MORE than 200 people attended the Ishraqa Exhibition of 81 photographers at Jeddah House of Artists in the Jamjoom Center. The exhibition’s participants were mostly young people who had just begun to show their skills in in photography. Eighty percent were in fact under the age of 25. “The Deputy Minister of Culture and Information for International Cultural Relations, Dr. Abu Bakr Bagader admired the photos and suggested that some of them were qualified to compete in international exhibitions abroad,” said Saud Mahjoub, president of the House of Photographers.
The photographs ranged from portraits to landscapes to different events.
Bandar Al-Yousef, a 29-year-old graphic designer, exhibited a photograph of the boots of a horseman, a helmet and a stick. Al-Yousef and two friends went to a private stable in order to shoot some pictures of horses. “I had put myself in the shoes of a horseman in training. After finishing the training session, his tools are what remains on the scene. I wanted to show the existence of the horse and the horseman without their real presence so I used only the tools and arranged them,” he explained.
He has taught himself by visiting photography websites in order to learn different skills; he has also taken courses at the House of Photographers where he has been a member for a year. This is the first exhibition he has participated in under the supervision of Ishraqa. Eight years ago, he started a job which involved photography. “It was only a job at first and nothing more, but I have been very interested in photography since there,” he said. He has a small studio at home and he works in an advertising agency where he photographs the agency’s products and events. “What is most important for me is to do something unique that you will not see in other people’s photos. The idea is the most important thing behind the picture,” he said.
Many of his pictures are produced in his own house. A nice picture can come from inside your house; you can find a certain beauty in your bedroom, your living room or even your computer. What comes after the idea in importance is the arrangement of the picture’s background and then the camera.
Another unique photo in the exhibition was one showing a pick-up truck holding a whole house. Ahmed Babkair, a photographer at Okaz newspaper is interested in photographing bizarre things. His photo showed a pick-up truck carrying a house by itself on the back of the truck. Babkair has been a member of the House of Photographers for seven years and he has participated in international exhibitions in Morocco and Japan. He began taking pictures about 10 years ago. “I like capturing quick moments such as sports events and fireworks as well as bizarre events,” he said. He took a two-year photography diploma to develop and refine his skills.
Marwan Al-Jihani, a photographer with the Saudi Research and Publishing Company (SRPC), exhibited a photo of two footballers and a referee. One player was from Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia and the other from Al-Kabas in Kuwait. “The picture shows the two players fighting and the referee is holding one of the player’s hands. Whoever looks at the picture would probably think the player was trying to slap the referee’s face,” he said.