When a pleasant surprise awaited me

Covering any event at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre is always a hectic and timeconsuming affair. In case you didn’t know, it is the largest exhibition centre in the Middle East.

So covering any assignment at ADNEC is a lot of legwork and I knew I was ready for three days of exercise as Cityscape Abu Dhabi, the capital’s annual real estate event, kicked off on Tuesday.

This was my third straight Cityscape assignment since joining Khaleej Times. I started early, like I do for any assignment and reached the venue an hour ahead of the opening ceremony. After all a quick recce before an event for spots to shoot from and potential frames is all part of a photographer’s life!

To my surprise I found this Cityscape had lot less space for pavilions compared to the previous editions. Until last year, this event was all about big real estate models, Every exhibitor – small or big – competed for the most eye-catching 3D scale models of their fancy upcoming projects, as is the scenario in almost every other venue that Cityscape travels to including Dubai and other cities in the region.

This year too they had displays but there was a remarkable difference. Most exhibitors had actually gone digital as they opted for LED displays, wall mounted posters and projections to promote their latest developments. By going digital and shifting focus to technology, the property developers had made efficient use of space. Something that caught photographers like us by surprise. But come to think of it, it made perfect sense. After all, it is a smart way to cut costs without compromising on deliverables to the end customers. This was one more time when Abu Dhabi had set standards in terms of use of innovation and technology.

Less exhibition space, by the way, also meant less running around from one hall to another. Whenever I had to reach a pavilion to shoot photos of a representative, it was all just a few minutes of walk. And at the end of the day, I could rush and cover few more assignments, all thanks to the innovative use of technology.