Engagement photos | Lee & Lucy
I’m not really one for believing in fate. I think you make your own luck. But this particular shoot location seemed destined to happen.
Lee and Lucy, whose wedding we’ll be photographing at Stoke Rochford Hall later this month, live in Dubai. Because they live abroad we had planned to do their pre-wedding shoot and planning meeting here in the UK, just two days before their wedding.
I’ll spare you the long explanation and just say that our paths unexpectedly crossed in Ras al Khaimar (RAK), one of the seven emirates that make up the UAE, about an hour outside of Dubai. Hubs and I were having a long overdue summer break and Lee & Lucy were in the area to celebrate a friend’s birthday. All completely unknown until I sent a courtesy email to all our December couples to let them know we’d be out of the office for a few days. What were the chances?!
We took advantage of fate’s helping hand and planned to meet and do the pre-wedding portraits out in RAK. Google turned up trumps with a great location. An ‘OMG I might actually start doing cartwheels’ location would probably be a more fitting description.
Al Jazirah al Hamra is an abandoned pearl-fishing town. It was built in the 1300′s and has been uninhabited (and neglected) since the late 60′s. Locals believe it to be haunted though we found it more surreal than scary. And it’s endlessly fascinating.
I’m used to working with onlookers but shooting in the desert with robed Emiratis looking on was something else. That and the odd brightly coloured plastic toy and doll’s head poking out from the monotone dusty rubble. Even the silence wasn’t particularly eerie and only broken by Adhan, the Islamic call for prayer. So not your every day location.
Ghost town or not, it’s an amazing piece of history and really interesting to see a traditional, authentic side to the UAE which is better known for the biggest, highest, fastest, uber luxurious nature of Dubai. I loved the barren feel, the decay, the crumbling buildings, the typically Arabian architectural details, the weathered doors and windows falling off their hinges, the ochre colours, the coral and shell detail in the walls … Oh my, I could go on.
So, some photographs…
Most of the houses are built from coral rag, which you can easily see where the walls are crumbling…
Every pre-wedding shoot starts with some simple portraits to get us all warmed up…
The houses are guarded by doors; the older ones being wooden (with lovely peeling paint!) …
We found some lovely decorative features …
Amazing blue sky (which is real, not Photoshopped!) …
The tower that you see to the left is a wind catcher; a form of air conditioning and typical architecture of the area. You can also see how sunny it is from Lee and Lucy’s shadows in the foreground …
Aren’t they just the most gorgeous couple?
And big thanks to hubs for being my light-stand for these next few photos which use flash! We wouldn’t have had been able to do these without him because my light stand wouldn’t fit in my case. Yes, I tried!
Same wall, different look. It’s never *just* a wall….
I had such a great time on this shoot and am really looking forward to creating some completely different and very Christmassy wedding photos with Lee and Lucy next week.
Do leave some love for Lee and Lucy in the comments below. They were such troopers scrambling over fallen rocks in blazing sunshine to get these photographs!
Comments
Wow Sarah, stunning. Amazing location as well.
Well these are just fantastic. What a great twist of fate that you all came to be in such an amazing location( and a very good looking couple as well).
Amazing! LOVE the orange ‘not just a wall’ one the best! xx
That ‘wall’ is incredible… What a find! Gorgeous photos, gorgeous couple. Have a great Christmas Sarah.
wowee! what an incredible location and gorgeous couple!
This shoot is brilliant! What a backdrop hey! :D xx merry Christmas to you too
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