I have always been a fan of documentaries and especially those that cover photographers and the story behind their photos. If you are like me, you'll enjoy watching this 15-minute film documenting Ziyah Gafic as he reveals interesting stories about a number of his projects including one that helps to lift the stereotype of Saudi Arabian women. This was the first time I have been exposed to Gafic's work but I was quickly drawn in by a lot of the things he had to share which he has learned over the years of being a photographer.
During the film Gafic mentioned how amazed he is at how often people are willing to let photographers into their private space. This is definitely one of those characteristics that great editorial photographers must have and those such as Gafic and Joey L. use it to help create great photos with their subjects. The first 7-minutes or so of the film covers some of Gafic's previous work, and the second half, his experience while in Saudi Arabia. It was definitely interesting to see how he went about documenting this story in a very traditional culture where women are required to wear the black abaya while out in public to keep themselves covered.
I also found it interesting that while Gafic shot these photos for a journalism assignment he chose to use film and his technique was quite methodical and slow as he would put the ladies in their environments and compose the photos just perfectly to nail the shots. I am looking forward to checking out more of Gafic's work in the future.
Visit Ziyah Gafic's website to see more of his work.
Vice has a very interesting place in the spectrum of media. Their editorial review is obviously highly bent to letting most contributors follow the entertaining and provocative at the expense of journalistic integrity, however they have some contributors that bring content in a way that none of the refined agencies would.
I really enjoyed this documentary. Btw Ziyah has a very unique style and I love the fact that he is shooting film. :)