One of the most appealing genres of photography is travel photography. When visiting a new place, all photographers strive to find a way to catch its uniqueness and bring it home with them. Here, three renowned Pakistani photographers share with us some amazing photographs from their escapades within Pakistan and around the globe, and explain how different elements cross their minds and melt together to form a unique character or personality of the places they visit; how it affects them and that je-ne-sais-quoi that makes it different from any other place in the world…

 

Rizwan Farooq – This young Dubai-based photographer is the President & CEO of E|R Productions Intl., an Event Management/Public Relations/Communications company that operates in UAE and New York. Rizwan’s recent work includes consultation services to the Dubai Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2010, and he is also heavily involved with The Citizens Foundation Charity’s UAE chapter. He does not believe in going anywhere without hisCanon 30D, and although he enjoys nature & people photography best, his portfolio includes some impressive work in event and travel photography as well.   

 

1. Serendipity – This one will always be very special to me. The view is from my home where I lived when I first landed in 2008 to take a bit off the big apple! Most evenings, I would spend here on the bench reading, clicking pictures or just switching off and gazing at this beautiful spectacle in front of me. Total bliss!

   

2. Monkey’s ridge – This one was shot in Oman. It was part of a crazy challenge we had to undergo and here you see a member of my crew ‘walk’ across the canyon on two cables, with a drop of 200 meters below! The picture still gives a lump in the throat, I tell you!

   

3. Prayers fickle – Shot inside one of the monasteries in Durbur Square, Kathmandu, this is where people come to offer their prayers and seek blessings by lighting up these lamps with a special wax stick. Some blazing, some flickering out–the power of prayers.

   

4. Monk in Crocs! – It was quite amusing to find a young monk walk past us in his Crocs and I think I nearly spotted a moonwalk there! The robe and his crocs certainly had us all smiling and pose for individual pictures with him!

   

5. Finding Neverland – This one was taken from my recent trip to Nepal as part of a fund-raising trek for a charity I’m very close to – The Citizen’s Foundation. This is day 3 of a daily 9-hour treacherous trek that broke down a few spirits (and ankles!). The gorgeous view around just kept us all going and taking that one more step towards our destination though. Despite all that Mother Nature could throw at us, including rain and a blistering hailstorm, we all agree we can’t wait to do it all over again!

   

 

 

Kashif Rashid – Is the owner KBridals, and has extensive experience in wedding, fashion and travel photography. His work has been published in top publications locally and is usually met with rave reviews. Kashif, besides having worked with most of the top designers in Pakistan, has also had the honour of working with legendary fashion photographer Bruce Smith in the UK. Kashif’s creative imagery, obsessive attention to detail and expertise with the camera continues to help him produce inspired images which are truly worth a thousand words.

 

1. Dubai – This was taken in the infamous aquarium of Dubai. The idea of a passerby enjoying the fishes just caught my eye. Every time we look at pictures of Dubai, we see cityscapes of larger-than-life and imposing architectural structures, but I think this shot shows a totally different side of the country…

   

2. Kata beach, Phuket, Thailand – Thailand is all about the sun, sand, and the beach. It’s impossible to witness the lovely land and seascapes and not take their pictures!

   

3. Data Gunj Bakhsh Urs, Lahore – This is a shot taken from the 963rd Urs of Data Gunj Bakhsh. Every year more than a 100,000 people come to the shrine at the Urs. It’s a high-energy event with lots of people performing various rituals and activities. I just loved the intensity I was able to capture in this image. It reflects the amount of vigor and energy that defines the event with everyone so involved in their rituals.

   

4. London – For me, London is all about the energy on the Piccadilly Circus/Leicester Square and Double-Decker buses. This image shows the bus with the reflection of Piccadilly Circus on the front glass, and for me, that covers a big part of London. I would have loved to take pictures of their underground system as well but I just felt uncomfortable carrying a big camera in the London underground with my green passport!

   

5. Gawal Mandi, Lahore – A vendor selling gola-ganda to a customer. Very colourful; very Pakistani!

   

 

 

Nadeem A Khan – with a career spanning over 24 years, Nadeem Khan is one of the pioneers in the world of Pakistani fashion photography. He has introduced innumerable people starting out into showbiz to various magazines, taught hundreds of students and has worked with almost everybody who’s anybody in the local industry. Travel photography being his passion, Nadeem has traveled more than half the world, including all of Pakistan. Recently however, he has been focusing more on commercial photography, which he finds to be more challenging on a personal level.

 

1. Smiling Kids – Beautiful smiles on these young boys I met at a Quranic Madersa inside the historical Darawar Mosque in Cholistan.

   

2. Badshahi Mosque, Lahore – I found this shot very interesting and had a great time clicking away when I saw the famous Badshahi Mosque’s dooms were reflecting in the rain water like this. To me, it’s an unusual composition and you’re very lucky if you get a chance to capture such moments on film.

   

3. Floating Market, Bangkok– Bangkok’s famous floating markets are a phenomenon you won’t find anywhere else in the world. They’re crowded and smelly, but their uniqueness makes up for all that!

   

4. Shy girl – Children from small towns and villages usually love posing for the camera, but this young girl was rather shy as I took her picture inside her boat house at Manchar Lake in Sind.

   

5. Empress Market, Karachi– There’s no special story behind this one, except that it’s a beautiful building! Most of the time I don’t take a shot after a long thought process. Why am I taking this shot? Should I take it or not? Normally Photographers have the ability to see what a shot would turn out like before he clicks on camera shutter. To me, a photographer should have an eye to see things differently, that’s it!