How Ras Al Khaimah’s first professional photographer captured more than faces

Before electricity lit Ras Al Khaimah’s streets and before passports had photographs, one man captured the faces of people and the city: Mohammad Abdullah Alnamer.

A former goldsmith turned photographer from Al Ahsa in Saudi Arabia, Alnamer did not just take pictures — he helped shape identity in a young and growing emirate. He became the first professional photographer in Ras Al Khaimah

The following story is based on the recollections of Amina Mohammed Alnamer and Basem Mohammed Alnamer, the children of the late Mohammad Abdullah Alnamer, who passed away on April 26, 1990.

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Born in 1908, Mohammad Abdullah Alnamer began his working life as a young goldsmith and silversmith. But his ambition soon pushed him beyond the trade of precious metals. At just 16 years old, newly married and full of determination, he left Al-Ahsa in search of opportunity. His journey took him by camel through Qatar and then by sea, braving storms until he reached Dalma Island and eventually Ras Al Khaimah, where he would begin a new chapter.

Initially, he resumed his craft in goldsmithing. However, when the Ras Al Khaimah government banned gold extraction from coastal areas, including the once-thriving site of Al Mataf, Alnamer pivoted quickly. He entered the food trade, and soon after, his reliability and attention to detail led to his appointment by the late Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah from 1948 until he died in 2010, as the official writer of travel permits in the emirate.

His relationship with Sheikh Saqr was built not just on service, but on mutual trust and respect. Alnamer’s duties expanded beyond photography to include writing and approving passports, documenting accidents, and supporting the civic infrastructure. He was granted rare access to sensitive areas, including the old fort where official documents were stamped and sealed.

In his early 30s, responding to a growing need for official identification photographs, Sheikh Saqr personally sent Alnamer to Dubai to train under Abdullah Qambar, the only professional photographer in the area at the time. After just six days of intensive learning, he returned with a camera and a purpose. According to his daughter, Amina Mohammed Alnamer, “My father was the perfect example of a responsible man someone trusted with people’s faces and official documents, and who carried that responsibility with honesty and calm dignity.”

Soon after his return, Alnamer ordered his first camera from Kuwait, paying Rs1,200, a substantial amount at the time, roughly equivalent to Dh51 today.

He opened Studio Al-Orouba in Julfar, the first photography studio in Ras Al Khaimah. The studio was so vital to the city’s development that it was equipped with the emirate’s first dedicated electricity meter installed solely to power his photographic equipment.

In an era when electricity was a rare commodity, Alnamer’s darkroom was a quiet theatre of precision. He developed photos under a red lightbulb or beneath shaded palm-frond shelters. In the hot summers, he would work under an arish in Al Hudaibah, using car headlights to illuminate the process. “He worked day and night,” said Amina. “The whole family helped seal envelopes with starch, cutting photo paper by hand, and labeling every image. There was so little, but everything was done with care and dignity.”

Though Mohammad Alnamer passed away on April 26, 1990, on the morning of Eid, his contributions have not faded. They’ve only grown more visible. His legacy was honored during RAK Heritage Days last year, where 18 of his original passport photographs were exhibited, highlighting the pivotal role he played in documenting the emirate’s visual history. 

People came across Ras Al Khaimah, as well as from Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah, and Khasab, to be photographed by him. He became the go-to man for passport photos, identity documents, and even traffic incident reports. “He never thought of profit,” said Amina. “He charged one rupee for a photo and gave four copies. What mattered to him was seeing satisfaction on people’s faces.”

Alnamer’s dedication to detail extended far beyond the studio. He meticulously archived every photograph, accompanied by handwritten notes that included names, dates, and places. His daughter recalls, “He always said that people would one day come back to his archive. I heard him tell my mother that more than once. And now, that’s exactly what’s happening: history is uncovering his work, just as people once searched for gold in Al Mataf. I wish he were here to see that what he created after leaving gold behind turned out to be more valuable than gold itself.”

At home, with six daughters and two sons, he built his family life with the same care he applied to his photography. “He built our lives the way an architect lays bricks,” said Amina. “Every detail mattered. He was tender, but deeply responsible.” He also remained close to his roots in Al-Ahsa, sending letters and gifts to his relatives, always expressing love through small, thoughtful gestures.

In 2019, nearly three decades after his death, the family reopened his archive stored in boxes and envelopes and rediscovered thousands of carefully preserved photographs, many of which were labeled and intact. While some film negatives were damaged by time, the majority remained usable, a treasure trove of the nation’s visual memory.

Today, two of his children and three of his grandchildren have followed in his footsteps. “The profession didn’t pass on to all of us, but the passion did,” said his son Basem Mohammed Alnamer.

Mohammad Abdullah Alnamer may have given up gold, but in the end, he preserved something far more enduring. Through his lens, he gave identity, memory, and voice to the people of Ras Al Khaimah.

Azza Al Ali

Azza Al Ali is a reporter from Ras Al Khaimah, dedicated to sharing stories that bring the community…Read More