MUSCAT: Salalah is truly soul calling with its innate beauty that blossoms with the rains and the mist during the Khareef. People from across the world visiting the governorate cannot be blamed for thoroughly capturing the beauty, and professional shutterbugs, spare no time towards shifting the focus on the incomparable beauty of Khareef.
One such photographer is Aji George for whom the Sultanate has been his second home for the last 22 years who is a busy man once Khareef sets in. For scores of snappers like George, who click the landscapes as a profession for fun, responsibility towards the environment is of utmost priority and they ensure nature or the birds and animals are not harmed during their various photoshoots that take place daily.
Hailing from the village of Mynagappally in Kollam District, photography for George was just a passion, and never ever did he hope that cameras would turn out to be his profession one day.
What started as a weekend hobby to capture the beautiful sights in and around Muscat turned into a passion for photography. He honed his photography skills through various training and repeated practice.
“Colours...simply colours have had an impact on me since childhood and that could be the reason that I pursued my passion and today, it became my livelihood,” says George, sitting in his studio in Salalah.
A marketing professional during his tenure in Bahrain and Qatar before he moved to Oman, his longest stint is in Oman for almost 22 years.
It was while he was working in Qatar from 2015 to 2018, George was part of an association called PhotoMuse, a group of passionate photographers with whom he dived deeper into the nuances of nature photography. He considers Nandakumar Moodadi as his mentor.
George’s main focus was capturing the beauty of birds in their natural habitats. He believes that birds are the most fascinating creations. With its distinct and colourful plumage, birds are a feast to the eyes of the beholder. He has captured the beauty of rare birds in Qatar, Oman and India.
During his annual vacation to India, he never fails to set aside a couple of days to camp at bird sanctuaries or permitted forest areas to photograph rare species of birds in their natural habitat.
George started taking nature photography as Oman is blessed with topographical marvel. He is currently living in Salalah for the past five years. The breathtaking beauty of Salalah inspired him to shift to landscape photography.
All his efforts have been paid off and Oman has honoured him with best photography of ‘Khareef photography contest 2018’, and also recognised for having contributed to the OICC Calendar of 2022.
“As a photographer, what I can’t live without is the perfect fusion of mountains, sea, springs, lakes and waterfalls during Khareef in Salalah which is a sight to behold.
During weekends, George heads out before the break of the dawn to capture the beauty of Salalah. The more he turns his lens left right and centre with acute precision and measure, the more he falls in love with nature.
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