PICTURE PERFECT

WINNER

RISHI SHARMA
Sharjah, UAE

This stunning reflected cityscape was captured by Rishi Sharma during one his morning walks on the Sharjah corniche.

“On this occasion I noticed how still the water was and the way the light on the buildings was reflected, so I thought I should capture it. That’s often what happens – I carry my camera with me on my walk so that if I see something interesting, I can take a picture there and then.”

Rishi, who has been with Petrofac for six years, is a Project Controls Manager. Originally from India but now based in Sharjah, he is currently working on a project to deliver new water treatment facilities for the North Caspian Operating Company of Kazakhstan.

Although he has been a keen photographer for many years, Rishi has recently stepped up from a smartphone to a DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) camera.

He says: “Once you understand the basics, the DSLR enables you to take the photo exactly as you want it – and there are lots of YouTube guides to help. I think it’s important to have a hobby that can help you relax outside of work. For me its photography.”

Rishi felt the tranquillity of the scene in his winning picture of the Sharjah skyline captured what it means to feel ‘at home’.

WINNER

MARCO OPDAM
Leiden, The Netherlands

Marco can normally be found photographing birds in the area around Leiden, where he lives. But having read all about Rotterdam’s architectural marvel the Markthal, he made the short trip to see it for himself.

The arched Markthal, which opened in 2014, consists of 200 apartments above a covered market. The inside walls and ceiling are covered with a huge, brightly coloured artwork depicting flowers, fruit and crops. It was this that made big impression on Marco.

“I thought I had to picture it,” he says. “But I didn’t have my camera with me so took it with my smartphone. It shows the quality you can get from these cameras.”

Marco has worked for Petrofac for 20 years. For many of those he was a computer software engineer, principally working on Petrofac’s learning and competence management platform SkillsVX. More recently he has taken the role of scrum master working on various IT projects.  

He took up photography as a hobby during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.

“During our daily walks I noticed the variety of birds – something I hadn’t realised before. So I started taking pictures, first with a small compact camera and then with a 600mm tele-lens. Now every week I go somewhere nearby to take pictures of the birds.”

WINNER

JIM MOLLOY
Houston, USA

Feline groovy, or a Pussycat Doll perhaps? There can’t be many cooler cats than Lady, captured here by Jim Molloy as she nestled against his bass guitar.

Jim captured the image after he looked up from tying his shoelace to find Lady striking this pose.

“I’m always looking to capture moments on camera, but I didn’t have my DSLR to hand, so I grabbed my phone,” he explains.

Jim then used the phone’s pre-set filters to set the image in monochrome.

“I love the tones that come out with black and white,” he said. “You can lose some of the contrast with bright colours and I find black and white images tell a different story.”

Jim joined Petrofac in February 2021 as Regional Account Manager for the Americas. His role involves marketing SkillsVX, Petrofac’s learning and competence management product, to potential clients across North and South America.

He learned the basics of shooting and developing film at high school – as a student he was runner-up in a photo competition run by the Boston Globe newspaper.  

When he’s not taking pictures of his pets, Jim enjoys photographing local wildlife.

“During the pandemic my son and I built a habitat for caterpillars,” he says, “so I now have scores of photos of butterflies, including a stop-motion sequence of a Monarch emerging from its chrysalis.”

WINNER (both categories)

AMER KAHWAJI
Abu Dhabi, UAE

Two very different images in contrasting climates earned Amer a win in two of our categories.

The first picture – of a solar eclipse on the desert horizon near Abu Dhabi, Amer describes as a “special moment”. Although only brief it required meticulous preparation and a very early start!

“We followed the exact timing of the eclipse online, then travelled to the site and set up the night before – somewhere where there was no light pollution,” recalls Amer. “Then we got up at 3am to make sure we got the exact moment of the sunrise and the eclipse.”

The image was taken with special sun filter to avoid damaging the lens.

Amer is an Administration Officer who has been with the company for 11 years. Based in Abu Dhabi, his main responsibilities include managing office services and processing Visa applications for colleagues.   

Amer captured a very different atmosphere with his winning image in the category Through the Seasons.

This image, taken during a family holiday in Chamonix, Switzerland, pictures an autumnal Alpine scene where a green forest is overshadowed by a snowy mountain.  

“I was driving when I saw this scene, so I pulled over, quickly adjusted the camera settings and took the picture, says Amer. “There wasn’t any special preparation for this one!”

Amer took up photography having been inspired by Petrofac colleague Samer Maalouf – also a keen photographer.

“Whenever I go on a trip the heaviest bag is my camera equipment!” he says. “I enjoy taking pictures of nature, that’s my favourite field, but faces also make a good subject. You can read so much from them.”

WINNER

SANKARA SUTHAPALLI
Sharjah, UAE

Sankara’s beautiful macro image of a rising sun reflected in two tiny water droplets clinging to a leaf, was captured during a visit to a plantation near his Sharjah base.

“It is quite a sight to see this vegetation in an area surrounded by desert,” he says. “I was there early in the morning and with the light and the dew appearing I knew I should get some good pictures. I hadn’t planned to take a macro shot but, luckily, I had the right lens with me. I knew in my mind the sort of picture I wanted, with the sun reflected in that way but it took many, many pictures before I got it just right.”  

Sankara has worked for Petrofac for 11 years. As a Senior Engineer within IT, his role includes ensuring the company’s business systems run smoothly as well as developing engineering applications and supporting digital automation.

It was a photography taster session organised by Petrofac several years ago that encouraged Sankara to learn more about the art of taking pictures. And although clearly adept at capturing minute details of nature, Sankara’s preferred subject is portrait photography.

“I enjoy capturing the emotion in people’s faces,” he says. “But during the pandemic we weren’t able to be around people as much, so I started taking more pictures of nature.”  

WINNER

STEPHEN CAIN
Baku, Azerbaijan

Stephen’s spur-of-the-moment smartphone snap was taken from a hotel room in one of Baku’s Flame Towers. The picture uses the downtown lights of the city outside as a backdrop for the reflected image of Stephen’s wife dancing.

Having come from an operational background Stephen now specialises in training, helping develop the next generation of oil and gas operatives. He has had spells with Petrofac Training Services in Malaysia and Oman before taking secondment in Baku in March this year, supporting oil and gas Competency Profile writing.  

“I have enjoyed taking photos for more than 30 years, either with my camera or my phone, says Stephen. “On this occasion I spotted the effect the reflection was creating, so I asked my wife to keep dancing, grabbed the phone and took a series of shots. When I looked back at them this one stood out.”

Stephen feels his shot captures the “enjoyment we can have at home, but the desire to be outside, embracing life and enjoying a great time with our friends”.

“I’ve been fortunate to work in some great places to photograph, like the jungle in Malaysia or winter snow scenes in Sakhalin in Russia,” he says. “I love the fact that a picture can capture a moment in time that will make people smile and be a great memory to look back on in years to come.”  

WINNER

SANJIBAN GHOSH
Mumbai, India

Each October (or more properly the Indian calendar month of Ashwin), the festival of Durga Puja draws many Hindus back to their home towns and villages across India for a week-long celebration. It marks the victory of the goddess Durga over a shape-shifting demon, and so the triumph of good over evil, but it is also a harvest festival - and a party for all ages!

“I took this picture in my home village of Jalpaiguri in the eastern part of India, a three-hour flight from where I work in Mumbai,” says Sanjiban Ghosh. “They are actually members of my family you can see in the shot. On the final day, the children dance in front of the idol with clay pots of burning incense. For many of us it’s a chance to catch up with relatives too.”

Sanjiban is Deputy manager, Engineering Systems, working with 3D design software, customising it for use on projects for global customers. A mechanical engineer by training, he has nearly 30 years’ experience designing, developing and deploying engineering software in the UAE and across India.

“My village – and the festival itself - feels a world away from the bustle of Mumbai,” says Sanjiban. “On the last day the idols are taken down to a river or pond for ritual immersion,” after which the goddess returns to her mythological home “and I go the other way, back to City life! But I return refreshed, and with renewed bonds with family and relatives.”  

WINNER

CAPTAIN DAVE JONES
Aberdeen, Scotland

Captain Dave Jones has spent a lifetime at sea, but this shot is about as grounded as it gets. An elderly couple share a picnic on an Aberdeen park bench, observing the old saying that in Scotland, ‘there's no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes’.

“Once in a blue moon I’m lucky, honoured really, to capture moments like this,” he says. “I’d noticed them for a while, as I was sitting having coffee just across the way. The rings on their left fingers, the devotion in the body language, the attentiveness to each other. You could tell they’d been together all their lives.”

Dave himself is a devoted grandfather of eight, and looking forward to picking up his older person’s bus pass, so perhaps the scene carried extra poignancy. He lives “in a field of sheep”, the old Buchan railway line that used to link Peterhead to Aberdeen carrying whale and seal oil now a cycle path running across the end of his garden. But the sea is his natural habitat. His job is to assure vessels that want to enter the 500 metre safety zone, to make sure they are safe and legal.

“The sea can be a solitary place,” he says. “I’ve spent 50 years in the marine industry and you do a lot of reflecting on life. I think that helps with the composition of the shot.”

A Master Mariner, Dave owned maritime schools in Plymouth and in the Caribbean before joining Petrofac in 2013, when his first assignment was to assure ships for 10 days in Mexico.

Today he’s keeping an eye on things for us in the North Sea – when he isn’t watching the world go by from a handy vantage point in an Aberdeen park, trusty Nikkon Z7 mark 2 at the ready.  

HUMAN-MADE

WINNER

Amer Kahwaj
Abu Dhabi, UAE

This stunning reflected cityscape was captured by Rishi Sharma during one his morning walks on the Sharjah corniche.

“On this occasion I noticed how still the water was and the way the light on the buildings was reflected, so I thought I should capture it. That’s often what happens – I carry my camera with me on my walk so that if I see something interesting, I can take a picture there and then.”

Rishi, who has been with Petrofac for six years, is a Project Controls Manager. Originally from India but now based in Sharjah, he is currently working on a project to deliver new water treatment facilities for the North Caspian Operating Company of Kazakhstan.

Although he has been a keen photographer for many years, Rishi has recently stepped up from a smartphone to a DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) camera.

He says: “Once you understand the basics, the DSLR enables you to take the photo exactly as you want it – and there are lots of YouTube guides to help. I think it’s important to have a hobby that can help you relax outside of work. For me its photography.”

Rishi felt the tranquillity of the scene in his winning picture of the Sharjah skyline captured what it means to feel ‘at home’.