Camels have the most beautiful eyes

Hey, How Ya Doin? Taken by Asmaa Al Hameli

I heard a beautiful story about the eyelids of camels.

Ages ago, I came across a picture of some camels with their masters in the desert and they were hit by heavy storm. At the time, I  wondered how camels were able to see in such a situation? In the same picture, the masters had wrapped their faces with turbans, leaving only their eyes exposed, obviously, so they could see. I wondered how the camels walked so calmly in such a sandstorm without any struggle to follow in one direction. This week I was sent on assignment to Gulf Vetcare in Al Wathba to take photographs of camels getting microchips implanted. The idea is to keep track of the camels if they get lost or stolen. I was extremely excited about this assignment because I was curious to see camels' eyes up close.

During the photo shoot, I tried to get tight shots of  the camel's eyes. I was absolutely fascinated by its beauty and long eyelashes.

The secret of the camel is its three eyelids. If you look closely, two of the lids have eye lashes, which protects their eyes from the sand. The third is a thin membrane and works  like a windshield wiper, cleaning the animal's  eyes in a sandstorm. Unlike human eyes, camel eyes work from side to side rather than up and down. God has created the camel in such a special way that its eyelids have a screen that trap sand and drops it down. Amazing!

There was a horse at the farm, too. I have seen horses before but never touched one. I gathered all my courage, and decided to touch the beautiful creature. Horses have such pretty manes – I witnessed it first-hand. The horse's mane reminded me of some family members who spend quite a lot money on shampoos and other hair products to straighten their hair. Although in the end, the humans  end up losing their natural hair and their money.

I love my job because I enjoy it. Every day, there is something new to see and learn. I notice my photography skills improving and I feel more confident when taking pictures. There have been instances when people have asked to see the pictures I have taken.  My response is always:  "We don't show our pictures. I hope you understand." In reality, my pictures were not good enough to show. Either they were too bright or too dark. Fortunately, I got away with that handy phrase, otherwise, I would lose my credibility!