In early December I spent a week in Dubai. Based on everything I'd seen about the city, I expected it to be culturally underwhelming, but packed my film camera out of habit. For the most part, I was right. But midway into the trip, I spent a day in Deira and found myself happily mistaken. The streets were narrow and the sidewalks were busy and every so often I would see a man approach someone and chat to them like an old friend, before asking "Interested in any copy handbags? Gucci? Louis Vuitton?". Shoppers haggled outside run-down stores and shop-owners sipped on 1 diram chai. Paint peeled off the walls and laundry hung off the balconies. For the first time the city seemed to offer some evidence of human occupation. It all seemed surreal considering the proximity to the rest of Dubai. I was pleasantly surprised to return with one of my favourite rolls of film (and thankfully not a single photo of the Burj).
Film processed by Hillvale.