ABU DHABI, April 4th, 2010: Abu Dhabi’s culture and development will take centre stage in a photographic gallery in Holland and across the pages of KLM’s in-flight magazine following a four-day shoot of the emirate by international photographer Lodewijk Duijvesteijn.
Known for his use of light and provocative style, Lodewijk, a graduate of The Netherland’s Royal Academy of Art who has been commissioned by some of the world’s top magazines and brands, spent the first two days of his visit to Abu Dhabi at the emirate’s award-winning Falcon Hospital capturing images of its magnificent birds of prey, according to a press release by Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA).
“I find falcons very interesting birds and I did not know that there are special medical facilities to care for them. I found the Falcon Hospital a very interesting place. I am using falcons as a centre theme to showcase the modernity and tradition of Abu Dhabi and how the modern lifestyle sits easily with the traditional one of falconry, hunting and the raising of this magnificent bird,” Lodewijk explained.
Lodewijk’s Abu Dhabi work is to go on show at Rotterdam’s Rotabs Gallery and in an editorial for Holland Herald – the in-flight magazine for KLM which has a worldwide annual readership of in excess of 22 million.
“Abu Dhabi is a very interesting place and my pictures are all about convincing the public to look at the images and think about what they see. I love to show something exciting and persuade the public to look at it,” said Lodewijk.
The Rotabs Gallery showing of Lodwewijk’s Abu Dhabi work will take place this coming fall and marks the gallery’s first exhibition devoted to falcons.
“It will help shed light on the importance of these birds and their impact on local society,” said Lodewijk.
“There are very few stories about this part of the world and the public will be very interested to see how tradition and culture live side-by-side development and progress and how people in this country preserve their culture while living a very modern life style.”