Blog Photos

Monday, January 5, 2009

Abou Kamal Ra2is el Mina

Byblos, Lebanon - June 2003
Picture taken: Summer 2003 (Translation: Abou Kamal, Head of Harbor)

This picture was contributed by an old friend of mine. It was taken for a photography course assignment.

Abou Kamal worked at the port in byblos and agreed to be photographed for the portrayal of a work-laden lifetime. It immediately struck me how powerfully this image exposes the years and decades during which this seasoned veteran was being hardened and the weariness that ensued. The expression on the man's face, his 2-day old beard, and even the wear and tear on the small captured portion of his hand are the tell-tale signs of time and its toll.
"People come and want to take pictures of me all the time. They come from all over Lebanon, and they all promise me they'll come back to show them to me but sadly they never do" said a saddened but stoic Abou Kamal as the shutter snapped capturing this moment.
I wonder where he is now...

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Which came first?

Hamas: When you create a monster, it will come back to haunt you and destroy you. You can use it as an excuse to kill innocent children, but remember the beginning. La Raison d'Etre.

Of Cheese and Depth


Maggie: Well, it tastes like a pear. You don't know what a pear tastes like?
Seth: I don't know what a pear tastes like to you.
--City of Angels. 1998.


It's so overwhelming to think that everyone has a story to tell. That each person is the center of their own world with their own perceptions and experiences and understandings.
Yes you define them as they cross your path. But what is their full identity? Who would be able to tell? Ever? Even the closest person to you, you give them a role, she can be your mother. But who is she as a person? What were her dreams when growing up? How much can you really know about her? How much do your interactions with a person even if circumstantial determine what you think of them? How can you accept people without defining/judging them and all the while without feeling overwhelmed? It scares me and comforts me to think that each person sees life differently.

Write in David's journal!