Dr. Renee Richer wins national photography competition

Dr. Renee Richer - visiting professor in biology at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, has won the national photography competition organized by the Qatar Ministry of Environment. The competition was aimed at highlighting Qatari natural landmarks and was of particular interest to Dr. Richer, who has made the study of conservation, sustainable development and desert wildlife a life’s mission.

The Ministry of Environment announced the photography competition in March 2011 as part of the Qatar Environment Day, under the banner of Sport and Environment. The intention being that the photos should reflect the country’s environment and highlight its rich, natural landmarks through the creative use of photography.

His Excellency the Minister of the Environment, Abdullah bin Mubarak Bin Abud Al-Medadi and His Excellency Dr. Sheikh Faleh Bin Nasser Al Thani, Director of General Department for Agricultural Research and Development presided over the award ceremony held at Katara Cultural District on Monday 20th June where the winners photographs formed part of an exhibition. Dr. Sheikh Faleh bin Nasser Al Thani gave a speech highlighting the importance of photography and presented Certificates of Appreciation to the winners.

Dr. Renee said, "I'm so happy that the Ministry of Environment and the judges felt that my photo expressed the beauty of Qatar. That is always what I wanted. While I never expected to win, I was hoping my photos would reach people.  My wish is that the photos inspire others to explore the desert and begin to see and appreciate the stunning plants and animals of the desert.  Superficially the desert may seem harsh and barren, but if you begin to really look around you, the plants, larger animals and insects are so beautiful. A biologists dream."

As an ecologist Renee spends much of her time in the desert and therefore has the opportunity to see the hidden areas of Qatar that most people do not have the chance to see. She says, "My specialty is plants and in particular, macro photos of plants. I focus on photographing their unique aspects, other identifiable features, or just plain beautiful photos of seeds, flowers or leaves to write a flora of Qatar.  It was something I did for myself.  However, now I hope to work more on composition in the future and this win has really inspired me to become even more diligent in my photography."

Renee is no stranger to wining awards, whilst assistant professor and Director of the Environmental Conservation and Research Center at the American University of Armenia she received the Whitley Award, a prestigious UK conservation accolade. She has previously published work in peer-reviewed journals and contributed chapters on conservation and sustainability for a range of titles.