After about ten minutes of staring at the screen trying to figure out how to even begin talking about the convention, I decided to just dive in. It took me this long to write about it because in a way, I felt like if I talked about it and posted all the pictures then that’s…
A while back, I wrote a blog post about depression and the stigma that surrounds it in the UAE (and lots of Arab countries). I’ve been thinking about it a lot especially because I haven’t exactly been doing so well. I was debating whether or not I should talk about this, for the same reasons I mentioned…
“Do the thing you fear most and the death of fear is certain.” – Mark Twain During GPP2015, I met Nitin, a member of EPyC (one of the biggest photography clubs in Dubai) through a mutual friend. Nitin saw my work and invited me to give a talk during one of the club’s Creative Sparks…
Sometimes it feels like there are two sides of us, constantly at war. One wants to be saved and is fighting for freedom and release, and one wants to stay down, and drag everything with it. Because it’s easy, because it’s safe, because the pain is familiar. Because it’s constant. That dark, self-deprecating, self-loathing side…
If you’ve ever lived in the UAE, you know how the transition from winter to summer can be. Or not really. No one ever knows because it’s so random and unpredictable. It could be all sunshine and butterflies one day, and stormy the next. And the sandstorms.. Oh, the sandstorms. I love them. I don’t…
Hi, my name is Amani, I deal with depression on a daily basis and I think about suicide at least once a day. For the longest time, I felt like a fake. There are people who can’t get out of bed, who can’t function, who can’t even eat, because of how bad their depression is. And I’m…
I initially wanted to write a blog post only about a project I’m involved in, called Restart The Art, but I just finished working on my new picture for the 52 Week Project and I felt like the picture works well with the idea of the project. Restart The Art is an amazing idea by…
Just a few more days till 2015! Who’s excited? I am, and I’m not. I am because a new year sometimes feels like you get a chance to start over, like you get a clean slate and anything is possible. I’m not because almost every photographer I follow has posted something about their new years…
I truly, and whole-heartedly believe that knowledge is meant to be shared. I’m fascinated by so many things in life, and one of the things I enjoy the most is listening to people talk about their passions. My sister is a med student and she loves it. Often, she’d talk to me about what she’s…
How often do we start down a path only to turn around out of fear? How often do we have a dream and then fail to live it? There are so many wasted moments, so many pieces of time that are lost because of fear. There are moments that could be, and moments that will…
Amani AlShaali 