How I photographed Mysk Moon Retreat by Shaza Hotels
Early this year I received a call, where the hotel group (Shaza Hotels) wanted to create photographs of a resort in the heart of the Sharjah desert. I did not pay too much attention to it as I was swamped with work and climbing. Sharjah desert did not sound like an amazing portfolio job. Speaking of Sharjah, it is the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates right after Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Historically it has been one of the wealthiest cities with a settlement existence of over 5000 years. It has its own slower life as opposed to Dubai, where everything is going fast.
But, maaaan I was wrong…..
Early sunrise at Moon Retreat, about 6:30AM on March 4th 2022
The whole commission was going back and forth with contracts, shooting days, availability of the place (as the resort is always booked), mood boards, and a few logistic coordinations. The week before the actual shoot, I met all the decision-making people and we had a beautiful chat, and the pressure was ON.
We are shooting next week!
The Brief:
The brief was very different from what we normally see during Hotel & Resort Shoots. Very much outside of the standard box of polished rooms, dining experiences, all glamour, and top-notch design. The client asks to shoot in a more editorial, emotionally driven style where the images will have a mood and feel of the space. Client has showed me well know images of Al Fayah lodge, photographed by Fernando Guerra. Al Faya lodge also belongs to Shaza Hotels (link for Al Faya)
To be honest, I was super stressed, but at the same time, it was a great challenge to create something different and bring more of an architectural approach into the hotel/resort shoot.
Bonfire place where the guests can enjoy calming atmosphere.
Actual Shoot:
I was commissioned for 3 consecutive days, but I arrived the night before so I can get familiar with the location and shoot some evening blue-hour images. I walked around the resort, hiked up the mountains around, and found a great spot to shoot from. Then I just sat down and waited till got dark and left with the first image of the whole commission. It was very satisfying and the light was just perfect.
First image of the day, not bad at all ….. :-)
The important element was to get up early every morning to get the whole range of colors in the sky and resort. In the similar way you would experience camping in the desert or the mountains of the UAE. Mornings and evenings are the most beautiful during my own camping trips, and therefore this is how I wanted to capture it. Morning and evening shoot were a bit rush, because for those who are familiar with the UAE, beautiful light is gone within a seconds and you are left with nuclear blue sky and harsh light.
This was quite challange as clients often ask me, what is the plan, where are we shooting and in what time of the day. Since we had quite limited time, I needed to chase the light and everythime I would see something interesting, I would decide right on spot.
Another challenge was to respect the privacy and comfort of the guests. Even tho, the resort was mostly reserved for the shoot, for those who are familiar with the culture of the Middle East, locals require their privacy up to the standards. Any disturbance always creates a shear amount of friction and added stress. So, for any photographers flying to shoot around the Middle East, get familiar with the culture and respect the people. I have learned my lessons on multiple previous shoots :)
I have no idea what I did and how come the weather plaid in my favor, but one morning it was totally unexpected. Very thick layer of fog arrived in the resort. The minute I woke up, I was very upset about it, but then the magic started to happen. Fog was moving around, up and down and the sun helping me to create something quite rare in this time of the year. It was absolutely gratifying to see, the whole set of photographs created during very different weather conditions.
To sum it up. It was a quite unexpected commission early this year and one of my favorite. Why? Because it resonates with my passion for outdoor, desert, mountains and nature. It also represent unique perspective that it is hard to follow strict shoot list, but then mission on most beautiful moments what mother nature creates for us. At the end of the day, subject of our resort stays, the light is what we have to constantly chase to our favor.
