention to the importance of camels. The festival sheds light on the roles of camels in the culture and heritage of the UAE. 

Camels that made the first round of the beauty competition. Image shot with an iPhone and edited with vsco.

Image shot with my camera (50mm) and edited with vsco.

There is a wide range of activities and events to attend while at the festival. One of the main events is Camel Mazayna (camel beauty contest). People travel from the GCC countries to participate in this competition and camels are judged based on how long their necks are, size of their eyes, length of their legs and so on. Competition is open to pure breeds only and this year there are about 1500 competitors with 15000 camels competing for 38 million dirhams in prizes.

We got the opportunity to see the camels up close and pet them. Our guide mentioned that a particular camel was worth about 2 million dirhams while her father was worth about 15 million dirhams. It was unbelievable and I might go adopt a stray camel lol.

Image shot with my camera (50mm) and edited with vsco.

Fun fact, the street that leads to the festival which BTW is located in the middle of the desert is called "millions street". Why? Cause a lot of millions are exchanged. 

Other activities include camel auctions, the traditional market, dates competition, poetry, photography (shoutout to all the amazing photographers), folk music, Faclon competition, Arabian Saluki beauty and traditional race championship and many more traditional activities.

Image shot with my camera (50mm) and edited with vsco.

Qasr AlSarab hotel. Image shot with my camera (50mm) and edited with vsco.

Image shot with my camera and edited with vsco. 

Qasr AlSarab hotel. Image shot with my camera (50mm).

View from Qasr AlSarab hotel. Image shot with iPhone and edited with vsco.

Next on our list was a visit to Qasr Alsarab hotel (inserts heart eyes). Now if you know me, you'll know I enjoy peace and quiet so naturally I fell immediately in love with this location. It is situated in the middle of the desert and it is about an hour and half to 2 hours drive from the city of Abu Dhabi. 

We did a variety of activities. Sand bashing was first on the list and that was super fun. I love views so when we stopped for pictures I was in awe. Next was archery and I thought point and shoot, right? WRONG! However, I managed to hit the target once so yay! Did some bike riding before heading to the falcon show and the saluki show. One of the falcons flew away, apparently falcons are not loyal. 

In the middle of the desert about 25km from Saudi Arabia. Image shot with my camera (50mm).

Also middle of the desert about 25km from Saudi Arabia. Image shot with my camera (50mm).

Taking a break from the activities to capture camels at rest. Image shot with my camera (50mm).

Image shot with iPhone and edited with vsco.

Image shot with my camera (50mm).

A cup of Arabian coffee while watching the falcon show. Image shot with my camera (50mm).

We had dinner and ended the night star gazing. 

Qasr Alsarab is a place I'm definitely heading back to in shaa Allah. Also just realized I didn't take enough pictures of the resort. I was too busy feeding my eyes and storing it in my memory 

Thank you for reading and I'm off to enjoy the rest of the year. Hopefully I'll be back before the year runs out. 

Happy Holidays!!

With love

Aisha

xx

Looking forward to August

Taking time off today to talk to you guys about something interesting.

 Hi

I'm going to ask a series of questions. 

Have you heard about TEDx Maitama? Yes? No? 

What about TED Talks? Still doesn't ring a bell? Maybe this might jog your memory. Have you heard the song flawless by Beyonce? I feel like I got your attention now; you know the song that featured our very own Chimamanda. YESS! 

That speech was from a TED event where Chimamanda spoke on feminism. 

So Ted talks is a media organization that brings people together to share ideas that are worth spreading. It was founded by Richard Saul Wurman about 3 decades ago. 

Now I'm particularly excited because I used to sit and watch these videos back in school and its exciting to be able to attend a similar event. TEDx Maitama is an independently organized event and this year's theme is bridging the gap. They have an amazing line up of speakers and you really don't want to miss out on the event. I'll be a part of the team as a volunteer and they've got a lot of cool stuff lined up. For more information, you can check out the website TEDx Maitama . 

Tickets for the event cost N3000 and is available for purchase online, at dunes center (Abuja), El amin primary school Abuja and Shop365 (Abuja). The event in on the 12th of August at 10am at Dunes center Abuja. Looking forward to seeing you guys there. 

I'll leave you with a link to a ted talk video.

Chimamanda at TED Talks

Thank you!

Until next time,

Aisha 

xx

Melanin poppin with the 50mm

Hey!

I finally did a shoot with Halima!! I remember the first time I saw a picture of her and the first thing I said to myself was "I need to have a shoot with her". I kept saying it over and over again until I eventually decided to take action. I reached out to an old friend via twitter and she cc'd Halima's handle. Off we went to the dm and the rest is history.

We started talking in March I think but somehow I had a very busy schedule. My weekends were full back to back and when I eventually had a free weekend she was busy but alas we had a date and I locked down a venue.

A few weeks ago, I was at ilmi house for unabashed and when I was hunting for a location I reached out to them and they were kind enough to let me use their space. Ilmi house is a resource centre - library and provides a relaxing enovironment for young entrepreneurs to network, mentoring and more. Please check them out Ilmi House

It was an outdoor shoot and I was equipped with my reflector, LED light, camera and 50mm lens.

I wish I could share everything on here but I can't. Halima was giving strong pose after pose and it was a pleasure working with her.

Enjoy!

Aisha 

xx

What I've been up to

Hi guys!

What have I been up to since I last made a post? A LOT! I turned 24 which is amazing. YAY! I'm about to wrap up NYSC and tbh I'm going to miss my little munchkins. If there's anything I've learned from being an assistant teacher is patience and tolerance. It has been a lovely few months of ups and downs. To think when I started in admin in August, I hated the job and my hatred for the job grew when school resumed and I was transferred to a classroom. Glad it is now the opposite and I appreciate the time I've spent there. 

The pictures I'm blogging today are a few of my favorites from the past few months which if you've been on my instagram, you've probably already seen them. 

I also got the opportunity to attend unabashed Kaduna which was organized by Bayo Omoboriowo. Even though he unfortunately couldn't make it because the president came back on the day of unabashed. We still got to learn from 3 amazing photographers and for the 2nd time I got mentored by Tope Horpload. They are all such passionate guys and I love that about them. So thank you to Bayo, Tope, David, Dami, Timmy, Nuhu and the lovely lady at Ilmi house for organizing such a fun and educative experience. I can now add street/documentary photographer to my bio *side eye*.

Last thing I'd like to say is thank God for Ed Sheeran! Divide is playing on a loop.

Thank you for checking out my blog today.

Aisha

xx

December portraits

Hey guys! 

First of all I  want to wish all my viewers a Happy Happy New Year!! WE MADE IT OUT OF 2016!!!! Thank you God!

December was a busy month filled with weddings, family, friends, wrapping up the school year etc. I'm currently on holiday enjoying my last week before I have to resume school. Yes incase I never mentioned it I'm now an assistant teacher and to my surprise I enjoy it. 

2016 was such a shit year in so many ways but Alhamdulillah. I'm hoping 2017 will be bigger and better for AR clicks. 

I'm going to share a few portarits that I took in December because thats mostly what I've been photographing. Like share comment and enjoy this post.

Until next time

Aisha

xx