About

Who is Al-Rihla Images …

‘Al-Rihla’ is Arabic for ‘The Journey’ or ‘The Voyage’. The name was taken from and in memory of ibn Battutah, the famous Moroccan Muslim scholar and traveler, who lived in the 14th century. Ibn Battutah is often considered to be one of the greatest travelers ever and the distance that he covered surpassed that of his predecessors and his near-contemporary, Marco Polo. Despite these achievements, ibn Battutah is seldom mentioned in history books that we were taught in schools. Go figure …

Al-Rihla Images is my way of documenting my journey or voyage through life and my travels to the Islamic World. My dream is to cover, as much as possible, the countries or regions that were once part of the great Islamic empires, which stretched from Al-Andalus [present day Spain] to Central and South Asia.

Who am I …

My name is Chaerul Imran Bakri. Most people call me by my second name, Imran, unless they can pronounce my first name . I live and work in Singapore, a tropical island city-state located at the southern tip of Malaysia. I was born in Singapore. However, I was informed that my paternal ancestors came from Central Java in Indonesia, whereas my maternal ancestors came from Hadhramaut [in present day Yemen] and Central Java.

If you are interested in purchasing prints, licensing images or hiring me, check out my usage / licensing page for more info.

You can view my photos in: | flickr | slide | 500px |

Feel free to add me as a contact in: | Facebook | Google+ | Twitter |

Awards & Mentions …

• 2006 Finalist and exhibited in People, Places & Things – Art Found in Everyday Life Exhibition – Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
• 2007 Recipient of an FIAP Honorable Mention and Acceptance, 54th Singapore International Photography Award
• 2008 Recipient of 3 Honorable Mentions, Pilsner Urquell International Photo Awards, USA
• 2009 Recipient of an Honorable Mention, PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris, France
• 2009 Finalist, 29th Annual Spring Photography Contest – Photographer’s Forum Magazine, USA
• 2011 Recipient of Silver and Bronze Awards, International Loupe Awards, Australia

Publications …

My images have also been used / appeared / featured in the following publications:

• 2006 IMF-World Bank Meeting. Five (5) photos selected by Ministry of Information & the Arts (MICA) for a tabletop calendar – 366 Degrees Through Singaporean Lenses.
• 2007 Today Newspaper – MEWR Minister Visits Variable Salinity Plant t – for PUB.
• 2007 Tamil Murasu and Today newspapers – for Central CDC TRUST Home Programme.
• 2007 Digital Photographer magazine, UK, Issue 59.
• 2007 Digital Photographer magazine, UK, Issue 61.
• 2010 World of Photography, Vol. 1 – a publication of Photography Monthly magazine, UK.
• 2011 National Geographic Complete Photography.
• 2011 World of Photography, Vol. 2 – a publication of Photography Monthly magazine, UK.

You can view the clippings in my flickr site.

I am also a Getty Images contributor.

Equipment List …

• Nikon D70, D200 and D300
• Nikon FM
• Lomo LC-A+
• Vivitar UWS
• Panasonic Lumix GF1 with 20mm f1.7 lens
• Nikkor 18-70mm
• Nikkor AF-D 50mm f1.8
• Nikkor AF-D 105mm f2.8 Micro
• Nikkor AF-S 17-55mm f2.8 DX
• Nikkor AF-S 10.5mm f2.8 FE DX
• Nikkor AF-D 80-200mm f2.8
• Tamron AF 28-75mm f2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF)
• Tokina AT-X 124 AF Pro DX (IF) 12-24mm f4
• Nikon Speedlight SB-800
• Nikon Speedlight SB-900
• Lee and Hitech Filters