Cairo Rediscovered

It is perhaps spring fever that pushed me to clean some of my boxes full of pictures. I came across a few prints from a trip to Cairo. This was a second trip in the early 2000, and I have posted some pictures from my previous trip here: http://liveingray.blogspot.com/2014/04/cairo-as-i-remember.html

I recall using a 1970s Nikon F2 and a 1960s Nikkor-Q Auto135mm lens. And this roll was developed in Cairo during my trip as I had promised friends to leave some pictures to them. Although it was before the digital age, even then some folks were not patient enough for me to return and spend weeks in my darkroom to get a picture just right!

I decided to post these as some frames do capture a time that has truly passed and changed.

This is how I recall, while growing up, the art of cleaning carpets. A couple times a year people used to hang their Persian carpets from the balcony railing to let the sun clean any unwanted growth in the wool or silk piles. More importantly, there were tennis racquet-like wicker tools that were used to beat the carpets and take the dust out. I recall doing this as a kid and wondering how the neighbors below our balcony felt…

I spotted this man painting a room on one of these tall, multi-apartments buildings. The old Nikkor-Q did its job and I love the light bulb hanging from the ceiling. No shade, no fanfare. And the man resting his left foot on the railing….

These two are from the Antiquities Museum. I do not recall taking this picture but it shows the heat of the day. More, the posture of this exhausted young man is worth comparing to the proud standing of the statues on the façade of the building.

I do however recall this picture as I had printed this upon return in my darkroom and enlarged it. It was late afternoon at the Museum of Antiquities when an explosion was heard and soon smoke showed up less than a mile away atop the buildings.  In this picture the smoke can be seen in the distance between the opening of the tall gates and people looking at it. What makes this picture interesting is that if today an explosion and smoke were experienced in Cairo, I will assume that the Museum guard will not just try to hold on to the gate so casually, nor I would think he will be just wearing well ironed trousers and a bucolic beret!!!   I recall that the smoke was from an inconsequential fire and all returned to normal n half an hour.

Finally a picture of the city from a distance, at dusk. One can feel the humidity and dusty air over and around the skyline.

… I have not been back to Cairo since this last trip. But I do think that one would see changes in the places and people’s attitudes if the same pictures were taken today.

April 19, 2016

©Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2015

Gesture and Sign Language

While searching for articles on Artificial Intelligence and computer modeling, I came across a rather unusual book where the proceedings of a conference in Germany were compiled. The title of the book is “Gesture and Sign Language in Human-Computer Interaction”. The conference was held in Germany in 1997 and was called the “International Gesture Workshop.”

International Gesture Workshop! That was enough for me to get side-tracked in my search and learn more about human gestures and modes of expression.

… Having grown up around the Mediterranean Sea it is easy for me to understand the role and importance of gestures during a conversation. In fact I think that if the nations around that bluest of all seas had no language at all, they could perfectly communicate, interact and debate any topic using their hands, arms and body gestures!

I learned that there is an entire science behind all this. What I call gestures is defined as “spatial information”. And the parameters determining this spatial information are: hand movements, hand shape, hand location, orientation of the hand vis à vis the body, and facial expression.

…Needless to say I started thinking about some pictures I have taken only because I was interested in the position or orientation of the hand or arm and the story that simple gesture suggested.

Here are a couple of unpublished pictures.

The arm of this woman is perfectly positioned to express the pleasure of watching the ocean waves on a sunny day. Of course one can also say that she might have been depressed, unhappy, or otherwise aloof and that all she was doing was holding her hair on a windy pier. Maybe. But for me it was a message of relaxation and pleasure.

This fisherman saw me holding my old camera and smiled. Was he also a photographer? Did he own that 1970’s Nikon lens I was using? And while he was contre-jour (see the flare of my old lens diaphragm on his chest) I pointed the camera at him. He raised his left arm holding the fishing line in his hand. No words were spoken but he seems to be saying “No fish but isn’t it a beautiful day?”

For me it was his interest in my camera and lens that was important, not the fish or empty line.

Needless to say I have taken many pictures intrigued by body language. That is what a street photographer does as he searches for a story. Yet, my most cherished body language photo taken in the street is not of a human. Neither of a dog. It is the picture of a tiny Mantis I took years ago with a Ukrainian Salyut medium format camera. Here it is:

When I saw the Mantis on the sidewalk I stopped to look, and got close to see better. It was at that moment that it “stood up” and assumed the perfect posture of a pugilist! I had never seen such a reaction before. Was I being anthropomorphic in interpreting his “spatial information”?

Here is more about that encounter: http://liveingray.blogspot.com/2013/10/fighting-mantis.html

… So what will I do next time I see someone expressing a feeling or desire using hand, arm, facial or body expressions? My guess is that I will have a camera hanging around my neck and my own body language will be: hold the camera to your face, turn the focus ring of the lens with your left hand, use your right index to depress the shutter, use your right thumb to rewind the film, and walk away as if nothing had happened!!!

April 17, 2015
©Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2015

Turtle Rock on Watson Lake, Prescott, Arizona

I was kayaking on a small lake in Arizona, at 5500 feet altitude. After kayaking on oceans which has the skyline of tall city buildings, and lakes surrounded by spruce trees, kayaking in lakes surrounded by granite boulders is a new experience.

The boulders are bare but trees have managed to find a soft spot to grow roots and defy convention. Birds were making their nest in every crevasse and every crack in these rocks. And the water was cold making me forget that I was surrounded with high desert.

I saw a dome shaped rock that seemed bleached at first sight in stark contrast to the surrounding brown of the granite dells. Then looking at the cormorant and ducks flying around it I realized that it was a popular landing place for all these birds who had left their marks over the rock.

When I paddled at a slightly different angle, the rock turned to a turtle. A calm, accepting and serene turtle. It had given respite to birds tired of the heat, and now let me discover its identity only because I was at water level.

… As I clicked on the shutter, it was clear to me that to discover one has to be at the same level to people and nature. That is why I like street photography, and being at the water level in a kayak was like walking the streets with an old camera hanging from my neck. Looking from above or from distance keeps little secrets unnoticed.

And I wondered if when the water gets low during the heat of August, does the turtle slowly shake its legs and move to another spot?

I have to come back and find out.

April 5, 2015
©Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2015