His knack for sharing his stories is captured through the lens. He and his camera have already won numerous awards both local and international. As a matter of fact, Donell Gumiran, a Dubai-based internationally-acclaimed photographer is also a photographer and contributor for the Asian Geographic Magazine.
Gumiran, the design director and co-founder of Deerect, an advertising agency based in Dubai, has an extensive background of more than 20 years in art, design, branding, and photography. The entrepreneur has been a design director for branding, always up-to-date with the latest trends and techniques in regards to international design to accustom himself to any culture and region in an innovative style generating distinctive, memorable and remarkable work that it thought of from many different solid angles to provide multi-directional yet suitable outcomes.
Photographer by passion, he sees himself as an image-maker who captures and tells a story in a photograph. Known for his evocative portraits, his favorite subjects are those that capture human conditions and emotions in everyday life.
Living in the host country for over a decade now, Gumiran said that he chose to live and work abroad to learn and hone new skills and for personal growth.
“I like to work in Dubai because of its multicultural experience. I am able to mingle with people from different walks of life, learning their culture and everyday life through photography,” he said.
But for him, although he is being recognized as the ‘master of arts’, he has also to endure struggles such as spontaneous pangs of homesickness and a lot of ups and downs.
“Make it as a passion not as a profession in everything you do. Do something beyond your limitations and beyond rules. Keep being positive and appreciate the moments everyday. It has something to do with dreaming plus positive actions that make you successful,” Gumiran’s piece of advice to his fellow kabayans abroad.
DONELL GUMIRAN’S RECENT RECOGNITIONS
- 1st prize winner in the 6th edition of Fine Arts Photography Awards in London, 2020
- 1st prize winner in Arts Photography in the 8th Annual Ras Al Khaimah Fine Arts Festival, UAE, 2020
- Best Cover of Asian Geographic 2019 as part of the 20th Anniversary Celebration
- Photographer of the Year 2019 in the 14th Annual Photo Show Black & White Spider Awards, LA, CA, United States of America
- Gold in Le Prix De La Photography de Paris 2019
- Winner in Moscow Foto Award 2019
- Gold Prize Winner in Tokyo, Japan Photo Award in 2019
- 1st Prize Winner in Documentary Category 2018, International Photography (IPA) Awards in Los Angeles, United States of America
- 1st Place Winner 2018 The Independent Photo Travel Award, Berlin, Germany
