TWo SEAS

His new book ‘Above Two Seas’ showcases some of the most beautiful views of Bahrain, from the architecture to the wildlife, the neighbourhoods and the coastline, Andrew Weaver has captured and collated the splendour and diversity of this charming country. Hadag’s Shabana Adam caught up with the seasoned photographer to learn more about his latest project, his work process, and his inspirations…

W H e N it comes to photography, Andrew Weaver has more than just skills. The photographer-extraordinaire is dedicated and downright daring, as we learn that for his new book Above Two Seas , Andrew was willingly harnessed to the side of a helicopter, hundreds of feet in the air, above Bahrain. And it is this intrepid approach to photography that led to so many stunning pictures of the country. “With it being such a small country, I think most people would wonder if there’s enough subject matter to actually shoot and put in a rather large book – actually there is,” Andrew explains. “It’s just that you have to be lucky enough to get up in a helicopter!

“I think, generally, in Bahrain, there’s a lot more going on than people realise,” he says. “But also in terms of geography – it’s made up of more than 50 islands and interesting wildlife areas, so this is all part of surprising people with what there is here.”

The book itself is divided up into four sections; Above the Skyline , which includes images of Bahrain’s architecture, infrastructure, city, streets, and neighbourhoods; Over the Sea , with photographs of fishing, boats, islands, watersports, and marine life; Beyond The City , a collection of pictures showing Bahrain’s communities, villages, landscapes, industry, and coastline; and lastly, Out of the Sand , celebrating the desert, heritage, leisure, nature, and wildlife of Bahrain. How’s that for plenty of subject matter?

Over the Sea section particularly caught our attention. Andrew highlights the importance, tradition and popularity of many water-based industries and activities, from the old school to the modern-day. There are images of everything from fishermen going out to sea, and people on jet-skis, the dhow harbour with line upon line of the traditional wooden vessels, the containers at Khalifa bin Salman port, and even the vast coastline surrounding the 5-Star Ritz-Carlton Bahrain, Hotel & Spa.

We find out that Andrew uses a pretty standard SLR – the Nikon D3X – for his photography, yet the images in Above Two Seas carry the pristine qualities of a much complex camera. His secret? Being harnessed to the side of a helicopter.

“I would hang out on the edge of the aircraft and after that it was all point and shoot,” Andrew says. “I don’t change lens very much at all and I don’t manipulate my images. The hardest part of it all was actually getting up in the air!

“ o f course, every picture in any book is edited to some respect,” he admits. “I edit to brightness, contrast and those sorts of areas in a picture where if it’s dark, I like to lighten it, so no manipulation just enhancements - the basics of Photoshop,” he smiles. When we ask Andrew about his photography inspirations, his answer is fitting to the impressive photos you can see in the book. “Something nice, something unusual,” he simply puts it. “Generally I go for things that are beautiful and attractive, and maybe shooting things that are not beautiful and attractive, and making them look beautiful and attractive.

“I’m guilty of always trying to make things look nice. There are great photographers out there who are good at showing the grunge and the pain - I’m more on the happy side!”

We take a trip down memory lane and Andrew tells us about the first good photo he remembers snapping. “I remember taking a shot in my teens of a red rose in a milk bottle, and it had snowed, so there was snow on the rose. I took it for my mum and that was the first picture I put in a frame.

“I didn’t think then that I could make a career of it, but I thought the shot was quite good,” he laughs. He’s come a long way from shooting with a Praktika (his first camera) and Above Two Seas not only represents the mesmerising landscape of Bahrain, but, also, celebrates a photographer who has well and truly made it!