This post is the sequel to the previous one, Ramallah: Monochrome Diaries 1/2, in which you can find a description of the images and the idea behind them. Again, these are sorted roughly in chronological order. Hope you’ll enjoy!
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Before August of this year I spent five years living in my original hometown of Ramallah. While there I had decided to shoot some black and white film with my Leica, knowing well that it could be years until I get the chance to develop it. I shot about 11 rolls over a period of 3 years and kept them stored in my freezer. I shot these films as a visual diary; I took pictures of family, friends, and of my many walks through the city’s streets and alleys. When I returned to the U.S. I brought the 11 rolls
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Since we received our first official snow last night I thought it would be appropriate today to publish the second part of my Fall/2018 photographs. We only had a dusting of snow but it left me excited about photography in winter. Each season brings with it unique photographic qualities- in winter I’ll turn to more subdued colors and black & white and I’ll vary my compositions. This set contains some images that were taken on the sunny day after all the leaves had fallen from a big storm the day before. The forest floor was carpeted with fresh leaves and
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My move from Ramallah to Indiana coincided with end of Summer/beginning of Fall seasons in Indiana, which has kept me busy with photography and regular nature walks. I currently have more pictures to edit than I have time for, but I wanted to get this post out to catch up a little bit and soon I’ll post the sequel which will pretty much complete the fall photographs for this year. I’m also working on a simultaneous project which I’m excited to share on the blog when it’s ready, and it involves film again after five years since the last film
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What is Lafayette? It’s my new hometown for the foreseeable future, one hour’s drive north from Indianapolis and two hour’s south from Chicago. Lafayette is full of charm- it has a quaint little downtown with a Main street and many little ‘mom and pop’ shops. Walking down Main street with a Leica and vintage lens circa 1950s, I took these images with a romantic eye towards a bygone era this town may have once enjoyed. Hope you enjoy! Technical details below. Don’t forget to signup for my blog alerts here. Technical Details: Leica M9 Leitz Summicron 35mm V.3 Leitz Summicron
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Friends, I’m back in the States again, this time a small college town called West Lafayette in Indiana. Having spent the past 4.5 years in Palestine I’ve become eager to experience a new natural environment, and luckily Indiana seems to be full of parks and nature preserves. Don’t get me wrong, Palestine has a beautiful landscape that’s extremely varied and diverse, but the political boundaries often make it difficult to travel across the country freely and enjoy its natural richness. In this blog post I’ve put together some of the images I’ve been shooting lately, these were mostly within 10-15
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Things have been quiet on the blog for a while, my last blog post was in June, which coincided with the birth of my first child and is probably the reason I’ve been off the airwaves for so long. Another reason is the unavailability of my Leica M9 since June while it gets a new sensor in New Jersey- a process that has taken probably longer than any camera repair in history! So in the meantime I’ve decided to re-do the website, meaning re-editing all the pictures and re-designing all the albums. New albums were added, and others were taken
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The 9th photographic collection in my Ramallah Walks series offers an odd mixture of nostalgia, film noir, intense light, vivid colour, and a sprinkle of politics. All these elements come together to offer a snapshot of this chaotic bubble called Ramallah– this lousy pretence to peace, affluence, and modernism. Ramallah is the terminal illness that has afflicted an otherwise-healthy 20 year-old who once had grand ambitions of a good life, a happy life. Yet miraculously this strange experiment works. The house of bubbles stands on thin sticks and life happens, in spite of all the bad things, life happens, with
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Spring has sprung in Palestine and it can be see everywhere you look- from the blossoming almond and citrus trees in house gardens to the fresh green coating covering the vast hills around Ramallah. But to get a real feel for Spring around here you’ll have to walk a little slower and look a little closer. I find the the greatest beauty is in the smallest of flowers, often tucked away in the middle of a bush but well worth the discovery and close examination. This small collection of photographs from the current Spring season reminds me of the cathartic power of nature- its ability
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Continuing with my ongoing photo blog series, Ramallah Walks, the 8th post is a bit overdue, containing images from early Winter all the way through early Spring. I’ve been enjoying my walks in various parts of Ramallah, but I keep going back to one spot more than the others, the historical quarters of Ramallah. This neighborhood’s old buildings and narrow alleys are quite charming, and the area seems uniquely quiet compared to the rest of the city. Otherwise the rest of the pictures are from the city center and markets. Hope you’ll enjoy! (Technical info below) Technical Details: Leica M9
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Two feature stories I shot for Brownbook Magazine were recently published in their 60th anniversary issue celebrating all things Palestine, and aptly named The Palestine Issue. The first editorial featured Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center in Ramallah. More details on that feature can be found here. In the second editorial I went along with writer Mariam Bargouthi on a field trip to explore the ancient Sufi trails and sanctuaries surrounding Ramallah. More on that story can be found here.
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After recently spending 9 days traveling in the City of Madrid I was left with the impression of a truly grand city. This is a city that perhaps leaves nothing for the urban-life-seeker unsatisfied; from its world-class public parks and botanical gardens, to the impressive selection of accessible world-class museums and art exhibits, to the fantastic selection of restaurants and tapa bars- many of which Michelin Star, and of course I cannot forget the theaters which seemed as abundant as pubs and cafes. But perhaps two things in particular shall stick with me from Madrid: people and color. Madridians are
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This summer was a slow one for photography, I was feeling low on inspiration in my hometown. I was experiencing negativity everwhere I walked on the streets of Ramallah and I desperately looked for a way to turn it around. Then while recently browsing through the work of some great street photographers, namely Constantine Manos and Alex Webb, I realized how much I loved intense colors and shadows in some of their photographs skillfully composed like poetry or musical notes. Subsequently I’ve been trying to concentrate on the importance of color in the street scene, and the interplay of light and shadow.
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Fethiye is a small Turkish town on the Mediterranean which I recently was lucky to visit while on vacation. I took along one camera and one lens, my Leica M9 and an old 70s Summicron 35mm V3 (6 element). Following is a selection of some of the pictures I was able to grab while there. Many of these were shot as I was riding my bicycle. I hope you’ll enjoy!
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My “In Residence” feature shoot of Palestinian artist Khaled Hourani is now published in Brownbook Magazine. You can find more details here.
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