Hatta Outdoor Shoot & Clean-up Drive

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

United Arab Emirates | Friday, October 15, 2010 | 5 photos

During my five years of working and living in Dubai, I had a few great memories on outdoor shoots (when I was studying photography during the weekends), and one of them is about these pictures. These photos were taken last February 2009 during a Clean-up Drive for the environment and an outdoor shoot at Hatta, Oman. I had very little sleep like less than an hour, and disturbingly woke up from a friend who made a call just to say that she wasn't joining us in that outdoor shoot. Well, I wish she could have just sent an sms rather than give me headache from her call and disrupt my sleep. Driving from Dubai to Hatta before sunrise on a very foggy, raining and almost pitch-black road is a challenge already, especially if the driver like me had less than an hour's sleep. Good thing we stopped by a petrol station to have a cup of warm coffee with a spicy samosa. And yes, the caffeine was high enough to wake me up and keep me driving for more than 4-hours. Even though the dark road seems endless. After 3 to 4-hours of driving in the darkness, with the only lights you see are the headlights of your 4x4, finally, we see the light of the sunrising. We all stopover for a break. And the road challenge doesn't end there as we still need to drive a very tough and rocky road where only 4x4s could pass through. But when you get to the destination, its worth it. The rough and rocky ground contrast the blue sky with its picturesque clouds. We, then, went trekking to the very rocky hill, to get some pictures. After taking photos, it was time for our moral obligation to nature. The organiser handed out some trash bags, and gloves to everyone, divided us into groups, and we all head out to pick up the pieces of trash. There was even a contest that the group who brings the most trash wins.