Life through the lens

Jonathan Ali Khan, managing director, Ocean World Productions Fz. LLC, cameraman, film producer/director and specialist in natural history

When I was eight years old I left Torquay, South Devon, to study at the American Overseas School of Rome.

I was impressed by the Italians' joie de vivre, which is extremely infectious and, before I knew it, I instantly felt at home.

After 10 years, my Italian childhood experience broadened my outlook and taught me to accept things or people for what they are.

I went back to the UK for college and after graduating from the London School of Fashion in 1981, I returned to work in Florence, Italy.

In my twenties, I began as a fashion designer working for Enrico Coveri, a well-known fashion house in Florence, from 1981-84 in an exciting studio.

I was busy, happy and surprisingly successful and was surrounded by talented people from all corners of the fashion world.

I seemed to have a flair for menswear.

Then one night I was returning to my flat when I happened to pass by a TV store where the TV on display was displaying images of the famine in Ethiopia.

I stopped and watched the newsclip. I realised how shallow my life was and that there were more important things to do.

That moment set me on a soul-searching process which eventually led me to Khartoum, Sudan, at the height of the famine in 1984.

Photography has always been my passion, so I thought I would try to document the involvement of children and youth in the famine and war in Ethiopia and Southern Sudan.

Luckily, I got an opportunity to work for FASE, an Italian news agency, and headed for Sudan. I was overwhelmed by the scale of the human suffering.

One of the most tragic events in my life happened here. I lost a close friend and mentor Mark Peters, who taught me how to use wide angle lenses to get close to the subject.

From Sudan I went to Eritrea to cover the Eritrea-Ethiopia war in 1986.

I spent three months there before visiting Dubai for the first time to see my father.

After six months I headed to Afghanistan to cover the Russian withdrawal and the refugee crisis in Pakistan.

I now ask myself...

... why I put my life at risk repeatedly.

Probably all this had to do with the enthusiasm of youth and the perception that my pictures could help in changing people's perceptions.

It was a tall notion but worth taking risks for. Or so I thought.

But later, as the risks increased, I felt it was not wise to continue putting my life at risk.

I was exhausted mentally and physically. Burnt out would be a better way to define it. It was time to get out and Dubai beckoned.

I became a commercial photographer. When the war in Iraq [in 1991] broke out and there was a huge oil spill, I realised I was not really doing what I wanted to do in life.

Photographing fridges and beauty products, among other things, for over seven years was never my forte.

The incident made me realise the importance of preserving the environment.

That was enough for me ...

... to wake up one morning and take up another challenge – diving. I realised I could combine my skills in photography and filming with my love for diving and marine biology.

I completed a project called Arabia's Cycle of Life, a 12-part natural history TV series on Arabia's wildlife and conservation efforts sponsored by Jeep.

The countries included in this series were Saudi Arabia, Oman, Jordan and the UAE.

This series was broadcast in English and Arabic on Showtime's TV Land and Al Arabiya, from January 2005.

It was also distributed to schools through support from the regional conservation authorities and ministries of Education throughout GCC states.

We have just finished filming Arabia's Underwater World, The Pearl Coast, which is a museum and TV documentary we made for the National Bank of Dubai on pearl diving, and Dive Oman, an eco-tourism promotion film.

On the academic front, I believe environmental science should be made part of the core curriculum in all schools and students should learn about the local ecosystems and wildlife within their countries as well as in the larger world.

Our next project involves filming in Yemen and in the island of Socotra – which split off from the mainland of Africa 70 million years ago and is a sort of a galapagos of the Indian Ocean – where over 30 per cent of the plants are endemic species, found nowhere else in the world.

This is part two of Arabia's Cycle of Life, and we are looking forward to creating 12 episodes.

Based in Dubai Media City ...

... Ocean World Productions is a small company comprising five core team members.

We travel extensively on expeditions for filming. For Arabia's Cycle of Life, we covered 38,000 km in our Jeeps over 11 months.

Though this prospect may sound daunting to some, it is exciting provided one is well equipped.

On these journeys, we learn a lot from the locals regarding their environment and are often hosted by the region's conservation authorities.

So, much of our work aims to highlight this local knowledge as the basis of potential solutions for wildlife management and environmental issues. The greatest joy I get from all this is learning.

However, the only regret I have from this peripatetic life is that I still have not been able to settle down in the conventional sense of the term and begin a family of my own.

It is a whole other world...

... another reality. Life in the sea knows no boundaries. I have grown to understand that and in my spare time,

I dive into the silent world of changing waterscapes. Although I have dived in all of Arabia's seas, I really want to go on an expedition circuiting the coasts of Arabia and navigate the full basin of the Indian Ocean.

After many years of searching and trying, I have found where that day in front of a TV shop in Italy has led me.

I have, to my surprise and delight, found that this is just the beginning of yet another journey. It is ironic to think that this time the journey will be made for television.