Amateur photographer, Mona Jumaan, talks to Behnaz Sanjana about her combined passions – photography and travelling, fresh after winning one of the internationally coveted iPhone Photography Awards (IPPA).
The unmistakable connection that Mongolia’s youngest eagle hunter, all of 11 years old, has with his pedigree falcon is evident in the photograph that won Mona Jumaan first place in the portrait category of the IPPA 2019. The winning image was shot amidst Bayan Olgii’s rugged terrains, making her the only woman in the GCC to have won the accolade from thousands of entries worldwide.
“My father would send us postcards from his travels all over Africa and the Far East; he was my inspiration,” Mona says, speaking of her love for photography. “My very first pocket-sized Minolta was a gift from him.”
Mona credits the digital wave for enabling more people to embrace the craft. She remembers being pleased with her pictures on automatic mode, until a chance to see and shoot the magical Aurelia Borealis, the Northern Lights, came about.
“I had no clue what a DSLR camera was, let alone how to work it in manual mode!” she says. Letting nothing hold her back, she learnt the technicalities of taking good photos on a borrowed camera, and off she went to snap up the magical phenomenon. “My photos were not the best, but I was happy I made that trip,” she says.
Since then, Mona has done five photography tours as workshops under acclaimed photographers. “Each expert lends the participants a different perspective, and the touch of their own unique technique. Of course, waking up at unearthly hours to catch the light of sunrise is not such fun,” she smiles.
Talking about the setting of her winning photo, she says: “Mongolia’s beauty is unreal, unlike what I have ever seen before. We stayed in primitive conditions, waking up to pre-dawn temperatures of -5? Celsius to set off with our gear, driving for hours across desolate landscapes to get to site. Extreme cold weather drains out the batteries faster. I had run out of all my battery packs by day end, and my iPhone had just two bars worth of power. The boy was sitting for the others to photograph him from a side angle. I went up the mountain from a different direction for a frontal image, and barely got a few shots before my phone went off.
“Winning this award is validation from an expert judging panel. It felt absolutely fantastic!”
Next on Mona’s agenda is a photography tour in Morocco, pictures of which will soon be on her Instagram handle. Her love for the hobby has fuelled her passion for travelling. She says, “Sharing my work is not about posting it on social media. It is about transferring the viewer to places they might not have the opportunity to see and experience themselves, like flying over Mount Everest, or taking a walking tour in Barcelona, or witnessing the beauty of Bhutan and the veneration of the river Ganges by night in India.
“Travelling is more than five-star hotels and shopping. When you see people truly happy despite their difficult living conditions, it makes you appreciate the comforts you have. It adds value to you as a person. You realise that life is not about material possessions; it grounds you.”
