Lost Place Al Madam: Photoshoot with the new Rollei Flashes

On the tour through Dubai, we tested our new Rollei battery flashes HS Freeze 6s and 4s in various locations. Among other things, during a photo shoot in the desert at 40 degrees Celsius, with camels and other surprises, where we needed a lot of flash power to even be able to shoot against the sun.

There was still a special treat waiting for us: a photo shoot at a Lost Place in the Dubai desert. Lost Places have experienced a big hype in the photography scene in recent years, as the abandoned places with their morbid charm offer absolutely unique motifs.

Exploring secret places

The private exploration of these places is also called Urban Exploration (Urbex). An important part of this exploration are buildings that have not been used for a long time.

For example, an Urban Explorer (also called "Urbexer") would explore an abandoned villa, a bunker, or even a former reading room and take photos there. Often, secret places in cities are visited that are known to the scene but do not play a prominent role in the everyday lives of the population because they are closed to the public - for example, because there is a danger of collapse.

We visit a Lost Place

The Lost Place we visited near Dubai is called Al Madam, now also known as Al Madam Ghost Town. Nearby there is another place with the same name, which is better connected with its streets.

The reason for the evacuation of the town was - according to our guide's stories - the government's plan to build a road, the realization of which was incompatible with the location of the town. Ghost Town can be interpreted in different ways. On the one hand, because the small town is completely abandoned, on the other hand, because in the surrounding areas there is occasionally the belief that evil spirits (Dschinn) are up to mischief there.

A journey through time to the past

The fascination with Lost Places has several reasons. An important aspect, for example, is that the abandoned buildings, with their long-standing decay, enable a kind of time travel into the past.

Another reason: The photographer has to work with exactly the conditions that nature and the location provide. Overall, Lost Places can therefore be a challenging subject. All the more so because there is usually little light in abandoned places, so you have to help yourself to get a good photo, which was no hurdle thanks to the powerful batteries of our flashes.

The small excursion into the past was also the case in the abandoned village of Al Madam. Everything looked as if the former inhabitants of the local Al-Kutbi tribe had left relatively quickly. This was evidenced by old bed frames, sofas, and even open electrical boxes from which still usable cables and switches had been taken. An absolutely impressive scene, which produced great photos.

Packing list and tips for photographing Lost Places:

• Equipment (camera, lens, flash, etc.) should not be too sensitive to dust, water, and sand
• Always check whether there is any danger from the room visited (e.g. falling roof tiles etc.)
• Take gloves, dust mask, safety glasses, overalls, first aid kit, mobile light, sturdy shoes, water and muesli bars, possibly a GPS device for emergencies
• Leave Lost Place exactly as found à Urbexer code of honor

Note: The place Al Madam was, as far as the topic of Lost Places is concerned, absolute luxury. Normally, it is much more difficult to photograph these places and often the use of large flashes is not possible. Our article should not be an encouragement to actively photograph Lost Places. They can be very dangerous and entering them is illegal in many cases.

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