FirstLook: Poetic Fusion
Prior to our modern practice of image manipulation with editing software, photographers worked more with planned intention and craft. We made premeditated and physical creations either through in-camera techniques, trick shots during the photo shoot, post-manipulation of negatives/slides or during the darkroom processing itself.
In this image taken in 1993, I sandwiched two original slides together, one a high-contrast silhouette image of a boat on the Senegal River separating Senegal and Mauritania, the other a photo of wind-carved sand dunes taken in the same vicinity. The result is more than an illusion—the visual poetry and fusion of these two realities is a metaphor for Mauritania itself, where the Sahara Desert meets the Atlantic Ocean, and where nomads and fishermen live side by side.
I created this while living in Mauritania, working with humanitarian agencies, before founding a local NGO focused on collective social and behavior change.
—JONATHAN SHADID
@JonathanShadid
www.jonathanshadid.com
You may also be interested in...
Spotlight on Photography: Relive the 1980 Grand Prix Through Michael Turner's Racing Photos
Amid the roar of racers zooming toward the finish line in London during the 1980 Grand Prix, longtime auto-racing photographer and renowned artist Michael Turner trained his lens on a Saudia-Williams FW 07.
AramcoWorld: 75 Years of Visual Storytelling Through Photography
Part 2 of our series celebrating AramcoWorld’s 75th anniversary this year highlights “visual vagabonding”—the magazine’s expanded use of vibrant images over the decades to fulfill the mission of cultural connection.
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.