"Captured" in Fullframe Magazine May/Jun 2014
Captured
That instant when you saw an outright stunning photograph and you don’t know why your eyes seemed magnetized-- could it be because the subject is perfectly timed and stilled at a precise angle? Or the colors are as vivid as life? Complementing light and shades perhaps? Or maybe that particular feel of interest that exudes beneath the sheet? Whatever it may be… at that instant, one thought remained running on your mind… “How I wish I could also capture moments like these…” That moment – Boom! You have just been captured by the allure of photography! While every photographer has his own story, for Macro Photographer, Yousef Al Habshi, this seems to be the case.
Spur of the Moment
Yousef, who just turned 33 last March, admitted that his fondness for photography just came “all of a sudden”,after marveling at a beautifully captured seascape (credits to the anonymous photographer) while surfing the World Wide Web. It started as an admiration for the work which right then conceived the desire in his heart to actually be behind the lens and take the shot himself. This desire eventually gave birth to a hobby last December 2009 when he got his first DSLR camera, Nikon D90.
Armed with nothing but his enthusiasm,he recalled his first ever shooting venture one night at the Emirates Garden Palace. As usual for a newbie,the turnout was not that totally great.“All the shots were randomly taken and were so bad.” he said. But this did not dishearten him; instead, it motivated him to pursue excellence.In the absence of formal training and education on photography, he utilized various online resources: e-books,video tutorials, forums, etc. to equip himself and enhance his skills. And when discouragement does come, the works and experiences of other well known photographers encourage and motivate him to keep improving his craftand to try and find his strengths as he discovers different genres of the field.No sooner, the hobby had grown into a passion.
Defining Moments
As his experience grew, the desire to deliver something unique led Yousef to Macro Photography. Despite the technical challenges from lighting and camera stability, significant magnification, critical depth of field, superb requirement for patience and probably the danger and risk of running after moving and sometimes lethal subjects, Yousef found his heart in this genre. For all it is, he wants to be remembered as a fine “Extreme Macro photographer”.
His passion later bore fruit as three of his works garnered awards and recognition at the Emirates Photography Competitions last 2012. His Macro photos garnered one gold medal, one silver medal and an honorable-mention ribbon. From then on he knew… his hobby has evolved to a career. Aiming for mastery and perfection of his trade, he upgraded his gear from Nikon D90 to Nikon D800E with the addition of Sony Nex-5T as his auxiliary. To further bring out the best in every moment he takes, he integrated post processing to his works through the help of Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom 4.2.
Now looking at his works again, blown up images of insects about several times their size, perfectly lighted with all their stark colors and shades neatly featured along with their creepy, hair rising details magnified and made alive on still shot. Remembering how Yousef began, one could somewhat wonder, who was captured first, is it really the subject or the photographer?
