time, narrative and photography - firas

These are Firas's photos from the first “homework” assigned to the group. We asked each of the workshop participants to tell a story in 10 pictures.

The only restrictions we put on the exercise was that the story had to occur in time; i.e. it had to be a narrative, and that they were to try to avoid portrait style photographs of human subjects (unless portraits were integral to the chosen narrative).

Firas returned the next day with 10 pictures, of which 8 are presented. As the group “read” his pictures, it became clear that the story that he had sought to tell was well-articulated and simultaneously multi-layered.

For Fadi and I, the story was of a child standing in line awaiting aid (in the currency of drinking water) from international agencies. For the workshop participants, Firas pictures also captured the particular suffering of the again-Palestinian refugees from Naher Al Bared camp. They stated that it was “obvious” that the child was from Naher al Bared due to the type and location of the aid.

It was also clear, a number of them stated, that he had taken on the responsibilities of an adult, in their minds an indication of possible ruptures within the family (perhaps due to the ongoing war in Naher al Bared). When the group had finished commenting on his photos, Firas clarified that yes, he was trying to “show” a glimpse of the life of a displaced boy from Naher al Bared currently living in Beddawi camp.

Throughout the four-day workshop Fadi and I wanted the group to work with Polaroid cameras as much as possible. Our guiding logic was that with a Polaroid camera (especially with limited film supplies) one has to meticulously plan before capturing a picture. The limits the possibilities of the medium and trains the photographer.

By the second day of the workshop Firas knew his camera so well that he helped answer technical questions from other participants. When we asked the group to go outside and return after 40 minutes with a Polaroid triptych representing “loss,” Firas requested that he not have to use the Polaroid camera because he had invested much time learning the intricacies of the digital camera.

As a compromise, it was decided that Firas would photograph his chosen theme with both digital and Polaroid cameras and then discuss his experience shooting the same pictures in both media to the group. For the digital version of the past, he chose to shoot in black and white in an emulation of ‘older' films. In the Polaroid picture of the ‘future', a light bulb, seemingly disembodied, intrudes into the frame. A placard reading “Allah” similarly forms the border of the frame. We were divided over which set of pictures was more expressive.

<< back to gallery: time, narrative and photography