Marble factory — Dubai

Canon 5D MKII | 1/125s | f/6.7 | ISO 250| EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM @ 105mm

Canon 5D MKII | 1/90s | f/5.6 | ISO 1600 | EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM @ 88mm

Canon 5D MKII | 1/90s | f/5.6 | ISO 1600 | EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM @ 88mm

Canon 5D MKII | 1/125s | f/4 | ISO 160 | EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM @ 105mm

Canon 5D MKII | 1/125s | f/8 | ISO 160 | EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM @ 105mm

Picking a title ceased to be a speciality

The photo was taken during my trip to the Eastern Region of the UAE, though I never intended that this would go up here. It started out as an exercise in image editing since I began to shoot everything in RAW format. Usually, I would use RAW only if I had the intention to do something with it (usually an HDR). Not that I ever underestimated the power of RAW, but I never appreciated how much room it would give me in salvaging a standard, thoughtless shot.

With everything that has been happening the past couple of months in Syria, I have become very nostalgic. I miss the streets, the restaurants, the people, the indescribable feeling knowing that this is a country that has been around to see all other civilisations grow, many of which have also perished.

I miss my home, and not just Damascus. I miss the very quiet, uneventful small town of Safita, which lives in a different life-space continuum than the rest of the country, like many villages worldwide do. It’s a place where people take their time to age, where roads and buildings almost never change, nor does the scenery. It’s a place where time is measured by harvesting seasons, of olives and figs and nights spent on balconies counting stars and doing little else.

And with the crazy, ruthless schedule of mine in Dubai, I yearn for this escape, where a week seems like a month, or two, dragging on and never ending.

Photo taken during summer, two years ago.

Canon EOS 400D | Sigma 30mm | 1/250 sec | f/3.5 | ISO 100 | Natural sunlight