Xposure launches celebrating 400 lenses from around the world
Hope in the most beautiful pictures .. looking out from Sharjah
Abdullah bin Salem Al Qasimi and Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi during the inspection of the Festival's exhibitions.
From the source
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Yesterday, the activities of the fifth edition of the International Photography Festival (Xposure) were launched, as Sharjah celebrates for four days the stories of 1558 photos presented by 400 Arab and foreign photographers, including 51 of the world's best photographers, who trusted with their lenses the most exceptional moments of life, and carried the experiences of peoples and the aesthetics of places and countries To the emirate, as well as heralds of hope and beauty in the brightest pictures.
His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Salem bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, yesterday morning at the Expo Center Sharjah, witnessed the launch of the festival's activities, and attended the opening session.
Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Sharjah Media Council, confirmed that “the organization of the International Photography Festival (Xposure) comes to honor every photographer who carries his camera to document an event, so that his image becomes the event in itself. Each picture contains 1000 words and 1000 stories as well, and each story has its own way of effect. And all stories have noble purposes. ”
He said during his speech at the opening session: “We wanted to say, through the pictures that came to us from everywhere: (We are ruled by hope, and are confident in the ability of man to continue and overcome challenges. When I saw the participating pictures, I felt as if they were about to utter and say: The world is still there with its beauty." And its splendor ... rich in life potentials) ».
The Chairman of the Sharjah Media Council added: “We have seen, through our reading of contemporary history, how Tire contributed to stopping wars and alleviating suffering, and other images that saved beautiful creatures from extinction and pushed towards protecting nature, climate and resources, and pictures that breathed life into places that were unknown, and led tourists and adventurers to visit them. And getting to know it, and pictures that showed beauty in the different cultures and customs of peoples, and others that inspired minds to write scientific research on phenomena that the creative lenses have documented, stimulated talents and exploded the feelings of writers, poets and painters.
premiere
The opening session of the festival witnessed a visual presentation by three of the most important international photographers, namely: South African Brent Stirton, who monitored with his lens scenes from about 100 countries around the world, and conveyed the most accurate details of the culture of African societies, documenting scenes of endangered animal species, and drawing attention to the dangers that Surround wildlife, and reinforce the world's commitments on sustainable health foundations, among others.
The session included the American Elia Lucardi, one of the brilliant names in the field of travel photography, who was able to tell a story from scenes from 65 countries he visited and documented the steps of his travels, and won many awards and nominations, and his work was also chosen among the best photo lists in the world.
British photographer Giles Dooley, who documented conflicts, wars and the suffering of refugees, touched during the session to talk about many of the situations that accompanied his career in which he moved from a fashion photographer to the battlefields of war, which lost his hand and leg after the explosion of an improvised explosive device, while in Afghanistan.
Brent Stirton said: “During my travels around the world I have experienced many stories and stories and witnessed many situations that summarize the lives and rituals of peoples, and I have also observed through the camera many violations by humans towards the natural habitats of animals from the African continent to the West, there are those who hunt for Eating, fur, organs, etc., rightly and unlawfully, is what makes us today witness this epidemic that came as a result of all those practices that humans carried out on animal worlds.
He added: “Many challenges face this world, the most prominent of which is preserving the environment, which is a responsibility of everyone. Through my pictures, I tried to illuminate many of the turning points that the world is experiencing, and focused on the scenes of the epidemic and its effects in the United States and many countries of the world, then I discussed On the images that reflect human relations and their intertwining, and monitored the manifestations of the elections, and tried to show what is happening in real terms without any falsehood, because the task of the photographer is to convey the truth not just to take pictures.
Different stories
For his part, photographer Elia Lucardi pointed out that since 2009 he has visited nearly 70 countries, crossing a distance of two million miles, and his love of photography has led him to search for the most beautiful places around the world, explore their details closely and search for different stories in them.
He said, "I photograph in a way that means a lot to me. I want to inspire myself and others, and give them an idea of their country and other countries. I tried to make the picture a factor for emotional communication, because I am looking for things that are hard to believe .. I want to photograph everything in an inspirational way."
And Lucardi continued: “Since my childhood, I have been attracted by the magazines I have read, and the countries whose beauty fascinated me remained in my mind and decided that I would go to visit it someday. Indeed, I went there and made a lot of friendships with people, because I see that the picture does not represent the place only, but its spirit, and what is important. For me, it is to tell others about all those stories that have been stuck in my mind for years, because we all can be part of the picture, and part of the story, so photography can be an effective tool for change and not just for monitoring.
Experiment
While Giles Dooley started his presentation by congratulating the UAE on the success of the Mission of the Hope Probe to reach Mars, considering that it is a new achievement that will add to the country's scientific journey and its efforts to invest in youth energy.
He said: “The profession of photography taught me a lot of things, and it gave me lessons in life, after a woman told me one day: I do not want a photographer, I want help, so and since that moment I have been carrying a white paper on which I record everything people say to me, because I believe that it is from It is necessary to capture feelings, and I realized at the time that the greatest photographers are the ones who seek to capture people's feelings. ”
He continued: “During my stay in Lebanon, a family gave me her story, and I photographed it, and touched the meaning of love, laughter and smiling in it despite the difficult circumstances that this family lived in in their tent, and on my last day with them I took a picture of them and gave them to them, it was a picture of eternity with her husband, and I felt Through all these pictures that show them together that I seek to complete people's stories, Kholoud was not a refugee or a woman living with a disability, but rather a wife and lover of a man who stayed with her and accompanied her in various details of her circumstances, and here I realized that I am not a war photographer but a documentary of love.
Dooley explained that while documenting the suffering of refugees and the crises that took place in South Sudan, he spent a whole day with Deborah Nyon, an old woman whose photo tops the entrance to his private exhibition at the festival, as this woman told him after she saw his injury after an explosive device exploded in Afghanistan I lost his foot and leg: “Are you thinking too much about what you lost?
You have two eyes, ears, tongue and hand to write and take pictures with. Do not think about what you lost, but think about what you have. ”
He continued: “These words were an important lesson that I took from that trip, and reminded me of a Japanese word that means celebrating damage and losses, and in our lives there are many stories that make us see what we have as the most important thing we have, as we are going through difficult times in our life and the world today is facing the Corona pandemic The biggest challenge, but I believe that life gives us a gift in the end, which is the ability to resist and survive.
His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Salem bin Sultan Al Qasimi inspected the pavilions of the participating parties and the exhibitions held, as he got acquainted with the works presented by the elite of international photographers that the festival is hosting this year, listening to an explanation about their works and the human and aesthetic dimensions they carry.
The festival offers 54 exhibitions, 21 inspiring discussion sessions, 14 workshops by seven international photographers, 10 group discussion sessions and 14 assessment sessions for artistic progress, creating the largest space for direct learning and training in photography in the UAE and the region.
A platform for story owners
Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Sharjah Media Council, invited photography enthusiasts in the UAE, the region and the world to celebrate with "Xposure" the photographers, their efforts and their noble message, declaring that the festival will be a platform for photographers to fully narrate their stories, and stand on their experiences behind the lenses in documenting exceptional moments from the world.
Safety measures
"Exposure 2021" is held committed to all safety and prevention measures against "Covid-19", in support of photographers, and emphasizing the importance of their mission and creativity, stressing its role in the Arab and international photography sector, as the number of visitors was limited to 2000 people, during a certain period of time, and the number of participants in workshops Working with 20 people in each workshop, in addition to checking the temperature of visitors at all entry points, comprehensive and accurate cleaning and sterilization operations, and the application of social distancing policy, and health standards.
Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi:
- "The event comes to honor every photographer who carries his camera to document an event, so that his picture becomes the event. Each picture contains 1000 words and 1000 stories as well."
54
An exhibition and 21 inspiring discussion sessions, as part of the festival's activities.
1558
Photo provided by Arab and foreign photographers, including 51 of the world's best photographers.
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