After his debut and award winning entry in the International Photography Awards (IPA) Lucies in 2007, Saudi photographer Faisal Al-Malki, 31, has built on his success by winning a clutch of awards at the Lucies this year. They include accolades as Photographer of the Year in the Fine Art in Nonprofessional category for his entry, “Detour,” a photograph taken in Riyadh.
“I don’t rule out turning professional,” he told Arab News yesterday. “But it is not on the cards in the foreseeable future.”
He did however say that an exhibition of his photographs was a “work in progress” and 2009 may well see a Saudi Arabian tour.
Al-Malki followed this up with a first and second places in the Abstract category and first place win in the Special-Other category for his photo, A Thousand Stories, a haunting portrait of his mother whose liquid black eyes stare directly into the viewer’s eye from a niqab (face veil). The same photograph entered in the prestigious Prix de la Photographie, Paris (Px3) competition in Paris earned him the titles Portrait of the Year and Portrait Photographer of the Year.
Px3 strives to promote the appreciation of photography, to discover emerging talent and to introduce photographers from around the world to the artistic community of Paris and is one of the high points of the photographic world’s competition year. Apart from the awards, Al-Malki also earned a remarkable number of honorable mentions for the rest of his work, in categories ranging from travel, nature, fine art, architecture, people and wildlife.
He took up photography as a hobby only three years ago, Al-Malki soon became adept and discovered he had something of an eye for the unusual. He was shocked when he won his first award in 2007.
“When I heard about the win, I could not quite believe it,” he said. “It was simply too good to be true.”
In an email to friends he modestly said: “I had no idea I had this in me and it only grew because of all the support and interest each of you threw my way.”
As well as the win, he was accorded 21 honorable mentions.
“I started shooting at the end of 2005 and loving every moment. Although my favorite subjects to shoot are architecture, abstracts and travel, I still enjoy a bit of everything every now and then.”
This year, Al-Malki has been named one of the six nominees competing for the Discovery of the Year Award, the winner of which will be announced live in the Lucies 2008 Award Ceremony in New York on Oct. 20.
He has been crowned as one of the Top 25 Arabs with the most influence on the World in 2007.
Al-Malki has had no formal training in photography and says his eye for a picture derives from his profession: advertising. He has never used a film camera, his entire career being in the digital medium. However, he imposes the discipline of minimum processing for his photos and therefore works within the boundaries that film imposes.
Al-Malki imposes on himself the challenge of working within the boundaries that film imposes.
“I go for the absolute minimum of image processing in my photos,” he said. “I try to get what I want on the camera and adjust the image only where essential.”