
FirstLook: Rain in Fayoum
I took this photo during a rainy day in November 2018 from the window of my family home in Fayoum, Egypt, located about 100 kilometers southwest of the capital. It hardly rains but a few times in the year in most parts of Egypt, and when it does, it is always something special, bringing joy and happiness particularly for the local children.
That day I was in my room when I noticed it raining. I looked out the window and saw children running out of their homes to play in the rain. I quickly reached for my camera and headed to the window to capture this scene. The children were jumping for joy as they ran through the rain while singing traditional Egyptian songs. Some of them even tried catching raindrops on their tongues. Women in the background were trying to make their way home quickly and not get wet.
I’m happy I was able to capture this moment. It reminds me of my own childhood and how I use to play as a child. I take photos like this because it shows how simple a joyful life can be.
—Hesham Elsherif
@hesham.a.elsherif
You may also be interested in...
All the Lands Were Sea
In late 1967, photographer Tor Eigoland traveled for more than: a month, mostly by canoe, among the countless villages of southern Iraq's vast marshes. Now, 45 years later, writer Anthony Sattin calls his photographs a "rare and ethnographic record of a lost world. They bring us back to a time and place where people lived in harmony with their environment and respected the balance the natural world needs to thrive.'FirstLook: Ramadan Picnic
On a warm June evening, people gathered at a park in Bethesda, Maryland, for a community potluck dinner welcoming the start of Ramadan.Spotlight on Photography: Arabs In America
In 1975 AramcoWorld dedicated an entire issue to celebrating the lives of Arab Americans and their impact—from renowned heart surgeon Michael DeBakey to White House correspondent Helen Thomas to entertainer and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital founder Danny Thomas.