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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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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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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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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I can’t say that I’ve quite figured out how I feel about Ramallah after living here for nearly 2 years- the last time I had lived here was 17 years before my return. To be sure, this town has changed. The people are foreign to me- I’ve heard that Ramallah’s population shrinks by two-thirds over the weekend, which is a testament to the unnatural urbanization that Ramallah is undergoing. New buildings are replacing old, and the small-town feel I was familiar with as a child is all but gone now. When I walk these streets with my camera in my
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These pictures were made over the past couple of months during my casual walks. They were mostly taken on Ramallah’s streets, but there’s one (last picture) that was taken right outside Al-Quds (Abu Dis) University showing the Israeli Apertheid wall destroying the beautiful Palestinian landscape and displaying it as a reminder of occupation to the thousands of students attending University every day in spite of all the difficulties it imposes on their lives (all land on the left side of the wall is stolen and confiscated). Then there are two or three images towards the end that were made during a
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More of Ramallah in spring. Taking a hiatus for a while, see you when I see you. (Technical details below) Technical Details: Leica M9 Leica Summicron 2/35 (Type 3) Leica Summicron 2/50 Leica Summicron 2/50 Rigid
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This time around my regular walks have taken me beyond the walls of Ramallah, to the lovely Old City of Nablus and to one of the oldest nature reserves in the region known as Wadi Qana northwest of Ramallah. No matter where I went signs of Spring were in abundance. I hope you’ll enjoy. (Technical details below) Technical Details: Leica M9 Leica Summicron 2/35 (Type 3) Leica Summicron 2/5
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My regular camera walks continue almost daily on the streets of Ramallah- and occasionally other surrounding cities. They have become my way to re-acquaint myself with a place I have not lived in for 17 years. In the process I’m trying not to judge but merely observe and let the mosaic slowly inform me. I’ve decided on a title for this ongoing blog entry, I shall call it simply “Ramallah Walks” even though it may contain images from other cities. Of note the last image was taken in Bethlehem. I’m also curious if you have a perference towards this format of sequenced
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This was perhaps the most difficult post I’ve put together, with much perseveration over what to include and exclude and how it could be interpreted. Ultimately I’ve decided to take out several images that I liked for fear of being judged or interpreted the wrong way. In the meantime I’ll keep this blog light and simple. Once I have enough material to paint a somewhat more ‘wholesome’ picture I’ll share those as part of my next series on Ramallah. In the meantime, I hope you’ll enjoy this mish-mash of daily musings! To view the rest of this series click on
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