Retrospective: Berlin, 9th of August 2021

Portraits of a Souk Vendor

Arman.

Fuji Velvia 100, Nikon F100

I met Arman almost a year ago, while photographing the souks near the Creek. Near the abra station, where tourists flock to cross the water, a small textile shop sat squished between the dock and the road. Arman, like all souk vendors, greeted me and offered me a handshake. Naïve, I accepted, and he pulled me into his store with a strong grip. He began placing a ‘ghutra’, the traditional Arab headdress, on my head, attempting to sell it to me. I declined, but I asked if I could make his portrait. He agreed, I made the shot, and I never thought of it again.

Bastakiyah.

Tri-X 400, Leica IIIf

Last month, I saw him again at the same spot. Surprised, I walked up to him and said ‘hi’. At first, he tried to ignore me as he was preparing his shop for opening, but upon remembering me he dropped his façade and genuinely greeted me. I showed him the portrait I had made months ago, and he was pleased. He asked me if I could return later once his shop was open and he was less busy.

While I did not return that day, I visited him a week later and asked if I could document a day in his life, to which he readily agreed.

I learnt so much in a few hours. Arman moved to Dubai in 2012, and he has worked in the same store since he arrived. Coming from Afghanistan he had no English knowledge, so he used his co-workers and customers to slowly build his understanding. From what he told me, I made out that he was sending money back to his family.

‘All I do is for Allah and my family.’

Creekside.

The souk has hundreds, if not thousands, of similar shops selling ghutras, pashminas, and scarves from different materials. Most of the time, these shops are adjacent, making it fairly difficult to sell. ‘Sometimes to sell you have to lie’ was one of the first things he told me about his job. ‘It’s [a] very competitive [job].’

Examples of his strategies to get the sale includes the classic line ‘you’re my first customer’ to early-morning tourists. When I asked him about his other tactics to attract customers, he told me that he attempts to relate to them. His most typical way is by speaking in their language.

‘You know [where they’re from] from their faces, their hands, their shoulders.’

Persuasion.

Most of the afternoon consisted of him calling out to tourists and wrapping fabrics around their heads and shoulders attempting to draw them to his store. It mostly ended with aggravated responses and no sales. He told me their reactions do not affect him. Economically, the largest issue Arman and his peers face is the lack of tourists, so taking his chances with the available ones is the best one can do, even if it leads to negative responses.

 

Waiting.

 

 

 

            As the sun set behind the squatting buildings, where Arman shares quarters with thirty other residents, the call for prayer sounded. He invited me to his mosque to see the prayer, which was a first for me. He explained:

            ‘It’s like a church. We welcome everyone!’

Prayers.

The experience, as a whole, was brand new to me. Seeing the other side of this man’s life was eye-opening, and not one the average Dubai tourist would experience outside of the beach, the mall, and the skyscrapers.

Heading back for chai.

This is a write-up from December 2019, made for my submission to the '400Tx Project' competition 'PROOF Vol. 1' which was, sadly, not accepted. Check them out on Instagram: @400txproject !

BY THE CASPIAN SEA

Preparing for lift-off.

Ilford HP5+ @800

I wasn't ever a big fan of pushing or pulling film; developing prices increase, and in general it seemed harder than it was. However, now that I develop my own film, I decided to have another shot at it with some HP5+ at ASA 800 while in Azerbaijan to see what was up.

Hyperdrive.

I spent a few days in Baku, the capital city. It's a clash of times, architectures, and cultures, and one that never ceases to surprise

Taxi driver.

I have to say that I love the way that the grain looks like on HP5+ at 800, it just has a more defined and organic look to it that ASA 400 doesn't give.

Shirvanshahs.

Overall, I'm fairly happy how the roll turned out. I am looking forward to pushing film more often in the future; HP5+ @800 might just become my go-to from now on.

Observation deck.

STREET W/ THE RB67

El Congreso, Av. Corrientes

Kodak TMax 100

I recently bought a Mamiya RB67 Pro S, an absolute unit of a camera. I took it on my holidays to Argentina where I was able to have some fun with it.

Amor & Paz
Kodak TMax 100

 I spent a day wandering through Buenos Aires, trying to find some interesting subjects. Near the obelisk on Av. 9 de Julio, a protest was taking place, and I had to capture it. These two gentlemen had jokingly asked for a photo expecting me not to understand Spanish, but when I agreed they reluctantly posed for me. The 'peace' sign really sells it for me.

A few minutes from the protest was another demonstration taking place. The elderly were protesting President Macri's policies on retirement. To show their displeasure, they would encourage cars at stoplights to honk their horns and block their paths for a few seconds before the traffic police moved them.

While I will make a review post soon, I can already say I love using this camera, and the size and quality of the negatives is unbeatable. In my opinion, lugging two kilos around the whole day paid off.

Simón

The Yashica Electro 35 GSN

The Yashica

This camera is often the one that gets most attention when I'm out shooting.

A day at the polo

- Yashica Electro 35GSN, Fuji C200

I think it has to do with its sixties aesthetics; leatherette with its metal-and-leatherette combination alongside the smooth edges. It really does please the eye. As well as that, its the camera used by Andrew Garfield in the first Amazing Spider-Man. Nonetheless, the real magic happens with the lens.

Frame within a frame

- Yashica Electro 35GSN, Fuji C200

The 45mm f1.7 Yashinon is surprisingly good for the camera's price range. I can't say its clinically sharp at closer looks, but the results are more than usable. Plus, the bokeh looks amazing.

Focus

- Yashica Electro 35GSN, Fuji C200

A camera that is this old is bound to have some issues. In my case, it comes in three forms: the focus, the viewfinder, and the leaks. The first two are likely related; the viewfinder is dim, so I miss my focus (as seen above). However, I still feel that the focussing mechanism might have need fixing anyways. 

A day at the polo II

- Yashica Electro 35GSN, Fuji C200

The last issue is the light leaks, present in the first two images. The streaks on the left side do look cool, but at the same time they can easily ruin a photograph. In these cases I like them, but I can see how they might annoy me in the future.

Simón.

SUNSET AT BASTAKIYA

The Birds
- Leica IIIf, HP5+

Finally, I have a proper scanner. This means I can get all of my negatives digitised for free, at will. This means that I can now post more often, and it makes for some rambling posts (such as this one).

Lonely stool
- Leica IIIf, HP5+

The creek has been one of my favourite locations for the past few months. It's saturated with a sense of what Dubai used to be, and it makes for some fun, interesting (to me, at least) photographs.

Bird and minaret

All these images are from the same photo walk, shot at around 4 or 5 pm when the light is nice and mellow. Once again, they were made using a Leica IIIf on HP5+ 400 film.

The guy that wanted to marry Kim K

There's a funny story behind this specific picture. In the souq area, everyone is clamouring for the attention of tourists to try to sell them their goods. This man, after seeing I didn't want to buy a ghutra from him, began telling me the story of how he plotted to escape his wife and get rid of Kanye in order to marry Kim Kardashian. Needless to say, I was entertained.

Leading lines

Honestly, I feel like the remaining photographs speak for themselves. Also, I cannot think of anything else to write. So I hope you enjoy them.

Negative space

Frame within a frame within a frame...

Texture of the creek

Flight of the seagulls

Rays of the sun

Simón.

FINALLY DEVELOPED FILM

Three days ago, I developed my first roll of film.

And it was amazing.

I have wanted to develop my own film for some time. The issues that stopped me from doing so:

• the fact that I'm broke

Thankfully, I got the supplies as a gift, and I quickly set up a not-so-dark darkroom. The next thing on the list was to take some pictures for me to develop.

I had also received five rolls of HP5+, alongside some ID-11 developer, Rapid Fixer, and a wetting agent. I loaded a roll in the Leica IIIf, and I made my way to Old Dubai

That day, I was acting as a tour guide for some family friends visiting Dubai, which meant I got to see some sights to photograph. We went to the textile, spice, and gold souqs in the Al Bastakiya area, providing me with interesting subjects.

When I returned home, I spent the next three hours preparing the chemicals, the darkroom, and finally developing the roll.

It was messy. Timing, as well as temperature, is supposedly essential to proper development. I now think that this is not necessarily the case. During the process, I was not accurate with either, (not by choice), and the results are amazing.

I still want to work on my process, since I was not as well-organised  as I thought I was. I now have a funnel, which I was missing the first time and I feel like it will make transferring chemicals easier and safer. In addition, I will have to play with the timings in order to see what results I prefer.

Scanning is the only way for you to see your images after developing (printing aside). To get it scanned from a store at a good quality tends to be pretty expensive. Thankfully, I have a personal scanner. Sadly, it's pretty bad. The images on this blog are from that scanner, so excuse the poor quality.

All in all, it was a fun experience that I am sure to repeat (and perfect) in the near future.

Simón.

DIGITAL IN AL-MADAM

This place has been a well-kept secret up until recently, when photographers and companies started showing it off on social media. Still, there are some who haven't heard of the abandoned village of Al-Madam.

They stopped the moving sands - Nikon D7200, 18-55mm

Al-Madam, Sharjah, is located at the intersection of the Dubai-Hatta road (E44) and the E55, just a 20 minute walk from the road. It used to be home to the Al-Kutbi tribe, but it was deserted more than a decade ago. From what I read, its abandonment was due to the village being too isolated from the world, while there is a legend that says a 'djinn' actually drove the people out.

Overlooking the 'Big Red' - Nikon D7200, 18-55mm

I first heard of it before last summer, on an article written by GPP (https://gulfphotoplus.com/blog/503/Top-10-Places-to-Shoot-in-the-UAE). I made a note of it and I waited for a chance to go there.

Symmetrical building - Nikon D7200, 18-55mm

I then began to plan my equipment. I had just bought the Nikon D7200, and it was the perfect opportunity to test it out. I grabbed a tripod, my 18-55mm kit lens, and a 50mm F1.8, shoved it in a bag, and I was ready. I had organised with some friends to go one afternoon once the holidays began so that I had some subjects to shoot while I was there.

Ruined symme-'tree' - Nikon D7200, 18-55mm

We reached the village just before golden hour. The ghost town has been a popular place for photographers in recent times and looking around, I could see why: the place had decayed beautifully. The peeling wallpapers, the cracked floors, the left-over furniture, and the slow-moving sand tides that swallow the buildings created an eerie atmosphere, emphasised by the fact that we were completely alone (in hindsight, we were quite lucky: the place seems to be full these days).

Frame within a frame - Nikon D7200, 18-55mm

After around an hour and a half of shooting, I thought I had the images I wanted, and we were ready to leave; however, I now want to go back and look for more pictures, as well as to correct the ones I took.

Several images have overexposed highlights, since I had taken a light reading for the shadows; partially due to the camera's metering system, partially my fault for not having bracketed my exposures. This led to the brighter areas of the photo lacking detail. In addition, I didn't use the 50mm lens, which is a shame, nor did I shoot any film while I was there.

Next time, though, I hope I will get it right.

Simón.

FUJICOLOR IN NEPAL

Buddhist prayer flags
- Leica IIIf, Fuji C200

Nepal was high up on my bucket list, and I got to check it off last October. It was worth it.

Local with a basket - Leica IIIf, Fuji C200

When planning for the trip, I had to think what photo equipment I should take with me. I needed a digital camera, so that I could have quick access to my images on the spot; I took the Nikon D7200. It was more complicated to choose a film camera, though.

Lady that sold me a bracelet for a picture
- Leica IIIf, Fuji C200

I wanted something small, so the Olympus XA sounded like a good idea: compact, light, and doesn't attract attention; however, it is also fragile, and I was limited to aperture priority and a maximum 1/500s shutter speed.

Welcome at the orphanage - Leica IIIf, Fuji C200

The Leica IIIf is my favourite camera of all time. Full-manual brass tank with a sharp collapsible lens and a clear rangefinder. It also looks amazing, and is very small compared to its DSLR counterparts. I didn't look any further.

Rickshaw drivers at the hotel
- Leica IIIf, Fuji C200

The next issue I had was choosing a film stock. I really wanted to take some black-and-white film (either Tri-X 400 or HP5+) because the Leica gives excellent results with it. Nonetheless, I opted for some Fujicolor C200: cheap, easily accessible, and I thought I would appreciate being able to see the colours of Nepal.

Overall, it was an unforgettable experience, and I'm glad I was able to take the photos I wanted so I could revisit the Kathmandu whenever I want.

Simón.