” I will now start filling in the application form and once it is signed by HRH Prince Sultan it will be submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue the visa.”
And so read the e-mail I just received from the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, so I’m excited. The Middle-east fascinates me.
While I’m booked for several destinations in the South Pacific and Asia, it’s always hugely exciting to receive an assignment from afar – of a destination that is largely unknown to me. I love the challenge of working in a completely different environment and the idea that I’m competing with world-class photographers who have shot the destination before me.
I also like the idea that shooting something so foreign is likely to deliver a different perspective to the way I continue to perceive, and photograph, this part of the world.
(…..Which will be timely, he adds. I’ve also just been shortlisted to shoot and develop a substantial photo library for the South Pacific region (15 destinations in six months). Phew.
Altogether, its shaping up to be a pretty full year.