Sohail Karmani points out that everyone is interested in photography these days. You only have to glance around a mall and count how many people are taking selfies, he says, chuckling.
People’s curiosity about photography is not a new phenomenon. But to take that curiosity and develop it into a career that makes professionals worldwide sit up and take note is no easy feat.
The 50-year-old linguist and professor, who has been teaching in the UAE for the past 20 years, was recently a contestant on the European reality TV show, Master of Photography. Being a British national, the Abu Dhabi-based Karmani was eligible to apply for the show, and was eventually selected from among thousands of photographers to join a group of 12 contestants to participate in the second season, which is currently airing on Sky Arts in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Italy and Austria.
Last week, on the third episode, Karmani was voted off after a challenge that involved taking a portrait of actor Clive Owen. He had won the previous week’s challenge of taking a striking photo of the rush hour in the German city of Hamburg.
Nevertheless, Karmani credits the experience for boosting his confidence. “When I heard about the show, I thought, ‘I can do this’,” he says.
Karmani began his photographic journey only four years ago when fiddling with his DSLR camera. “I got into still photography and specifically portraits. I thought it was a beautiful art form and started teaching myself; I loved the aesthetics of it. I developed an appreciation of the beauty of photographs, and how powerful they can be as a medium.”
Although Karmani is of a Pakistani origin – his parents left Pakistan for the UK in the 1950s – he had never been there before, and decided to visit the country of his ancestry in 2010, considering its proximity to the UAE.
“I went there for the first time knowing nothing about the country, with no expectations,” says Karmani.
“I was fascinated by the place: the colours, the smells, the vibrancy, the warmth of the people. And it’s so untouched by globalisation. It’s like nothing has changed in perhaps the last 100 years or more.”
That first visit prompted a sort of obsession with the country, and Karmani began returning to Pakistan for visits as often as he could.
Then, when he began flirting with photography in 2013, Pakistan and its people became his camera’s favourite subjects. “Turning Pakistan into my photography project became an opportunity for me to get to know the country and learn about it and document it. I’ve grown as a photographer in Pakistan; it’s really where I’ve learnt my craft.”
Karmani is not alone in that respect. Some of the leading photographers of the 20th century created some of their best works in Pakistan: American photographer Steve McCurry, whose famous Afghan Girl portrait in 1984, was shot in Pakistan; Spanish photographer Fernando Morales and his striking images of child labourers in Pakistan; and Palestinian photographer Muhammed Muheisen, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer based in Pakistan, works for the Associated Press.
“There’s something about Pakistan which lends itself to amazing photography,” says Karmani.
“It’s a place of great visual beauty. I come back with really impactful imagery every time.”
Karmani’s work is predominantly made of striking portraits of people he happens to meet during his travels. Street photography, he says, is his main interest.
However, the whole point of his approach is to simply tell a good story. “A good photo is something you want to look at, but it also has to tell a story,” he says.
“It has to move you in some way and connect with the viewer, and convey something about the person or environment that the photo has captured.”
With a portfolio of some 140 photos set in Pakistan, Milan (his wife’s home city) and the UAE, Karmani has won a few competitions and has a significant online presence, with over 40,000 following him on Flickr.
He in now planning to fuse this personal interest with his professional career. A senior lecturer in the arts and humanities department at New York University Abu Dhabi, where he teaches a course on the contemporary politics of Islam, Karmani will begin the new academic year in August by teaching a course put together out of his interest in photography.
His course, on the power and ethics in photography, was enthusiastically supported by his colleagues.
“NYU has been very crucial in terms of helping me nurture this interest and develop it further,” says Karmani.
“It’s photography from an academic and artistic perspective. We will look at the ethical issues around photography in the modern day, how photographs can convey certain meanings, how images have an effect on how we understand the world.”
artslife@thenational.ae
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%20four-cyl%20turbo%20%2B%20mild%20hybrid%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E204hp%20at%205%2C800rpm%20%2B23hp%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C800rpm%20%2B205Nm%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E9-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7.3L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2FDecember%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh205%2C000%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The%C2%A0specs%20
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Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
Going grey? A stylist's advice
If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”
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What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
SPECS
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The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: seven-speed auto
Power: 420 bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: from Dh293,200
On sale: now
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
