Dubai: Noor Ali Rashid, 80, the renowned photographer who has documented the UAE's history, has passed away.
He attended the Ramadan majlis hosted by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, last week.
In pictures: Selected works of Noor Ali Rashid
Official site of Noor Ali Rashid
Rashid was born in the Gwadar province of Pakistan in December, 1929. He was sent to the UAE by his father “as punishment” for his obsession with photography and in the hope a change of scenery would inspire a more ‘respectable' career.
"I learnt how to take good pictures from studio photographers. I was so crazy about photography I would tell people that if they invited me to their functions I would take pictures free of charge," he had told Gulf News in an interview.
Rashid was named the ‘royal photographer' by the late Shaikh Zayed and was the official photographer for the Al Nahyan family as well as the ruling families of the seven emirates.
His son, Naushad Noor Ali Rashid, is the president of the Dubai-based Ismaili Council of the UAE.
Rashid had undergone heart bypass surgery a few years ago after a cardiac attack.
Rashid has amassed more than three million photographs of members of the UAE's Ruling Family, statesmen, celebrities and sports personalities - Nelson Mandela, Indira Gandhi, Jimmy Carter, Yasser Arafat and Bill Clinton, to name a few.
In his 50-year career he has received 83 plaques and trophies, including the title of Photographer of the Millennium.
The Zayed University Noor Ali Rashid Student Documentary Photography Award was launched four years ago to honour him.
