Playing With The Light

Photographing Abandoned School In Ras Al Khaimah.

Abandoned room with orange walls, scattered debris, and minimal sunlight through windows, creating a desolate atmosphere.

Before the weather got too inferno (although, questionable statement), we made a trip to Ras Al Khaimah to photograph an abandoned school.

I didn’t drive there, my friend did, so even if you asked me how to get there, I wouldn’t know, so perhaps just don’t. You can ask Faisal, but I doubt he would tell you anything.

Abandoned dolls on neglected pavement with debris, highlighting decay and urban neglect.

Color or Black and White?

I could not decide whether I would convert all the images to black and white, or leave them all in color, but I have to say that the place did look quite monochromatic due to the fact that it was abandoned for quite some time at this point. Therefore, I decided that it is going to be a mix.

Abandoned courtyard with debris and destructed building, black and white photography.

Abandonment and urban decay do look quite amazing in monochrome, but I am primary a color photographer, so sometimes it is hard for me to let go of the colors.

Abandoned office chairs in a rundown building, black and white photo capturing urban decay.

Should You Be Visiting Abandoned Places?

There are quite a few abandoned places in the UAE – some of them left behind because the population moved away, some, perhaps, due to some specific reasons, but mostly even if the place is abandoned (like a hotel) there would still be a guard preventing you from going there. So every time you have the idea of visiting some place of this kind, just be ready to give up and leave, unless you want to be arrested. It is not specifically legal to go to these properties and photograph them, even if there is nobody there at the moment to kick you out.

Old, weathered book on a dusty tiled floor, showing peeling pages and vintage wear.

Missing Peace of Life

This school was located somewhere quite nearby the beach, and surrounded by houses which were definitely full of people…

View of trees and buildings framed through a small window, giving a unique perspective in black and white.

Most of the windows were missing, most of the tables and chairs were not there as well. There was also a tree growing into one of the rooms. However, different school paraphernalia was still lying around. It is quite creepy, and sad at the same time.

Dimly lit abandoned building with scattered debris and textured pillars casting long shadows.
Abandoned room in black and white, angled sunlight creating dramatic shadows and highlighting debris on the floor.
Abandoned room with sunlight streaming in, highlighting a chair and debris on the floor.
Dark, abandoned room with a chair, illuminated by a narrow beam of sunlight through a window, creating dramatic shadows.
View through a window into an abandoned room with peeling walls and a small window, dimly lit by warm light.
Abandoned beige building with peeling paint, empty windows, and debris in the foreground under a blue sky.
Warm sunlight casting shadows through multiple window openings in a textured wall.
Abandoned room with sunlight casting shadows over a lone chair amidst scattered debris and peeling walls.
Black and white view of sunlight casting shadows through an abandoned building's window.
Rustic open door reveals autumn leaves and soft sunlight outside, creating a serene and mysterious ambiance.
Silhouette of a person through a window in a sunlit room with textured walls and scattered construction materials.

Photography ghost was lurking around.

Abandoned room with orange walls, scattered debris, and minimal sunlight through windows, creating a desolate atmosphere.
Abandoned building surrounded by debris and overgrown plants during sunset.
Abandoned room with debris on the floor and a poster leaning against a cracked wall, illuminated by dim light.
Worn-out boots abandoned on a dusty floor, surrounded by debris.
Abandoned building with debris on a sunny day, overgrown vegetation surrounding the structure.
Desolate alleyway between damaged buildings, scattered debris, and distant figure, in black and white.
Abandoned building interior with broken tiles and debris on the floor, illuminated by natural light through windows. Black and white.
Abandoned room with debris overlooking a cityscape and skyscrapers in the background through a large window.
Overgrown plants invade an abandoned yellow room with sunlight streaming through windows.
Abandoned room with vines, overlooking a cityscape with tall buildings and a flag on a clear day.
Abandoned room with sunlight casting shadows on dusty floor, city building visible through broken wall.
Abandoned hallway with scattered papers and debris, sunlight casting shadows on the walls, evokes a sense of decay and neglect.
Abandoned building interior with scattered papers and debris in warm light.
Abandoned warehouse interior with scattered debris and fallen boxes in grayscale.
Scattered documents on tiled floor with textured concrete wall background, lit by natural light. Black and white.
Abandoned building hallway with scattered chairs and debris in monochrome.
Abandoned room with collapsed roof and debris, sunlight streaming through broken beams.
Abandoned room with broken sofa, peeling walls, and scattered debris, conveying decay and neglect. Black and white photo.
Abandoned armchair in an overgrown field, surrounded by debris and plants under a clear sky.

This is what I documented pretty much in a half an hour period of time that we spent there, but soon enough it was starting to get suffocating(ly) hot. The time was creeping to be closer to 9 am, so if we wanted to go to any other locations, we had to move… mid June, by 9 am it is already amost 40 degrees.

The Beach Property Abandonment

My friend Faisal has a thing for urban decay, so he knows all the good spots and visits them regularly. Previously we went to see how are things getting on in Umm Al Quwain.

We had another place to visit on the list of Ras Al Khaimah abandoned places though.

Person walking on a deserted beach near the ocean, with swings and clear skies in the background.

This is the view right in front of the house.

Abandoned building with 2025 graffiti and overgrown greenery in the background, evocative of urban exploration.

This is the house. Well, we only take photos, but obviously other people would come and leave tags everywhere.

Graffiti 2025 on a weathered wall next to dense green foliage under a clear sky.

Trees do take over quite in no time. Even in the deserty parts of lands, like our country.

Graffiti on a textured wall with the word Nissan in English and Arabic, featuring decorative upper edges.
Black and white desert landscape with mountains, palm trees, and birds flying in the sky.

The farm behind the abandoned property.

Rural landscape with mountains, a boat, and goats in a sunny, arid setting; rustic scene with clear sky.
Deserted boats in a sandy yard with a painted wall and tree, under a clear sky.

and one additional photo of the mangroves in a slightly different location, snapped before it got to 44 degrees and it was time to gtfo.

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One response to “Photographing Abandoned School In Ras Al Khaimah.”

  1. Suck it Up and Move On – Playing With The Light

    […] happened after we visited the abandoned school in Ras Al Khaimah (in the previous post)? Well, pretty much the same group of people decided to go for a photowalk at 6 AM next day in the […]

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