About Wael Al-Masri

“A Photo is Worth a Thousand Words”…

My interest in photography goes back to my childhood years, when my late father bought me a simple camera back in 1970. I started experimenting with this camera by taking pictures of my family and friends, as well as my birds and later of the Kuwait architecture and waterfront. When I moved to the United Kingdom to do my bachelors degree in architecture at Manchester University, I became more interested in architectural photography, partly for educational or documentation purposes, but also as I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the English landscape and architecture.

Experiencing England made me more interested in travel, and became more aware of the power of photography in conveying personal experiences of the various places, and in representing cultures and people in these places. Photography, together with painting and sketching which I practiced and enjoyed at the same time, helped me better understand the world around me, and to record my memories of places or people, and to recall them whenever I need to share my events and experiences to family and friends. Photography for me has also been instrumental in my architectural career development, at school, and during and after the completion of my design projects, and for the purpose of presenting my thoughts and ideas at lectures and in research.

An Important aspect of good photography is the tools itself, the camera, and knowledge of its evolving technology and artistic sensibilities. I have tied to be up to date with this technology, starting with the first simple camera my father bought me fifty years ago, using black and white prints, through to my pride Minolta which I bought when I was doing my masters at MIT, in which I took thousands of photos and slides of so many people, projects and places, up until I entered the digital age, with several types of cameras and smart mobile phones.

Because photography for me was only a tool to better understand and appreciate the world around me, and due to my other occupations as and architect, I never went deep in the technicalities of photography, which sometimes I regret not doing. Nevertheless, my multiple interests in visual art representations, have contributed to the compositional characteristics and the relevance of my photography. This is what I would like to share with you all through this website, and I hope you will be able to see and enjoy the places I am sharing, and to see them through my cameras, and my eyes.

Wael Al-Masri.