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For Dr Nazar Al Haddad clicking several frames of his subject comes as naturally as examining patients as Gulf Air's Aviation Medical Examiner.
The 38-year-old Bahraini doctor is passionate about his hobby that is promising to develop into a serious vocation as his exhibition titled 'Rhythm of Nations' opens at the Bahrain Arts Society this week.
Dr Al Haddad was born in an artistically-enriched family of Bahrain - his uncle is the renowned artist Abbas Al Mousawi and his cousins and family members all dabble in some form of art.
At the age of 12 Dr Al Haddad bought his first Yashica camera with money collected from his parents and clicked away copiously at family gatherings and school functions.
The young shutterbug, although studying to become a doctor, pursued his interest in photography and became a member of the Bahrain Arts Society and Photographic Club in 1995. Through the club he attended several workshops in photographic techniques but says that experience and trial and error has been the true learning experience for him.
"You can study photography and be good at the technicalities but until you have an artistic eye you cannot get a great picture. It's all about how you see an object from an angle which is unique and conveys something to the audience," said Dr Al Haddad who lives in Saar with his wife of 10 years Sanaa and his two children Nadeen, six, and Elyaas, four.
He started experimenting with shutter speed, different lenses, lighting and invested in professional camera equipment but didn't know where he stood in the vast field of photography.
"I shot portraits, landscape, still life and did journalistic photography and after 10 years of countless experimentation discovered that my forte lay in photographing nature and people in their different cultures," he said.
Since 2001, Dr Al Haddad took his photography to a higher level and started travelling extensively for the sole purpose of capturing images. He has travelled the length and breadth of the globe and some continents several times round.
His current exhibition showcases his extensive travels and offbeat photography of people unaware of the Bahraini capturing them through his lens.
He has shot some of his most interesting photographs in countries like Sudan, Vietnam, Nepal, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Morocco, Iran and Egypt.
"I research extensively into the local culture, traditions and festivals before embarking on any of my trips. Hence all my photographs provide a glimpse into a different way of life whether they are local qat (a legal drug) dealers in Yemen and Ethiopia or an old man in the rural backwaters in China."
Dr Al Haddad has won several awards and competitions through the course of the years in Bahrain. Presently his work has been chosen to be exhibited in the Photo Forum Gallery in Slovakia as part of an international competition.
The home-grown doctor and photographer and a former ministry of health employee has bared his photographic endeavours in a solo exhibition for the first time to the wider local public and hopes that his work will provide an interesting peek into the diverse cultures around the world.
l Dr Al Haddad's personal photographic exhibition, 'Rhythm of Nations' will run until January 3 at the Bahrain Arts Society.
