WATCH: Portraits of diverse faces in the UAE

Dubai - A collection of portraits taken by Khaleej Times Senior Photographer Shihab was unveiled at a ceremony in India.

Having been in the UAE and working as a photojournalist for Khaleej Times for a decade, Shihab has been privileged to witness and depict through his lens, a country he describes as "borderless in its outlook."
Shihab, 42, an Indian expat from Kerala, whose name in Arabic means "shooting stars", recently released a coffee table book titled Portraiture. The book, he says, is his tribute to the UAE. However, he did not 'shoot the stars' or high-profile residents and locals, but the everyday people we see on the streets, in a farm or in the desert, workers at the market, performers, the elderly, artists, and other professionals. People who live ordinary lives but are stars in their own way.
"The subjects were being presented before me, as if by divine intervention, during intervals at work or on my off-day trips, mostly by foot through busy markets, crowded streets, barren deserts and bleak suburban towns," Shihab said in the foreword of his book.
"Sometimes, it was the profound connection the moment made with me as a human being," describing his urge to click the portraits. "Often, it was the person and his or her setting. Invariably, it was a certain feeling that overwhelmed me."
Working behind the camera and looking through the small aperture, Shihab described each picture as spontaneous. Candid. "Sometimes, I would shoot other subjects to distract the 'protagonists' I had in mind, before turning the camera on him or her," he added.
It was the eyes, which Shihab called the person's window to his/her soul, that captured his imagination. He took the pictures using old fashioned black and white films, which he ordered online, and over late nights developed the films in his bathroom, which was light-proofed to serve as his dark room.
"I preferred to shoot early mornings or late evenings, and mostly using B&W films. It was a self-imposed pressure. I didn't want the liberty of shooting away on digital."
Luckily for Shihab, he did not encounter much of a problem while looking for subjects. "None turned me away, maybe just 2 or 3, when I approached them with my request, and I thank them all for their kindness."
More importantly, Shihab is fortunate to be a resident of the UAE. With almost 200 nationalities living in the country, the UAE is the obvious choice for his first canvas.
"Where else in the world could I have met a Masai warrior, a Sudanese camel herder, a German antique trader, a Pakistani mechanic or an Indian tea-boy - all in one place?"
"The book is the first of an ongoing series. I hope and pray to go to newer lands, witness unseen faces and meet everyday heroes," said Shihab.
angel@khaleejtimes.com
Website: shihabphotography.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Shihabphotography/