Interview with Photographer Anna Mair
January 2008
- Personal Details
- Name: Anna Mair
- Age: 28
- Nationality: American
- Website: http://www.theunveiledeye.com
Anna Mair is an American freelance photographer living in Oman. Her photographic work has been on NationalGeographic.com and she won first place in the Apex Oman Today Photography Competition. Anna's first solo exhibition will be held on the 7th to 21st of February 2008 at Bait Al Baranda museum in Muscat. We interviewed Anna to learn more about her experience living as a mother and photographer in Oman.
O3D: First of all, could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Anna: I was born in Southern California, USA and grew up in Oregon. My dream from the age of eight was to move to Africa. I left home at seventeen, to do volunteer work in a remote village in the Amazon (Guyana), then went to South Africa a year later. After several years of volunteer service, I met Herschel Mair, a photographer/musician/astronomer, and got married at age 22. South Africa was home until 2004, when we moved to Oman. I was seven months pregnant.
O3D: How did you get into photography?
Anna: My husband Herschel is Head of the Photography Department at the Higher College of Technology. I originally planned to be a full-time mom after our daughter was born, but months of changing nappies, playing with squeaky toys, singing nursery rhymes, little sleep, and no time to myself all led to depression and a brain that felt like mush.
Herschel had camera equipment all over our flat and one day he simply handed me a Nikon D70 and said, "Here. Take pictures!" I started documenting our daughter Aria and my surroundings, trying to make sense of my domestic life in a new country.
JuggleMother (First image above) is an early self-portrait. Anna, holding a baby and a camera, trapped and miserable. That image scared me so bad! What had become of the adventurous, free-spirited woman, who hitchhiked and camped alone in the Namibian desert? Who took supplies to earthquake victims? Who was lead singer in a successful band? I wanted to be "a good mother" but I also knew I had to do something (anything!) to find my "Self" again. Not just be the Mother/Wife, but ME. So I put Aria in her carrier seat, packed bottles and teething biscuits, grabbed the camera, and we set out looking for interesting things to photograph.
My husband taught me the basics and provided the equipment at the beginning. I watched him and borrowed his art books, but he very much wanted me to stay a housewife/full-time mother because he was afraid I would neglect Aria if I started working. That's why I made Aria my "photography assistant" from the time she was a baby. She's three now, and still comes with me on many photo shoots. I want her to know that I need to do creative work in order to be happy and function as an individual, but that she's still my priority.
O3D: How did photography transform then from a little free time hobby into a serious activity you do with pride?
Anna: I remember the exact day I "became" a photographer (to myself, and soon after to others). It was on the 26th of July 2006, with one-year-old Aria on my hip, a backpack full of her stuff, and a camera around my neck, I walked into old Muttrah, and a woman popped out of a doorway and said, "Come, come!" She led me to a dark room, packed with women, and motioned me to sit. I settled Aria in my lap, and looked up to see a figure with her head bound, hands in the air. The photo I took there, "henna bride", was featured as a top shot on NationalGeographic.com in December 2006.
O3D: What inspires you to photograph?
Anna: Initially, my daughter Aria was my number 1 subject. She taught me how to interact with, and photograph, young children. Some of my earliest pictures of Omani children captured emotion, movement, and tended towards the abstract. People often comment, "It looks like a painting!" I used to paint, so I like to merge the two art forms. I am also inspired by books and I love the art and writings of Georgia O'Keeffe, Diane Arbus, Edward Weston, Harry Callahan, and Henri Cartier-Bresson. Subject-wise, I am mostly interested in photographing children, families, weddings, and flowers.
O3D: What do you think of Oman?
Anna: I find Oman fascinating! Our happiest outings have been to Muttrah Souk, the Grand Mosque, Thursday goat/camel market at Sinaw, and exploring old village ruins. We've experienced such kindness and hospitality. It's a good place to raise a family. The weather in Oman also makes it possible to shoot outdoors year-round. Of course summers are hot, but there's usually a bit of a breeze on the beach at sunset. Kids splash in the sea. I catch their antics. Fun!
O3D: What are your future plans regarding your photography career in Oman?
Anna: At present I am a freelancer, but I would like to form an actual company. I am looking for business partners/investors and Omani female assistant photographers for weddings and Photoshop. I also plan to make I: Woman an annual art event to be held in February each year. For next year's exhibition I will be accepting submissions from all female artists in Oman: Photography, Painting, Sculpture, Pottery, Textiles, Fashion, Design, Writing, etc.
My vision is to bless and empower women through teaching photography, organizing events, and of course by taking beautiful photos of your weddings, children, and families.
O3D: Is there any advice you would like to give to anyone willing to follow a similar path?
Anna: Follow your instincts, do what comes naturally, and pursue your passion.
O3D: Final message to our readers?
Anna: I would like to end with some quotes:
- "Taking photographs…is a way of shouting, or freeing oneself…it is a way of life." –Henri Cartier-Bresson
- "I would say to any artist—don't be repressed in your work—dare to experiment—consider any urge—if in a new direction all the better." –Edward Weston
- "Beauty is its own excuse." –Ralph Waldo Emerson
- "Spirit always stands still long enough for the photographer It has chosen." –Minor White
- "Every activity of the creative process requires that we bring spirit into form, that we create a vessel—ourselves or a work of art—that can hold the spirit." –Deena Metzger
- "Let other people see the world through your eyes." –Richard Shirk
We would like to end by thanking Anna or having this interview with Oman3D, we wish her the best of luck with her upcoming projects. You can view her website blog via this link.
© Oman3D.com - The Creative Adventure - January 2008
© Anna Mair - 2008