Photographer wins regional contest by capturing 'adventurous side' of Wadi Rum

AMMAN - Jordanian photographer and designer Dimitri Zarzar has won first place in Sony and FotoArabia's photography competition "Pikathon" with his photo story of Wadi Rum.

The recent competition, with the theme "Nation's Pride", invited photographers of Middle East countries to tell stories through their lens and capture an aspect of their country and its people that represents their pride in their homeland. 

Entrants were assessed based on their technical skills in photography and editing, and their aesthetic vision.

Zarzar, who was among five participants that won first place, said he wanted to show the world "the adventurous side of Jordan" that he experiences with his friends in their frequent trips to Wadi Rum, the location that has gathered a lot of fame through recent exposure in the film industry. 

The 24-year-old said his knowledge of the location, 328km south of Amman and his sand boarding experience helped him capture its essence and atmosphere. 

"If you don't have enough experience and background in the story, you can't take photographs as if you are living in the moment," he told The Jordan Times in an interview on Wednesday. 

"For example, if you're taking pictures at a boxing match, and you don’t know a lot about boxing, you won't have the right timing and technique to capture the punch," he explained.

This is not Zarzar's first project on this topic: for his graduation project from university he produced a tourism promotion campaign for young people, in which he went around Jordan and documented the adventurous activities he experienced, such as paragliding and scuba diving. 

However this competition was different in terms of "combining the artistic side with technical skills", which was a good experience for him since his education in design was mostly technical. 

"My experience in Germany was with very technical people, they were concerned with getting the perfect lighting and all the perfect technical aspects," Zarzar said about his internship in commercial photography and post-production in Germany.

Although the photographer is interested in commercial photography, and feels that he loves the medium and can excel in it, Zarzar said he was hesitant to pursue this career path because of narrow prospects and low income for photographers in Jordan. 

Winning the competition, however, gave him "a push" to continue his post-graduate education in commercial photography.

"I see photography more technically than artistically. I see it more like a science. That way I can guarantee the best quality."