Monday, November 22, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
My Thoughts on the Final Project
Since the title of this entire blog is Writing With Pictures, I would like to challenge myself and write a story about some interesting people from Saudi Arabia and other Islam dominated countries.
About a semester ago I started working for the English Language Institute where I became an instructor for the ESL lab. In my classroom I met with people from China, Saudi Arabia, and Slovakia, and even though my international group was very small, it turned out to be filled with colorful and engaging people. Arabic students in particular have caught my attention and taught me a lot about their culture and customs. I believe that there is more to explore and share with the American audience and I am very eager to jump into my project.
I googled some specific terms while looking for my inspiration (like "Famous pictures of Arabs," "Arabs in pictures," "Famous pictures of Muslims") and I didn't find anything even remotely related to the people I met. I was expecting to discover some photo essays kept in a spirit of Philip Toledano's Days With My Father but instead, I found pages about Arab-Israeli Wars, people wearing turbans, and anti-arabic hate slogans spray-painted on the walls. I think I want to tell a different story. I want to show people coming from a completely different culture. I want to incorporate the Arabic language in my blurbs since I think its appearance is really amazing and it draws people's attention.
I want to write about the people I met. They came to the US with their wives and children, hoping to be a part of the American Dream. The Arabs I know are family people. They believe in education and they value tradition, religion, and other people. At the same time, they are not afraid to throw parties and have fun like everyone else. This and so much more will be shown in my final project.
I am thinking of having a selection of group pictures, individual portraits, and on-location shots (maybe Arabic restaurants in Dallas or houses of my subjects). I definitely want to tell the story of Arabic culture. I will try to break six misconceptions about Arabs and provide my audience with six incredible facts about Saudi Arabia culture. This project already sounds like something important. And who knows, maybe I will meet someone who will put my photogrtaphy on the cover of National Geographic, just like Sharbat Gula put Steve McCurry's picture. I will keep my fingers crossed.
About a semester ago I started working for the English Language Institute where I became an instructor for the ESL lab. In my classroom I met with people from China, Saudi Arabia, and Slovakia, and even though my international group was very small, it turned out to be filled with colorful and engaging people. Arabic students in particular have caught my attention and taught me a lot about their culture and customs. I believe that there is more to explore and share with the American audience and I am very eager to jump into my project.
I googled some specific terms while looking for my inspiration (like "Famous pictures of Arabs," "Arabs in pictures," "Famous pictures of Muslims") and I didn't find anything even remotely related to the people I met. I was expecting to discover some photo essays kept in a spirit of Philip Toledano's Days With My Father but instead, I found pages about Arab-Israeli Wars, people wearing turbans, and anti-arabic hate slogans spray-painted on the walls. I think I want to tell a different story. I want to show people coming from a completely different culture. I want to incorporate the Arabic language in my blurbs since I think its appearance is really amazing and it draws people's attention.
I want to write about the people I met. They came to the US with their wives and children, hoping to be a part of the American Dream. The Arabs I know are family people. They believe in education and they value tradition, religion, and other people. At the same time, they are not afraid to throw parties and have fun like everyone else. This and so much more will be shown in my final project.
I am thinking of having a selection of group pictures, individual portraits, and on-location shots (maybe Arabic restaurants in Dallas or houses of my subjects). I definitely want to tell the story of Arabic culture. I will try to break six misconceptions about Arabs and provide my audience with six incredible facts about Saudi Arabia culture. This project already sounds like something important. And who knows, maybe I will meet someone who will put my photogrtaphy on the cover of National Geographic, just like Sharbat Gula put Steve McCurry's picture. I will keep my fingers crossed.
Cooltural Pick of the Week 11 - BTD in Dallas
Two days ago I attended a Black Tie Dinner in Sheraton Hotel in Dallas, TX. One of my pictures was donated to a silent auction and when I was leaving the party, it was being sold for around $250. I bet someone decided to pay even more for it after I left.
Below you have my picture from the party and the picture that was being sold on the auction. Let's hope that the good karma will come back to me.
Below you have my picture from the party and the picture that was being sold on the auction. Let's hope that the good karma will come back to me.
Cooltural Pick of the Week 11 - Rockefeller Center
I just got around to my New York Pictures from this October. Working on a thesis can do that to you - no time for yourself and your passions. But I finally went through my stuff and selected couple of pictures for you to see. If you are planning on visiting the Big Apple, Rockefeller Center is a must-see. It closes at 11 pm so make sure you go there early enough to take your shots.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Cooltural Pick of the Week 10 - Manuel Leale
A friend of mine recommended Manuel's site to me and I was not disappointed. Visit his webpage in your free time http://manuelleale.synthasite.com/. I enjoyed all the pictures, especially the ones under the "Parallel" tab.
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