After 9 hours in the dark room

At a dinner party last night i was asked why i was still using an "old" camera. It made me smile, as i've been getting that question more and more recently. The other day a guy saw the camera around my neck and asked me if i like to take pictures, i felt the urge to say, "no i just have it as a weight on my neck!"

People are surprised that i still use B&W film.

The digital or film issue is one that is never ending, and i am not going to get into that debate. I use both, and often at the same time.

Take yesterday as an example. I first shot a roll with the Leica in Al-Abdali, then a couple of hours later i went down to Al-Baq'aa boxing club, and had both the digital and film cameras with me.

I am shooting a photo essay on the club for the January issue of Nox magazine. The editor wants it in color, so i used my digital, but i made a couple of frames on film for myself. He may change his mind when he sees the results.

I decided that i'll dedicate today to the darkroom.
Spent 9 hours working with film. I even developed two rolls from a pool side bbq that took place in summer. It was about time.

Just got back home. I smell like chemicals, but am happy with the results i ended up getting. I am attaching a scan of one of the contact sheets i printed today. The blue circles indicate frames that i want to print. Ended up printing six images. Also printed two from the Abdali series. Nothing beats feeling and looking at a true photographic print.


I also printed my first fiber print. Left it to dry.

Enough of me talking nonesense.

Back to the streets: The Abdali Chapter

I'm back to photographing the streets of Amman. It has been some time since i have gotten a chance to do what i love doing. Hitting the streets with a camera, a roll of film, and hopes of capturing moments that happen in my viewfinder's framelines.

Yesterday i decided to go to Al-Abdali. This is a photo heavy entry.

Watched her cross the street and tried to do some panning action.

He sat there drinking his coffee, i saw the sign which says "king hussein st" , also wanted to get him through the bars.

He sat there smokng a ciggarette, i waited till he put it down, for some reason i was more interested in him just sitting there and watching people walk around.

Looked like a tough guy, waited till he pulled out his lighter.

Maybe one of my favorite from this roll. He was eating ulker pretzel sticks. The combination of that with the coffee on the ground made it for me.

Many small vendors are scattered throughout the place, waited till he gave the old man the money.

I actually made this frame before the one above.

Everyone was on their mobiles. I could have done a series on that.

A yemeni man waits for the bus, wonder where he is heading. Yemen? It would be cool to take a bus from Abdali to the mountains of Ibb.

The people and the bus.

Again a man on his cell phone.

I think i'm going to be doing a series on people carrying stuff. They were looking for a ride to Irbid.

One of the station's controllers.

These are all low quality negative scans. I'm about to go back into the darkroom and print some of these. Can't wait to see the results.

All Images were shot on a Leica M6, 50mm Summicron, Ilford Delta 1oo developed in ID-11.

The director looks up

After shooting the Nawazen concert, me and some friends hung aronud downtown amman for a bit. It was cold. I saw a light blub hanging, asked my friend Amin and Fadi to get under it. Both looked up. The frame was made.

I was happy with the result, i'm starting to get a hang of the camera.

Leica M6, 50mm f/2 Summicron, Fuji Neopan 1600.

More pictures from Nawazen concert

More pictures from the Nawazen concert last week. This time in black and white on film. I love how these have a different feel from the color ones.

Shot on a leica m6, 50mm f/2 summicron. Fuji Neopan 1600

Picture in the office

Had some time to kill at the office the other day, so i set up a light, bounced it off a foam board and made this frame.

I usually dont like using photoshop much, but this image called for some manipulation.

The arm chair and the house

After leaving a meeting the other day i spotted a destructed armchair in a small piece of land. I had to make this picture. I love how all elements fall in place and show a certain type of contrast.

Shot with a Leica m6 , 50mm f/2 summicron, Kodak t400 cn film.

Nawazen Concert

The other day I attended the concert of Nawazen-Elia Khoury and the Gaby Kerdoncuff Quartet at Masrah Al-Balad. I shot these pictures and I think they reflect the mood of the event quite well. I wish you can hear the music, because the guys did a really good job.

"Restricted View"

This is the opening frame of my photo essay "Restricted View" which you can see in the latest issue of NOX magazine.

Shot with a Canon Eos 1-v on Fuji Neopan 1600.

Inside the living quarters of Egyptian workers

As part of my work for a photography workshop i participated in last week, i focused on the lives of some Egyptian workers and the space they occupy. These are some frames i made while spending 2 nights with the guys. The light in the room was very dim so i had to push the film's sensitivity quite a bit, thus the grainy feel to the images. There are some color images which i took with my digital camera, but i'll wait on those for a bit.

Shot with a leica m6, 50mm f/2 summicron on Delta 400 and Tri-x film pushed to 3200.

Massari Portrait

While shooting the Massari concert a couple of months back i got the chance to make a quick frame backstage. I was shooting for Skin magazine, so until the pictures get published I can't get the rest out, but this was from what i was shooting for myself.

What a week, and finally a day off.

Its been quite a while since i have gotten a day off work. Working as a freelancer and juggling a number of projects means that weekends most of the time don't exist. So for today, i decided i am going to relax at home, catch up on emails, and update my blog with a number of very delayed posts.

The past two weeks have been amazing.

The highlights:

- Participating in a social documentary photography workshop given by Eric Gottesman
My work focused on a the living quarters and possesions of a group of egyptian workers. I will post some of the black and white pictures i made, but will leave the final selections to first be posted on the workshop's website

- Getting two photo essays published in magazines. "Night Moves" is featured in JO's december issue, and its a selction of moments i captured on the last night of Ramadan in downtown Amman. "Restricted View" is featured in the latest issue of NOX. The topic of the shoot was the Faisaly and Whidat football fans that watch the game from spots around the stadium.

-Getting my Leica.

-Getting a msg from Chris Weeks on Deviantart.

- Amin coming back with 40 rolls of B&W film from the states . I was running out.

- Finished a 2 month editing job on " No Shoof Camera" an interesting documentary shot and directed by Jon Steele, produced by the Royal Film Comission.

Che on the wall

( please click and see it in full view)

Did i mention i'm in love?
Every roll of film i shoot i discover the beauty of the leica and the leica lens.
Loved the colors and the mood of Che looking upwards and the dark figure beneath.
Shot on Kodak Portra UC 400, using a leica M6 and a 50mm Summicron. I guess it was about 1/8th at f/2.

Egyptian workers and Leica

While waiting for family to arrive for lunch today, i talked to a group of egyptian workers and made some frames with my new toy. The Leica m6 is a beauty, and the 50mm summicron lens is a lovely first lens to have.
A lot is happening and i am participating in a social documentary photography workshop for the next four days, i hope i can update the blog more often. Dubai soon for the film festival.
Enjoy

All images shot on tri-x at iso 400, with a leica m6 and a 50mm summicron