Interview with Omani Photographer Tayseerah Al Baram

March 2008

Personal Details
Name: Tayseerah Al Baram
Nationality: Omani
Website: Tayseerah Gallery

Oman3D interviewed Tayseerah Al Baram, a Omani photographer and a board member of the Omani Society for Fine Arts to learn more about her experience as a female photographer and as an active member of the Omani Society for Fine Arts and the Omani Photography Club.

O3D: First of all, could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Tayseerah: My name is Tayseerah Saed Al Baram, I was born in the year 1980. I studied Law at Al Kuwait University and now work as a legal researcher. I am a board member of the Omani Society for Fine Arts and a member of the Omani Photography Club that is part of the Society for Fine Arts.

Tayseerah Al Baram -

O3D: How did your journey with photography begin?
Tayseerah: The hobby of photography grew inside of me from my early childhood days as I grew up seeing a camera regularly in the hands of my father who also loves photographer. He passed that love onto me so that I became the family's official trip photographer. I decided to take my hobby seriously two years ago when I joined the Photography Club.

O3D: Who inspires you?
Tayseerah: I have been affected by a number of regional and international photographers whom work may be simply, but is touching and full of feelings and emotions.

Regionally, I have been inspired by Ibrahim Al Busaidi - an Omani photographer with a unique essence in his photography that take us back in time through his simplicity and love for detail; Mosaed Al Ayid - a Saudi photographer who uses dolls and masks to create unique artwork that is full of the sadness and happiness of love; Abdulla Al Manai, Khalid Bin Saif, Eisa Al Kubaisi and many other artists from Qatar who continue to teach and inspire me even though we are a long distance apart.

Intentionally, I have been inspired by the work of Anne Geddes, Kevin Pinardy, the French photographer Yann Arthus Bertrand, and the Italian photographer Eoho Perfido.

I also enjoy visiting Time Catcher to look for new awesome landscape photographs.

O3D: Could you please tell us about you membership to the Omani Society for Fine Arts and the role of woman in the society?
Tayseerah: The Omani Society for Fine Arts aims to provide artists and photographers with a medium to communicate with each other and also provide them with a platform to expose their talents. I joined the Society in 2006, soon after that I was nominated to join the board of directors of the society and now I am the women's representative on the board.

The role of women in the Society has not been the most active, I think that the problem had been that the majority of female photographers are not brave enough to pursue the goals they set for themselves. I am trying to change that.

Tayseerah --

O3D: What sort of activities does the society organise?
Tayseerah: The photography club has a weekly event every Monday where they showcase the work of a certain photograph or hold a workshop on how to tackle a certain photography issue. We also have a guest over from the area or overseas to share with us his experience. The club also holds a competition every summer to the public where winning entries are displayed in the annual exhibition of the photography club at the end of the year.

O3D: You mentioned earlier that you are trying to change the role of women in the Omani Society for Fine Arts, how are you going to do that?
Tayseerah: I try to highlight the role of the female photographers and their desire to have an active role in the photography club in the society. I see the role of the female photographer as more than just coming to the scheduled meeting without participating because we want to see the art and talent from every individual and that includes women. Currently, I am working to motivate them and help them with any difficulties that they might face. I also hold meetings with the female photographers every now and then to plan trips and gatherings for them. One of my current plans which I wish to accomplish one day is to hold the first Omani exhibition that showcases photographs taken by female Omani photographers and I working tirelessly to make it happen.

O3D: What is your favourite photography subject?
Tayseerah: Portrait is the field that I feel more connected to because of the feeling shown through people's faces. When I see a story within someone's face, I capture that with my lens so that it blends my own feelings and then tell to others through the photograph.

O3D: Have you taken any photography courses?
Tayseerah: I taught myself the basics by reading specialisd photography magazines and joining online discussion boards. However, I recently participated in a photography course organised by Al Jazeera Training Center in Qatar and another course organised by the Omani Society for Fine Arts.

Tayseerah

O3D: What advice would you give to new artists willing to get into photography?
Tayseerah: I advice them to read any news about photography and photographers and to keep in touch with everything new in this field. I also suggest that they read more magazines and books about photography, to always be patient and to learn from the comments and remarks made by others. I would also like to remind them that the camera does not make the photographer, but the photographer is the one who creates the picture regardless of the tools.

We would like to end by thanking Tayseerah for giving us this opportunity to carry out this interview, we wish her the best of luck with her upcoming projects. You can view her photo work via this link.