Dragon Boats at Dawn in Dubai

Photographing Dragon Boats in Dubai — the UAE National Dragon Boat Team on The Palm Jumeirah.

Staying fit is a challenge, especially as one ages. I wake up early — 5:00 am, most days, and walk the beach along the shoreline of the Palm Jumeirah, camera in hand, and get exercise, always an eye out for a photo and to generally improve my photography.

Dubai is an equally difficult and rewarding location to be a photographer, as there are strict limits on whipping out a camera in public, but at 5 am, the rules flex and no one cares when you’re after a shot of a bird, turtle, or in this instance, a bunch of athletes from the UAE’s Dragon Boat National team.

I’ve seen these blokes from time to time, grinding away in the morning as I trekked the beach to find a Western Reef Heron, Striated Heron, Socotra Cormorant, or luckily a sea turtle, but never turned my lens toward the diggers — again, because of strict laws about photography in public — but one of their members asked if I could take a few shots, so I obliged.

Lovely group of athletes, doing their thing. It was a pleasure to film, and these guys are legit. Impressive commitment to their sport. Several of the team are members of The Dubai Diggers, a world champion Dragon Boat Team, based here in Dubai.

-Until the next beach walk…