Photography is a unique artform. Unlike painting or music, the camera is a tool that creates an image. The photographer’s role is to frame the image, shoot and understand the camera. Shafimon Umer has been capturing images for years. When he first started out, he didn’t even own a camera but went on shoots to help out his friends who were working on photoshoots. This was before digital cameras were as prevalent as they are today.

In 2005, Shafimon bought his first point-and- shoot digital camera and he hasn’t stopped taking pictures since. Six years later, he upgraded to a DSLR camera and started becoming more serious about his photography. He wanted to be part of the larger community of photography enthusiasts and started organizing Friday morning photo walks. They would meet once a week and shoot different things from motocross to scenery.

The community grew and evolved, and by 2014 he announced a New Year’s Day event and invited people to take pictures at the Kuwait Towers. At sunrise sixty people showed up and captured the majestic sun rising for a new day and a new year. The event has now become an annual event, with more than 120 participants in 2020. The community is now called Photo Walk Kuwait and continues to grow. Complete beginners can learn so much and seasoned experts can refine their techniques.

In 2014, he also teamed up with five of his fellow photographer friends to host an event called “Behind the Scenes”. During the function, they exhibited their work, gave talks and held workshops for people to learn from. The event was so successful that they have now taken it to Dubai, the Philippines and India.

Shafimon started out wanting to shoot birds (with a camera and not a gun, but the pun works). After a while and some feedback from his friends he realized two things. He much preferred scenic photography and he was much better at it too. And so, his journey as a long exposure photographer started.

His shots are products which stem from hours of preparation. First, he walks around and looks for the frame. He thinks of every photo as a story and to tell it he needs to properly frame it. The type of photos he likes to take means he needs to set the camera on the tripod and keep the lens open for anything from a few seconds to all night.

This allows the camera to capture all the light and motion that happens during that time. He patiently waits for the right moment to arrive before he presses the shutter button. The stars move and you can see the lines trailing their movement in the sky.

Most of the work is done before he takes the shot. He then retouches the images with very lightly color correction, other than that, what you see is what actually happened in the sky in all its glory.

Shafimon juggled his newfound passion with everyday life and a full-time job. By day he was an interiordesigner,anditseemsthathisunderstanding of composition, proportions and colors must have helped his journey as a photographer. He finally took a leap of faith in 2018 and became a full-time photographer when he started Fotography Q8 with a group of his friends.

Social media and the internet have been a great aid to getting his work out to audiences and the public. When they were first starting out, Instagram wasn’t the big phenomenon it is now, but he says it is as strong as ever. Surprisingly he also gets requests for work through Google Photos where people also see his work. He is also currently the brand ambassador for the lens and camera manufacturer Sigma, so he has access to all the new toys and gadgets when they are released.

The secret to his mastery, according to him, is to never stop shooting. Show up, set up your gear and just do it. Be alert and aware, because you never know when the opportunity for the perfect shot might arise. If you are ready for it, you will be able to take it. Even a pandemic couldn’t fully stop him from flexing his creative muscles.

While Shafimon was unable to go out and shoot because of lock-down and the full curfew, he instead turned to the Internet. He spoke on several online groups and panels, teaching budding photographers and learning from others on the way.

He also had more time to finally go through his extensive collection of photos for editing and curating, and more specifically creating wide panoramic landscapes. They normally take a lot of work to perfect, and the enforced downtime was the perfect opportunity to get them all sorted out.

Despite being in the photography game for more than two decades Shafimon truly believes that there is always room to grow and learn. His advice for photographers who are still starting out is that the information is out there on YouTube and in courses, but at the end of the day you can only really learn by doing, so get out there and shoot.

Find Shafimon’s work on Instagram @shafimon_c and his website shafimon.com. If you are interested in joining the next Photo Walk, follow @photowalkkuwait on Instagram.