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Tarek Addi
@tarekaddi
Landscape photographer based in Dubai
I grew up between Germany and France before moving to Dubai, where I have been living for the last 10 years for work (with a stop-over in Saudi Arabia and Luxembourg in between). I work in international trade where the importance of languages and culture is key to ensure I do my job the best possible way. The fact that I have lived in different countries for the last 20-30 years has driven my love for travel and understanding/learning new cultures, but also discovering different landscapes. This is where it all started.
It didn’t necessarily start with the tool itself (camera), even though I got my first video camera when I was 9 years old. I was ‘’tasked’’ by my parents to film for family or friends such as weddings, trips or holidays. Since then I have developed a love for photography and filming and understood the importance of determination and concentration this activity requires. However, it was the love for travel, new cultures and places that got me hooked.
"Photography helps capture these moments forever and describe in the best way what I was living, seeing and discovering to my family, that in most of the cases cannot join my trips."
"I take every opportunity I can to take photos whenever possible which often means during weekends and holidays."
I try to plan my holidays accordingly and balance family time (with parents, wife and son) as well as personal time for photography with family or friends. If the opportunity is there I also combine this with business trips, adding extra days at the end to explore the surroundings of the area where I traveled to for work.
"I have learned to respect the places I visit and give credit to the people and landscapes that exist on this earth."
Each one is unique in its own way and cannot be compared to one another in my opinion – all the countries I have traveled to surprised me in their own ways. Not only from a purely ‘’photography’’ perspective but more from a cultural perspective. Language, way of life, traditions… It can be someone randomly in Seattle telling me he likes my t-shirt, to a driver in Jordan/Petra singing with me along old music that I used to hear from my parents, to the atmosphere and moment of unique and abandoned landscapes that I will never forget.
Living for so long in Dubai, I have shot a lot in desert-like environments. Desert photography is tricky and for me one of the most challenging because it can mostly be shot only during sunrise or sunset in order to have a variety of colors in the sky and in the sand itself which creates the atmosphere. I have also learned to distinguish the different sand colors as it is needed to take those into consideration when shooting. Other than shooting time and color, I would say that weather and gear protection are key in desert photography. Weather because if it’s windy – having sand literally everywhere – it can be very complicated to take any photos. This is also why gear protection is so important. Temperature is obviously a vital aspect too because it can rise up until 50 degrees (even early morning or late afternoon) and it can become dangerous very quickly if you get trapped in the middle of nowhere.
"An adventure in the desert can be deadly when you underestimate the heat or humidity and suffocate or get stuck in remote desert locations without access to phone network"
Although that does not sound too happy or motivating, for me the desert is meditative. I can literally dive into long hours of thoughts when in such an environment. It drives me away from the hectic world in Dubai and enables me to completely disconnect by admiring the endless dunes all around me. In winter, you can spend hours relaxing in the desert with family and friends to enjoy a peaceful and often an unforgettable moment under the bright night sky, breathing in the fresh air.
It’s at these moments I feel I have the space for some reflecting and grounding. The experience of living in so many countries, learning about cultures and adapting to a certain extent to different ways of life has taught me a lot, such as true open mindedness, adaptability and problem solving – how to tackle issues you encounter in everyday life. However the challenge is that you have no real roots/home you’re attached to. Home is South of France where my parents live, but “feelings home” is something hard to describe in my case.
"I often feel home in other countries I have lived or worked in or just when I feel welcomed by people anywhere I travel to."
When growing up in different countries, you learn to rely a lot on yourself and on the people very close to you because the rest is ever changing. I have learned a lot from people such as Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Bruce Lee and other historical personalities. But also from random people living life at its most basic level while still being grateful and happy with everything they have. My biggest inspiration however comes from both my parents who taught me to remain proud and strong regardless of the challenges faced in life and who, till today, keep pushing me to the next level.
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