Just for Fun No C&C will be given: I wanted a close-up

[fahim mohammed]

of Yousaf.

Why?, he asked

I want to take a photograph of you to show to some friends.

And please remove that and put this cap on, I said.

Why?, he asked

Maybe my genteel friends might get uncomfortable otherwise, I said.

Yousaf laughed.

I want them to to look into your eyes. Maybe some pretty lady might fall for you.

He laughed? Green card ?, he asked. Not a chance in hell, I said.

Yousaf works on a construction site and is from the AFPAK region.

 

[Ben Rubinstein]

What hat was he wearing?

 

[fahim mohammed]

What hat was he wearing?

Ben, thanks for stopping by.

Hat? something similar to this..

 

[Mark Hampton]

Ben, thanks for stopping by.

Hat? something similar to this..

Fahim,

for someone who dont do art - you dont do it so well!

more please !

 

[Ben Rubinstein]

It is a shame that it would have been necessary, far more real the way it was. I do loathe the generic-ifcation of the world to look modern, seems to take away all the individuality. Suppose it's part of the human condition though, the need to look the same, to fit in. I had to stop being different to get my kid into the right school, had to wear the 'uniform' of all the other generic parents, oh well, let's pretend that the exterior doesn't matter....

 

[Asher Kelman]

There was a girl with green eyes in National Geographic. Now a man with brown eyes

Fahim Mohammed: Yousaf
The Man with Brown eyes​

Remarkable! A fine portrait. Strong eyes. Yes the hat makes all the difference. It's all about symbols, comfort, knowledge, ignorance and fear.

Asher

 

[fahim mohammed]

Very small crop, no other pp. ZF 100mm Makro Planar

 

[fahim mohammed]

 

[fahim mohammed]

 

[Maris Rusis]

I feel unsettled in the presence of these big faces. The pictures drag me into an uncomfortable sense of proximity and over intimacy. I am a stranger to these people and it feels disrespectful that I should loom so close into their faces, into their personal space and they into mine.

Maybe I have a problem with misanthropy and the pictures challenge that.

 

[Asher Kelman]

I feel unsettled in the presence of these big faces. The pictures drag me into an uncomfortable sense of proximity and over intimacy. I am a stranger to these people and it feels disrespectful that I should loom so close into their faces, into their personal space and they into mine.

Maybe I have a problem with misanthropy and the pictures challenge that.

Maris,

Misanthrope? I doubt it! Usually it's a matter of personality.

I too have issues with the extra close pictures, but take that as a special privilege Fahim earned. I see him as a global visitor. He's charming, seems to put people at ease and is no threat. I do the same, but it does require a special love, as when I have photographed Armenians, here and here.

You yourself, from your work, do seem rather disciplined and might have a somewhat different zone of comfort. You might not talk as freely to strangers. (I for example, talk to everyone, much to the discomfort of my kids!) You, OTOH, might have a more conservative mindset, respectful and less gregarious. So you might then be comfortable with privacy, preserving your own private space on this packed planet. Likely then, you project the same values to others and want to gve them, their own guaranteed space too. Then, from this position, these strangers seem too close and even, perhaps even threatening?

Furthermore, for "Europeans", these gentlemen are dead ringers for the appearances as we've seen for the Taliban. So, with lack of sophistication, the natural discomfort might be magnified.

For you, if it applied at all, it could reinforce any natural inner need for getting to some safer distance. f you hate anything, it's photographer's passing off the darkroom tech's work as their own!

Asher

 

[fahim mohammed]

Maris, glad you stopped by. Asher has expressed my feelings precisely.

Asher, the Armeninan gentleman and the girl captures are superb. I sincerely mean it. I wish I had taken them. Pity that you so conveniently ' seem ' to have lost the gorgeous girl's phone number!!

I guess I could be categorized as a ' philandrist ' or much more of a ' philogynist' . Yea, I don't mind that at all.

Regards.

 

[Marjolein Katsma]

of Yousaf.

And please remove that and put this cap on, I said.

Why?, he asked

For me, having traveled in m any muslim (including Arab) countries, it's different, I guess. I do not associate Muslims or Arabs with 'Taliban' who are just a teeny tiny minority. The majority is hospitable, and warm.

For me, without his own hat ('hat'?), he loses identity.

It's an awesome portrait nonetheless. Did you also take one with his own hat on?

Marjolein

 

[fahim mohammed]

Marjolein, kind of you to stop by. And also for bringing a, generally more internationally aware, perspective
to an undoubtedly troubled and misunderstood region and its people.

I am sorry no pic of Yousef with the ' hat '; in lieu permit me to repost an older capture of one of his co-workers.

Prayers​

Regards.

 

[Marjolein Katsma]

Fahim,

Thanks for posting that. I've never (yet?) had the privilege of being close enough to anyone to photograph them in prayer. Your portrait is very expressive, not just by the concentration on his face, but also portraying him in prayer in what obviously are his working clothes. To the close observer, that tells something about Islam.

I think my closest moment was this: Mumkin? shot in Al Mukalla, Yemen. Read my story there about why she was not wearing her niqab in this shot. This photo represents my most precious moment in Yemen.

 

[fahim mohammed]

Marjolein,

Very Interesting narration and capture of ' Mumkin '.

Thank you for sharing it with us.

Appreciate you stopping by my post.

Regards.