Talent comes into focus

Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) CEO Ausamah Al Absi may have one of the most demanding jobs in the kingdom, but he still manages to find time to indulge in his passion for photography writes May Al Mousawi.

Inspired by the month of Ramadan, he compiled images he has taken over the past two years to produce the Faces of Bahrain exhibition at the Capital Club, with the proceeds going towards the Royal Charity Organisation.

Ausamah said: “Photography has always been a serious hobby of  mine. I’ve been doing it for 28 years now but I have never published my work before.

“I was pushed by the Minister of Culture, Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, for over a year to do it and because 2012 is earmarked as Manama, the Capital of Arab Culture, we thought it was the perfect time.

“I’m not too comfortable with showing my work to the public because my photos are my babies, I cannot imagine someone critiquing them, but it’s for a good cause.”

The businessman picked up a Nikon camera for the first time as a young student in 1984, when he was a budding artist. A year later, Ausamah had established the first photography club in the kingdom.

“I switched to photography because I couldn’t find a subject who would sit still long enough for me to sketch them,” he said.

Although Ausamah has an extensive collection of people-focused photography, the majority of his work on display at the exhibition shows his love for the sea, with images of water dominating the wall space.

“I travel a lot for work but I always find the time to walk around and take photos,” he said. “I love to work with reflections and liquid. I love what it does and what it creates.”
The LMRA chief explained that while on a trip to Switzerland, he found that he was unable to take photos of anything other than the lake because to him, ‘Geneva is the lake’.

His favourite photograph in the exhibition is taken in the middle of a traditional souq in Morocco and took him over an hour to capture.

He said: “It was difficult to take this picture with people bumping into me. It’s a high dynamic range image which means I set up five frames with different light exposures, so I had to find the perfect moments. I love it because of the depth. It looks like you’re looking through a window.

“I love street photography. It is very challenging because as soon as people see the camera, they tend to act abnormally. So, as a photographer you have to take the time to become part of the background.”

His 12-year-old son Abdulla has also taken an interest in photography and sometimes joins him on his trips into the city.

Ausamah’s wife Amani and his 16-year-old daughter Fatima know that if they decide to tag along too they will be strolling along for hours, ‘just taking in their surroundings’.

The Faces of Bahrain exhibition will continue until August 31.