During the half-century that Codrai lived in or visited the Arab world, he was always a keen photographer, capturing scenes of great beauty and historical importance. He used an average shutter speed of 1/100th-of-a-second exposures which, when totalled, gave the 'one second' mentioned in the title. Each photograph is accompanied by a commentary, anecdote or reminiscence relating to the taking of the photograph, each scene leaving a lasting impression of the variety and vibrancy of the Arab world.
Ronald Codrai came to the Trucial States, now the UAE, in the mid-1940s. A talented and enthusiastic photographer, Codrai amassed a collection of thousands of images in his spare time, many of which have been published or exhibited. In 1975, he was awarded the OBE for services to British interests in Lebanon. His achievements were also noted in the Arab world and, in 1993, he was presented with the UAE Cultural and Scientific Association’s Sultan Al Owais Literary Award for his "Arabian Album" series – the only non-Arab to win this award. Faces of the Emirates won the Best Locally Compiled Book at the Sharjah International Book Fair in 2001. Codrai died in London in 2000 and is survived by his wife Pamela and sons Christian and Justin.
| Author Name | Ronald Codrai |
|---|---|
| ISBN | 978 1 873544 80 8 |
| Extent | 216 pages |
| Height | 315 mm |
| Width | 275 mm |
| Weight | 1.8400 |
| Format | Hardback |
| Rights | Worldwide |
