Dubai: Noor Ali Rashid, the UAE's Royal Photographer, had "an eye for news" and would shoot pictures whose value would be realised decades after they would be developed, his colleagues and son said.
Rashid passed away after a sudden cardiac arrest late on Wednesday. He spent almost six decades taking pictures of celebrities, sportspeople and statesmen, but was primarily known for being the UAE's first "official photographer".
His son, Naushad Noor Ali Rashid, said his father's strength was taking photographs that may have appeared insignificant when taken, but would prove to be very valuable in years to come, "like the desert dune that he would photograph".
"He had a feeling some of these things would disappear, and thought it was better to capture them before the landscape changes," said Naushad.
His father however welcomed the change that Dubai witnessed and was "very excited" about the achievements of the late Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, said his son. "There was no water or electricity then, and he watched as we got all of that, and also how the street lights came," he said.
Javed Nawab, chief photographer at Gulf News, said he got to know Rashid soon after joining the paper in 1980.
"Noor Ali Rashid had an eye for news. He did what no one had done before. He knew when to take a picture and what kind of pictures would be valuable in 20 years, and photographed everything, from schools to old iconic buildings," he said.
Nawab said that Rashid had developed a close and friendly relationship with the rulers of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
"He used to tell us how kindly the shaikhs treated him, which indicated the friendliness of their relationships with him, but those relationships have also been captured in pictures showing the shaikhs in a casual and friendly manner with him," he said.
Light-hearted moments
Naushad said that his father fondly remembered the light-hearted moments he had with the shaikhs. "They all loved him and had a special relationship with him. He had his liberty with them," he said.
One of Naushad's most memorable moments in his father's career is the visit of the members from the Al Maktoum family to their home in the late 1960s "and the commotion at home in anticipation of the visit".
Rashid's strongest picture, according to Naushad, was that of the UAE rulers posing at Union House in Dubai at the time of the union of the nation on December 2, 1971. "That is perhaps one of his most used pictures today," he said.
Association: pioneer mourned
The UAE Journalists Association mourned Noor Ali Rashid, a professional and renowned photographer who passed away on Wednesday night. Noor Ali Rashid was a pioneer in UAE journalism, and with a half century career as a professional photographer, was able to capture the most essential phases of UAE's history, the association said in a statement.
— with inputs WAM
