Coming to NYU Abu Dhabi during my freshman year, I was warned about the ‘bubble’ that would inevitably trap me and my classmates on campus. Yet, during the past two years, I’ve found that an easy way to avoid falling into the sanitized nature of Saadiyat Island is to rely on photography. Photography allows me to practice a passion while simultaneously connecting and exploring the city in ways that shopping malls and dinner don’t allow. Whether it means using our own smartphones or renting cameras from the Equipment Center, practicing photography can be accessible to everyone on campus. This practice is great for students trying to discover the hidden aspects of Abu Dhabi.

Each Thursday, I go into the city to snap a few pictures after a long week of work. As a passionate amateur photographer, I have found a few key areas in downtown Abu Dhabi and its outskirts where photography is particularly engaging.

[Electra Street] (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Via+Delhi+Restaurant/@24.4912271,54.3724244,17.72z/data=!4m8!1m2!2m1!1selectra+street!3m4!1s0x3e5e665b56c2790f:0x75eefccf60d7d934!8m2!3d24.4909149!4d54.3741804?hl=en) is my old love in terms of photography in the UAE, reminding me of my beginnings at NYUAD. Electra Street is an area reminiscent of Abu Dhabi’s humble beginnings, back when only a few shops dotted its urban landscape. The electronics stores that inspired the name for this block are still scattered around the area. This authenticity is missing elsewhere, disappearing more frequently as the city industrializes. Open blocks and a lack of skyscrapers provide ample space to take a step back from the fast-paced city.

Image by Emily Broad

As sunset hits Electra Street, immigrants (most South Asian) rest in alleyways and gather on street corners after a long day’s work. Businesses in the area truly reflect the block’s name as they illuminate sidewalks with bright fluorescent lights. It is this light that provides the brightness and color necessary for photographic creativity. This is something that can be used interestingly with long exposures or creating stark contrasts between areas.

There are a spattering of cheap cafeterias and Indian bakeries that you can stop by while you photograph the alleyways in this city block. Sometimes, I stop at the Thrift Book Store that is right around the corner from the Royal Rose Hotel. For bubble tea fanatics, a new shop called “Mancha” is worth checking out.

Electra Street is an important place to document Abu Dhabi’s rapid growth and change, which remains unparalleled by other countries. With your camera, you can solidify a history that has barely begun and is already being lost. It is an area reminiscent of the past that is difficult to find elsewhere.

Image by Emily Broad

Some of my favorite parts of Abu Dhabi are the obscured parks, particularly Capital Park on Hamdan Street and Electra Street Park in the Tourist Club Area. In a desert city, retreating into nature is possible through these tiny grass patches situated between mosques and storefronts.

Image by Emily Broad

For someone interested in street photography, the parks in Abu Dhabi display a vast array of immigrants and locals taking part in recreational activities. In Capital Park, you find Filipinos dancing to Zumba, throwing Christmas celebrations and even caroling. There are always birthday parties under the gazebos, children riding bikes on the sidewalks and intense pickup basketball games. All of these gatherings provide a great opportunity for capturing the lives of migrant families.

This jumbling of recreation continuously draws me to these areas as a photographer. Because parks also serve as downtime spots, they provide constant opportunities to capture genuine moments of relaxation and companionship. The parks are calm refuges in a chaotic city with little resting place for the workers that contribute so much to it. The parks are also a glimpse into what it means to be young in Abu Dhabi and represent the more uncomplicated moments of leisure that one craves in a city.

Image by Emily Broad

I first shot St. Joseph’s Catholic Church for a J-Term class about migration to the UAE. I returned this summer to shoot for a project about the Year of Tolerance, and what the block of Christian churches in Al Mushrif means for immigrants in the UAE.

Image by Emily Broad

St. Joseph’s is a representation of what it means to live in the UAE. Individuals from all over the world flood to church every Friday to participate in a communal acceptance of belief, offering sermons in many languages, from Tagalog to Korean. This coming together results in cookouts in the church’s courtyards and lines of families and individuals praying, eating and engaging in lively conversation.

Despite not being particularly religious, St. Joseph’s has an inspiring sense of unity that persuades me to capture it repeatedly. Life slows down a bit at the church and the surrounding area’s vacancy makes Al Mushrif a low-intensity place for photography.

Image by Emily Broad

The fish market is a classic example of a place in Abu Dhabi that maintains the aesthetic of old villages that now only exist hours away from the city. As you enter the market, you hear salesmen shouting about their fish, or foreigners stopping by to drink out of coconuts. This commotion is what makes me love coming here with friends and buying a few sea bass to get grilled at the restaurants, which can end up being as cheap as 20 AED per person with a large group.

The market is packed with vibrant colors and constant movement, ideal for capturing close-ups or action shots. The fish market is a great place to start a photography hobby as it is not hard to find the right angle and subject.

Image by Emily Broad

These are just four of my favorite photography spots in a city teeming with the opportunity to capture the nuances of life. When taking photographs in a city where you yourself are possibly an outsider, you begin to understand the power of photography and your own limits in representing others. This means it is important to respect the boundaries of photography in the UAE. Not everyone wants to be photographed and some areas are not photography friendly. In a country of immigrants, it is only fair to accurately display the diversity of the UAE and to capture these communities in the spaces they occupy. Venturing through alleyways, grassy trails, Catholic masses and grand markets has shown me the importance of genuine immersion in the streets of Abu Dhabi through the art of photography.