Unique Muslimah

Sultana the Turkish Cat, originally photographed and uploaded by Unique-Muslimah.

Meet Sultana, the Turkish cat. She always stood before the Hotel doors, waiting for someone to let her in and give her a bite to eat. Unfortunately since she was a stray, they couldn’t let her in.

I would have loved to sneak her into my hotel room and given her a bath and some Turkish tuna and milk, but it would have been hard to smuggle her in… Plus one of the Hotel staff advised me not to touch her, as I didn’t know what diseases she had. She was also pregnant, which made me feel so sorry for her, being out there in the cold and rain, hungry by the looks of it, meowing to me for attention.

It was love at first sight for me. The Manager told me they had called her Sultana because they were in the Sultan Ahmet area. How cute! I thought to myself a few days after when I realised that fact.

After a while she stopped visiting the hotel all together. I never did get to say goodbye. But I’m glad I took a moment to take a picture of her. She needed love and attention and I feel so sad that I was not in the position to give her that. The next day I do remember bringing some food for her, but she was no where to be seen.

Photography must be in my genes. My grandfather bought one of the oldest cameras in the early 1900s, taking pretty interesting black and white photos of his family which are still beautifully preserved in the family photo album.

My father continued the tradition, buying cameras over the years of the technological progression. I remember he used to take photos of everything, which is probably how I became interested in the art of capturing the moment.

So as a young girl I remember I loved taking photographs and having others compliment on how well I took them. I especially remember visiting Paris and taking a portrait photograph of my father, with the Eiffel Tower serving as a wonderful background. I didn’t know how I did it, when people asked, it was just natural for me to look into the camera and compose a photo.

It was only during the digital camera revolution when I started to become consciously interested in photography. As the years progressed and the larger the mega pixels became, I was keen on taking that perfect photo and easily uploading it on my computer, without having to send it to the print shop to get the film processed.

After years of ‘borrowing’ the family camera, with each click feeling more and more interested in taking photos, I felt it was time to purchase my own camera; a Sony Cyber-shot which stayed in my possession for a couple of solid years, finding pleasure in taking it out with me wherever I went to take creative shots.

After the two-year relationship I realised that this had become a serious hobby, something my grandfather and father had probably not ventured, perhaps because back then technology was limited. That’s when I bought my first DSLR.

With my DSLR came the opportunity to share my photographs on flickr, a wonderful online community and more recently on facebook. I also learnt about the shutter lag on a point and shoot camera which is virtually non-existent on a DSLR (except in night-time photography, which is different).

It was when I started to show case my work that I received several interested “clients” to photograph their events, including a few weddings and engagement parties.

When this venture expanded I was taken into the photojournalism field which is exciting and demanding, stretching your creativity to peaks you were unaware of, probably because people are less predictable and patient than a flower or cake. With that I was interested in taking courses and currently my bookshelf is kept company with photography books on a range of topics.

Photography also gives me the initiative to see more of the world. I’m always encouraged to go to places I haven’t been to before, to take photos of the wonders of God’s creation. Because what is a photograph but a reflection of God’s creation. I’m merely a tool, using a tool, to show that.

I still hear stories of my grandparent’s passion of photography, how he would also take photos of weddings. My father did the same. And here I am, following the same path.

Maybe it is in my genes. Maybe it’s just spiritual inspiration carried from generation to generation.

Whatever it is, words could not describe how wonderful it feels to have this creative outlet in my life.

Well, perhaps a picture could…