SAUDI ARABIA

Where It All Began

This is where my journey with photography truly started. I was sixteen, living in Jeddah, and completely captivated by the strange magic of a Nikon FM10, a film camera that my brother got me. It was the first camera that I owned. To me, everything about it was new and felt special—so many moving parts, so many things that could go wrong, and just as many things that could go right.

As a perfectionist at the time, I loved not having control, not knowing how to use it, and not knowing whether a picture was taken or not. It was fun, addictive, and why I never felt the need to use another camera for years. Until accidentally dropping it on the stairs to one of the platforms at Redfern Station.

Film spoke to my slow, intentional nature. I had to trust my eye and wait to see the results. These photographs capture that early wonder.

A person with short dark curly hair and glasses is hanging up or adjusting a large bag of plastic sheeting or fabric on a metal shelf in a garage or storage room. There are two hanging lamps with multiple small white shades and a red object on the ceiling.
Black and white photo of a hillside landscape with scattered buildings, a leafless tree in the foreground, and a cloudy sky.
A tall palm tree with green and brown fronds against a clear blue sky.
Foggy hillside cityscape with buildings, winding road, and cable car wires.
A desert landscape with rocky hills and sparse vegetation under a cloudy sky.
Black and white photo of a hillside with buildings, including a church with a tall steeple, under a cloudy sky.
An abandoned, rusted white SUV with orange stripes partially hidden amongst dense green bushes and trees, resting off-road in a wooded area.
Black and white photo of a narrow alleyway or passage with various storage cabinets, containers, and hanging wires. Sunlight streams in at the end of the passage, illuminating a small stool in the center.
A burnt-out, destroyed car in a desert environment with sand surrounding it, and some plastic bottles inside the vehicle.
A large ornate chandelier hanging from a peeling ceiling in a room with dark curtains. The room has a sofa covered with plastic and several wrapped packages or boxes stacked against the wall.
Cloudy mountain landscape with terraced hillside and scattered white buildings