A Closer Look at Ras Al Khaimah Through the Huawei XMAGE Lens
Heritage waterfronts, desert reserves, mangroves and a Gulf sunset: a Huawei XMAGE x HIPA photography journey reveals another side of Ras Al Khaimah.
by Khadija Husain
6 Nov 2026
Most people could name Ras Al Khaimah's headline attractions without a second thought. Jebel Jais, the UAE's highest peak, and the record-breaking Jebel Jais Flight zipline have long drawn visitors north. But there is far more to the emirate than its best-known landmarks.
On the drive north from Dubai, the landscape begins to change. Mountains appear, the desert opens out, and the coastline comes into view, with pockets of heritage and nature along the way. That variety, with mountains, desert and coastline all within relatively easy reach, is what makes Ras Al Khaimah worth exploring beyond its best-known attractions.
It was also the thinking behind “The UAE. A Closer Look.”, a nationwide photography initiative by Huawei XMAGE, developed with the Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) and tourism partners across all seven emirates. Inspired by the spirit of the “Proud of UAE” campaign, it sent a team of photographers, selected and guided by HIPA, across the country with a simple brief: find the UAE that exists beyond the familiar frames. Every image was captured on the Huawei Pura 90s Series.
XMAGE is Huawei's imaging brand, and the name behind the HUAWEI XMAGE Awards, which mark their tenth edition this year. The anniversary exhibition, 10 Years of HUAWEI XMAGE Awards – A Heartwarming World, runs alongside Paris Photo at the Grand Palais in Paris from 12 to 15 November.
For the UAE project, HIPA coached the photographers on composition, perspective and visual storytelling, and guided them through the awards' categories, among them So Far So Close, Colour and Shade and Good Night. The aim was to capture each emirate as a story rather than a collection of postcards.
“The UAE has extraordinary visual diversity with heritage, nature, culture and modernity existing side by side within the same frame. With this campaign, we wanted to give photographers the tools and creative space to explore the nation’s richness from their own perspectives and reveal details that can sometimes go unnoticed in familiar places.”— Marty Bian, Chief Marketing Officer, Huawei Consumer Business Group, Middle East and Africa
Few emirates pack as much variety into so little distance. Ras Al Khaimah's coastline takes in working fishing harbours, mangrove reserves and a growing collection of beach resorts, while heritage forts and the desert lie a short drive inland. For a project built around looking closer, it was an essential stop, and the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority opened the door to some of the emirate's signature experiences.
“We were delighted to host the Huawei XMAGE x HIPA Initiative, welcoming photographers to explore Ras Al Khaimah beyond its best-known sights. From our mountains and coastline to our heritage sites and communities, the emirate offers a wealth of stories that lend themselves to visual storytelling.” — Emma Campbell, Chief Marketing Officer, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority
Corniche Al Qawasim is where Ras Al Khaimah's old town meets the water, a heritage waterfront that makes a natural place to begin. The photographers started their day here, arriving at the Sheikh Zayed Mosque as the morning light worked its way across the facade. Restored in coral stone and beach rock, with windows carved in geometric patterns, it is a building best appreciated up close.
Or, as it turned out, from a distance. The Pura 90s Pro Max's 200MP Ultra Large Sensor Telephoto Camera let the photographers stand back, leave the scene undisturbed and still bring the carved stonework into sharp focus. On the Pura 90s Pro, the telephoto macro goes the other way, focusing from as close as 5cm to pick out the texture of the stone.
By late morning, the route turned inland to the protected desert reserve at The Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Wadi Desert. Here the earth-toned dunes are a world away from the waterfront, and only a short drive from it.
Midday is the hardest hour to photograph in the UAE, with flat overhead light, deep shadows and sand that throws glare straight back at the lens. The Pro Max's Ultra Lighting HDR Camera is built for exactly that contrast, holding detail in the brightest sand and the deepest shade. Huawei's Anti-Reflection Kunlun Glass also helps reduce screen glare in bright sunlight, making it easier to review images while shooting outdoors.
Heading back towards the coast, the photographers stopped at Rove Al Marjan Island for its interiors, where Huawei's AI De-glare tool was used to reduce reflections when shooting through glass. From there, the route led to Anantara Mina Ras Al Khaimah Resort and the lagoons of Mina Al Arab, where mangroves meet still, blue-green water.
In the late-afternoon light, colour was the subject. The True-to-Colour Camera 2.0, which Huawei says improves colour accuracy by 43 per cent on the previous generation, kept the blue-green of the lagoons and the earth tones of the morning's desert as they really appeared.
The day closed at Banan Beach, with the sun dropping into the Gulf. Golden hour brings its own challenge, a bright sky behind and darker subjects in front, which the Ultra Lighting HDR Camera balanced without losing either. Shooting in uncompressed RAW gave the photographers full freedom to refine every frame afterwards.
Ras Al Khaimah was one chapter of seven. Across the rest of the country, the photographers followed the same brief, with each emirate offering a different
perspective on the UAE.
Abu Dhabi. The lenses turned to Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Louvre Abu Dhabi and Zayed National Museum, capturing the capital's cultural and architectural identity.
Dubai. The journey moved between the historic lanes of Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood and the city's contemporary outlines, from the Museum of the Future to Dubai Frame.
Sharjah. Mleiha Archaeological Centre offered something entirely different: a desert landscape layered with thousands of years of human history.
Fujairah. On the east coast, the photographers turned to the historic Fujairah Fort.
Ajman. The Ajman Government Media Office arranged a tour that ran from Ajman Museum and Souk Saleh to Al Zorah Flamingo & Mangrove and Al Zorah Golf Club, before heading inland to Masfout, with its gate and museum, the Masfout Oases, Al Boma Tower and the Masfout Pigeon Tower.
Umm Al Quwain. The emirate's heritage and natural environment rounded out the journey, presented, in the words of its Department of Tourism and Archaeology, “from a contemporary and creative perspective”.
“Through the eyes of photographers, and with the support of Huawei’s advanced imaging technologies, we have come closer to the details of the UAE—seeing familiar places through new perspectives and uncovering both the visible and hidden gems of the country that deserve to be seen, shared, and celebrated with the world.” — His Excellency Ali Khalifa Bin Thalith, Secretary General, HIPA
Together, the images form a visual archive of the UAE, emirate by emirate. In Ras Al Khaimah, they capture the shift from desert dunes to coastal lagoons, with heritage sites and quieter natural settings along the way. For visitors, it is a reminder that the emirate offers far more than its familiar mountain attractions. As HIPA's Secretary General put it:
“An authentic image can bridge distances between people and transform a local scene into a universal human story.” — His Excellency Ali Khalifa Bin Thalith, HIPA
FOLLOW THE PHOTOGRAPHERS' ROUTE
Following the photographers' route offers a different way to explore Ras Al Khaimah. The stops are spread across the emirate, so use it as inspiration and plan your visit at your own pace.
Getting there: around an hour's drive from Dubai, depending on traffic.
Morning: Corniche Al Qawasim and Sheikh Zayed Mosque.
Midday: The Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Wadi Desert.
Afternoon: Rove Al Marjan Island, then Anantara Mina Ras Al Khaimah Resort at Mina Al Arab
Sunset: Banan Beach.
Good to know: Al Wadi Desert, Anantara and Banan Beach are resort properties, so check access and book ahead.