Ashwa Faheem is a passionate photographer based in Maldives. With a Master’s degree in Photography from Leicester, United Kingdom, Ashwa is incredibly talented in capturing powerful narratives through her work. From political landscapes, social issues, and ecological stories, Ashwa’s work features diverse themes and narrative landscapes. She recently launched her own production house based in the Maldives called Sailt Studio, dedicated to telling compelling stories.
Hi Ashwa, what inspired you to start taking photos?
I was both intimated and fascinated with the camera since I was a kid. I remember looking at this square-shaped metal box with countless buttons. I was never really able to hold it long enough as a child but when I finally did I couldn’t stop. I think I was inspired at what the camera was able to achieve simply with a click of a button. I remember arranging random objects in the house (chairs, shoes, spoons, etc.) to take photos of them — and then to have that unremarkable moment captured permanently was mind blowing. That is when I started to take portraits of my grandparents. Because what if I captured moments of value instead? What power did it hold? This is what inspired me to photograph. To capture moments of value and because we needed to capture them.
Since you have been taking photos in the Maldives for a long time, you must have a keen view of how the islands have transformed over time. Could you share some of the major changes that you have observed?
After traveling to more than 100 islands over the past 9 years, I’d need to sit down with a cup of coffee and watch some clouds pass by to reflect and refresh my memory on the changes that have occurred in the Maldivian islands. As you approach any island in the Maldives, it might not seem like it as its beauty and the colors of the sea conceal its damage, usually. I’d say that these geographically isolated islands had faced major soil erosions over the past decades. The elderly are watching as their childhood beaches along the seas and the trees that provided for their parents drift away. Islands are growing smaller in size due to soil erosion, and as population increases, more trees are cut down to make space for infrastructure. Speaking of the trees — it is also important to highlight that deforestation in the islands has grown common as the demand for space increases in these islands. These trees are incredibly valuable as it has protected and is still protecting the island and its people against the effects of climate change.
What are some of the most interesting scenes you’ve seen as a street and environment photographer?
Even though my story in photography started from photographing spoons on the kitchen table at my house, it somehow led me to photographing some extraordinary moments in Maldives and around the world. The camera has led me to many countless interesting people, places, and even “history-in-the-making” moments. From photographing ice glaciers in Iceland to volcanoes in Indonesia to virgin forests in Borneo to the streets of Maldives that fought violently for their rights. Maybe I was at the right place at the right time, but if it wasn’t for the camera, I would be at home trying to figure out how an air fryer worked.
Do you think photography can inspire a sense of nature-connectedness? If so, how?
Photographs are universally understood. It doesn’t matter which language you speak or what your education background is, you are able to interpret a photograph regardless. This makes it a very effective and powerful medium for communication, and even more so, for communicating information in the environmental context. Everybody has a camera in their pockets now, and we usually have the instinct to photograph beautiful sceneries which are also extremely vulnerable. Perhaps the more we share these beautiful places through photography, the more people feel the need to protect them. Once we capture these beautiful places, we preserve their integrity on the frozen images, and perhaps it is easier to notice how the place loses its beauty when you revisit the image years later. Maybe people will realize that we need to save the Earth before all its beauty exists merely only on images.
Which photographers inspire you the most?
During my teens, I was very inspired to photograph people and the stories they
inhabit because of images brought by photographers in the National Geographic Channel. I learnt of an outside colorful world through the photography of Steve McCurry and I learnt the need to photograph stories of people through the works of James Nachtway. But I also didn’t need to look further, as growing up in this congested city, the photography of my cousin Shifaan Thaufeeg always gave me hope and assurance that anything is possible.
You can discover more of Ashwa’s work on @ashwafaheem
Writer and steward for the Earth.