In your blog you write: ‘I try to tell a story in every photograph and
include in it all five senses that make it up’. How do you accomplish
this?
By being fully aware and mindful of all the details that surround me
whenever I capture a frame. Taking a picture involves more than
looking in the viewfinder and releasing the shutter, it is an exploration
of the photographer's ‘state of being’ in that single moment of time,
his awareness of his surroundings and his senses. Whenever I have
the camera in my hand, I try to see, hear, taste, smell and touch,
and feel that moment, allowing my senses to guide the process.
What techniques did you have to use in order to capture the stunt
bikers on the “Death Highway” series so vividly’?
I met with the bikers on different occasions and locations, but the
shoot took place on the same stretch of highway, in the suburbs of
Beirut. On the first visit, I went merely as a spectator to enjoy the show
and inspect the surroundings. On the second visit, when I brought
out my camera it felt as if the bikers were taking unnecessary risks for
the sake of the photo, so I decided to take a more subtle approach.
I came another time and setup two remotely-triggered flashes on
a stand hidden in front of my car parked along the highway, and
waited for them to pass by; I was using a panning technique with
relatively slow shutter speed which gives that feel of motion and
flashes to freeze details in the action.
Aside from the obvious danger that these bikers put themselves
into, why did you call the series “Death Highway”? And, the more
predictable question… Have there been any fatalities on the
highway?
During the shooting of this project, I happened to notice one
phrase that was imprinted on the highway median barrier which
read ‘26 June 2010, the Death Highway, Sanfour.’ I chose it to be
the background for most of my images and it became the title of
this project. Upon further investigation and talks with the bikers, I got
to know more about the biker who wrote it and some of the many
accidents that occurred. Almost every single biker had a story to tell
about an injury, accidents or the death of a fellow biker.