Sometimes, it‘s hard to know where we want to go in life, professionally and personally. But, wherever we have been and whatever we have been through, it has impacted and shaped who we are and where we are today. Photography, perhaps like any other creative profession, is no different. An artist can capture a moment early on during his career, only with time to come to render it inadequate, amateur or simply „just not good enough.“ As a creative person gains exposure and their perspective continuously evolves, so too does their craft. In this issue, we revisit some of our favorite local photographers‘ before and after shots, Abubakir Balfaqih (a.k.a Bakri Omar), Mohamad Bil Haj, Chahine Mokhtar, Rania Abdelrazek and Fahd Munir.
Bakri Omar.
Fahahd Munir. Photography is the art of giving. What strikes me most, is a person‘s reaction to a nice photo, something that leaves an impact. I‘m most jubilant when people like what I show them, and especially when they smile. My aim is to make people happy, bring out more natural smiles. One way I synthesize love is through photography. Extremely similar to painting, photography is all about your own imagination; the power to share what you envision in your mind. It’s never about what photography gear you own or how you adjust the settings on your camera, but seeing the picture first is what makes a photographer. Just like any other hobby or profession, don’t challenge other people, but challenge yourself to do better. I believe that you shouldn’t be the best, but always do better than your last time. Life is filled with moments that pass us by simply because they happen too fast within fractions of a second. Trying to capture the subject‘s emotions in that split second is the beautiful part. I want to tell a story through their eyes and my lens. I really enjoy photographing people; I love the interaction that happens and the creative control that I get while shooting people.
Rania Abdelrazek.
„In the past I have organized exhibitions for my students internationally. I also have worked on projects with the British Council in Saudi Arabia. I am very proud of the success of my students and their efforts to continue in achieving their goals in life. I am working hard to help promote positive images of Saudi Arabian women in the West and within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is important to show the progress that is being made, and give encouragement to other Saudi women to achieve their goals throughout the world. I hope to continue to promote Saudi Women Artists to help create another bridge of communication “artistically” between the West and East. „
Mokhtar Chahine. Photography is all about drawing with light, if you can‘t use light elements to be at your disposal to produce the photo, then you need to master that first. A good photographer in my opinion is the one who takes every single photographic element into consideration until the last millisecond before releasing the shutter. There is a big difference between a photographic image and a digital image, what I am talking about here is the art of photographic perspective, not the communication perspective and its effectiveness. After all, a painting drawn by hand has more value and impact from the one that has been digitally generated. Discovering his passion for photography 6 years ago, after purchasing his digital SLR camera, Mokhtar has worked as a professional photographer ever since. Mokhtar concentrates his attention on photographic lighting, making his images perfectly clear and sharp. His creative mind and strong work ethic help him meet his clients‘ demands and produce top-quality photographs every time. However, what truly drives Mokhtar, is his passion for photography.
Mohamed Bil Haj.
Photography is all about drawing with light, if you can‘t use light elements to be at your disposal to produce the photo, then you need to master that first. A good photographer in my opinion is the one who takes every single photographic element into consideration until the last millisecond before releasing the shutter. There is a big difference between a photographic image and a digital image, what I am talking about here is the art of photographic perspective, not the communication perspective and its effectiveness. After all, a painting drawn by hand has more value and impact from the one that has been digitally generated.
