Richard Allenby Pratt

Richard is a British photographer living and working in Dubai, UAE. His concerns about the sustainability of the way we live and our economic systems only really became urgent after the birth of his son in 2008. As a landscape photographer he found the obvious way to express these concerns was by making photographs of the places impacted on by human activity, and particularly those places that best display the terrifying scale of our consumption. His basic method is to study google earth and then visit the most intriguing and inexplicable places thereby discovered.

Water turned off in Abu Dhabi desert tree experiment (photo)

Our local photographer takes a look at what happens when trees are cut off from their water source in...

Google Earth reveals 10-year impact of 39 square mile desert mangrove project

The 'historical imagery' function on google earth is particularly helpful in tracking changes to landscapes since about the turn...

Is this the world’s longest billboard?

It looks like yet another world record may be broken soon with the world's longest billboard along the side...

100 million trees dry, rather than green, the UAE’s western desert

In an attempt to 'greenify' the UAE's Western Region desert, (some claim in the hope of creating a milder...

Abu Dhabi energy pylons confuse perceptions of “land” use

An awe-inspiring sight, as one departs Abu Dhabi towards Saadiyat and Yas Islands, these pylons seems to disappear into...

Abandoned Dubai Flyover Resembles Easter Island Sculptures

Continuing the theme of mysterious abandoned developments, the identity of this one is better known than the desert lakes...
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Wildlife Thrive at Flooded ‘Arabian Canal’ in Dubai Desert

In my last post I described how I had discovered the remains of a defunct development known as the...

The “Arabian Canal” is a Defunct Water Conduit in Dubai

In my last post I featured a photograph of an unused structure out in the desert near Dubai, a...

Massive Concrete Amphitheater Lies Disused Outside Dubai

A friend tipped me off about this strange structure out in the desert a short drive from Dubai. I...

Reed Beds: Cleaning Waste Water in the Desert

Earlier this year I decided to visit a strange looking waste management site in Um Al Quwain - one...

Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates Fuels the Shopping Cult

If consumerism is the predominant modern day religion, then this week's picture shows one our most monumental cathedrals -...

Running in Dubai: Sadomasochism for the Rich?

Earlier this year I got up before dawn one morning to photograph the Dubai marathon and 10k race. It...