"Kamelmarkt Sinaw, Oman"

pigmentbased inkjet print on aluminum Dibond

titled, dated, and signed on verso

The picture was created as part of a commissioned work for the 50^th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Austria and Oman.

The country of Oman, with a north-south extension of around 900 km, is crossed in a west-easterly direction by a mountain range (highest peak Jabal Shams at 3,100 m), which separates the coastal region of Mascat to Sur from the desert of the Arabian Peninsula, on the edges of which camel breeding is practiced. The town of Sinaw, 70 km south of this mountain range, is therefore an ideal location for the country's largest camel market, which takes place every Thursday. Early in the morning, the young animals arrive loaded onto pick-ups and are gathered in a square the size of a soccer pitch. Soon this square (located on the outskirts of the town) is filled with traders and buyers.
In this case, I was grateful for digital photography. In an hour and a half, I took over 500 exposures. In this large crowd, it was almost impossible to have control over what was happening in the picture. To make the room clearer, after a while I photographed from a low height to have only the blue sky as a background. And that's how the picture of the little Omani boy, framed by the camels' legs, came about.
(Nikolasu Korab)