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"I chose camera
as my conduit"
A chat with award-winning photojournalist Ed Kashi who was on a National Geographic assignment to capture the open-minded nature of Pakistan
By Alefia T. Hussain

He never aspired to be a photographer as a child. But clearly felt the desire inside him to get into the lives of other people -- to tell their story. And that's how it started for Ed Kashi who has, for the last 30 years, looked at the many facets of this world, its people and landscape, through the lens of his camera.

Paris perfect
A holiday for seven days in a one star hotel was on offer. Why would I say no?
By Chandni Azad
Monday morning, 3am. Mum woke me up, and opened the door to startle me with the light. It was around 4am that things started to take shape. Within, 45 minutes we were all dressed and ready to go!

 

 

"I chose camera

as my conduit"

A chat with award-winning photojournalist Ed Kashi who was on a National Geographic assignment to capture the open-minded nature of Pakistan

By Alefia T. Hussain

He never aspired to be a photographer as a child. But clearly felt the desire inside him to get into the lives of other people -- to tell their story. And that's how it started for Ed Kashi who has, for the last 30 years, looked at the many facets of this world, its people and landscape, through the lens of his camera.

An award-winning photojournalist, filmmaker and educator, Ed Kashi's work has been published in prominent magazines, newspapers, books and websites all over the world. His imagery has been recognised for the sensitive rendering of human conditions -- the social and political issues that define our times. I met up with him recently in Lahore at one of the city's five-star hotels over a cup of coffee. Sipping his steaming, frothy cappuccino, he gave insight into what may be called a rather intriguing past and his experiences in Pakistan.

Kashi was in Lahore on a National Geographic assignment to capture the open-minded nature of Pakistan in the midst of rising extremism and militancy. "I've been struck by the general cooperative spirit, the lack of animosity or aggression and the openness of the people. Other places like Nigeria or the Middle East often have state security breathing down your neck or the general aggressiveness of the people to foreigners."

But, on this bright autumn Sunday morning, he seemed pleased to say that "I haven't felt that this time around in Pakistan." He has been coming here to work since 1994. "I feel Pakistan is such a misunderstood country. My friends and family back home in New Jersey are all ooohs about my being here."

Still he came to Pakistan. "I look for stories that not only have a human angle but also an edge. So in this case, I said to myself, why not Pakistan which in current affairs is such a critical country."

He grew up in the 1960s and 70s in America, when there was an amazing protest in the form of rock music, when music was more poetry, when there was Bob Dylan, Beatles and others amid, what he calls the "blossoming of social conscience". All that deeply impacted him. If he had got into a university of his choice, he probably would have been a sociologist or psychologist. But his good fortune "saved" him. And the passion to tell people's stories took preference.

As a 16-year-old student living in the outskirts of New York, Ed Kashi would study the tired, unhappy faces of businessmen taking the train in or out of the 1970s' Manhattan. He would imagine their worries, like mortgage, and "all the weight on their shoulders." It was at the same that he was taking Literature classes, learning about storytelling and getting embroiled in great novels when he realised: "Ah! I want to be a writer. I want to tell stories, I want to meet people. I want to travel… I want to see the world".

Kashi pursued this goal till he got "a cold slap of reality" in his university days. "I wasn't much of a writer." Coming from a modest background (his father died when he was 10), he learnt that he could not afford to spend 10 years just being a writer. "As a freshman at the Syracuse University I felt a moment of reckoning… I had to stop thinking about being a writer. It was not a realistic goal in terms of making a living soon after graduating."

Yet, he remained passionate about storytelling. He fumbles with words, "Was it hype," he pauses, looks out of the window, takes a sip of his cappuccino and continues: "No it was rich," he finds the expression that satisfies him. "Yes, the idea of storytelling was very rich to me."

Around this time Kashi made a career decision: "Okay, I know I can't be a writer. But I have to tell stories. So why can't I do that using a camera, I thought." And, what can be better than to be paid to observe people and tell their tales through the camera lens? I ask. "Nothing at all," he accepts, and elaborates, "In fact, camera is a tremendous buffer, especially in dangerous situations." Then he stops. A long meaningful stop: "I did not care about money, mind you. All I cared about was to survive; make a living. And to pursue my passion for storytelling, I chose camera, not a pen, as my conduit."

He had, nevertheless, not taken a picture until he went to university. "At most a polaroid family snap, you know," he says in his very American accent explaining his unfamiliarity with photography early in age. He remembers, how he begged his brother (who was also his trustee) one night on a pay-phone to lend him 75 dollars to buy a camera required for a photo course. "Thank goodness he said 'yes'. Believe me, that small amount of money actually gave me direction; in choosing photography as a full-time career."

His first picture with the 75-dollar camera was a can on a grass, he recalls. "It was hardly a piece of high art," he shakes his head, as if embarrassed, and gives out a slight laughter. Then turns serious, and says, "I think writing and painting are the highest forms of art, because one starts with a blank sheet or a canvas, whereas a photographer has a lot to work with."

His first published picture? He takes another sip of coffee. "Probably in my college magazine." However, Kashi says his big artistic breakthrough came in 1979 when he moved to San Francisco. Soon after the shift, he started getting assignments for national magazines. By 1988, after almost nine years in the Bay Area, "I realised that most of the assignments I was getting were of portraits. I was going to photograph Bill Gates or Steve Jobs or someone else manufacturing a chip in the Bay Area. I was not doing news or politics -- and that's not what I wanted. I was taking pictures of things I didn't care about."

He moved to Northern Ireland the same year and started working on a personal documentary project on the Protestants living in the area. "I made pictures of what I thought was more wow; was more journalistic." And since then he has shot in Iraq with focus on the Shia-Sunni conflict (his parents were from Iraq), Jewish settlers in West Bank, in Afghanistan and other conflict areas. His work, particularly in Nigeria, where he documented the negative impact of oil development on the impoverished Niger Delta, and of Kurdish people is extensive and has won several awards.

What is it like to be in frontline? "War reporting is treacherous. The general idea that journalists are neutral observers of war, and hence not to be targeted, has changed. How can we ensure safety? In this age of car bombing, suicide bombing, is someone going to give me a battalion of soldiers… even then I'm not safe. Given the nature of my work I'm often in the centre of bull's-eye. It can be very distressing." He clears his throat, and adds: "I have a wife (Julie Winokur, writer and filmmaker) and two children (a son, 14, and daughter, 11). I can't do much of that kind of work." For instance, when he went to Iraq in 2002-03 he found it too dangerous. He had to stop. "That's not the kind of work I excel in. I like in-depth, narrative storytelling; not being in the frontline, capturing today's headlines. That's not what I am best at."

Kashi says he never waits for people to call him for odd assignment and theme projects. He usually comes up with ideas and executes them. One such project was on aging people in the US. "In the mid-90s, I decided I needed to turn the camera on my own country. I identified the issue of aging, how America is growing old, what are the issues we need to think about and how are we going to care for these millions of people who will not be able to climb mountains and wind surf. Most will be depressed."

He was accompanied by his wife on this project titled 'Aging in America: The Years Ahead'. Together they worked on it for eight years, and produced an award winning documentary film, a book, a website (www.msnbc. com) and a travelling exhibition. It received awards from the Picture of the Year and Word Press. "It became one of the great themes of my lifetime, I think."

A photojournalist for the last thirty years, his work has not tired him still. While this National Geographic project in Pakistan may strictly be print, he often does multi-platform storytelling by using video and audio.

But he thinks, having works published in leading publications such as National Geographic, Time, Newsweek, The New York Times magazine and many more is just the beginning. "Because it is great to reach people through mass market publications, greater it is to take media materials -- stills, video, audio, text -- reformulate them and develop teaching and advocacy materials for activists and to broader audiences to raise awareness about issues and themes I have covered."

He explains: "I've never been more passionate about this. It has increasingly become a focus of my attention and vision."

 

Paris perfect

A holiday for seven days in a one star hotel was on offer. Why would I say no?

By Chandni Azad

Monday morning, 3am. Mum woke me up, and opened the door to startle me with the light. It was around 4am that things started to take shape. Within, 45 minutes we were all dressed and ready to go!

We arrived at St. Pancreas Station/Kings Cross, went through all the procedures of border control and luggage checks, and said our heart-felt goodbyes. We found the platform to Paris on Eurostar and the right carriage. Lucky to each get a £60 return, we didn't once complain about the dingy seats and the shortage of space. Instead, we all dozed off, into a deep sleep.

"Hello passengers..." the friendly announcement woke us all. Not long after the announcement, we were officially in Paris at the crowded La Gare Du Nord (North Station). There were several trains flying from other cities and countries across Europe and vice versa. The suitcases were hauled onto the platform.

My mum's rough guide to Paris had advised us to buy our travel cards for the week at the station. We spent an hour in a queue, just to discover we needed to take photos for our pass, the NaviGO.

The pass allowed you to travel on all buses, trams and trains in Paris. We took our photos for the paths at the booth in the station and made our way to the Hotel Sofia. We walked the roads of Paris and explored their restaurants and boutiques. The station nearest to us was Barbès-Rochechourt.

In the evening, we planned to go to the Eiffel Tower by bus. The ride was long and so was the queue for tickets. It was unbelievable. So we decided to come back later, and go on a tour bus first. The tour bus was fantastic; it stopped at all the key places and gave some background information on each site. There were places like the Opera house and Champs- Élysées. I convinced my mum to walk up to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower, with me. Once we had reached the first floor, the night was still young, but the view was wonderful, as Paris began to light up. When we reached the second floor, it was as if night had come. The Eiffel Tower lit up, and there were sparkly lights like silver sparklers.

On second day, we ended up going to Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe. We actually walked there and asked for directions in French. The Champs-Élysées had so many brands including Louis Vuitton, Giorgio Armani and Prada. It was a fantastic build-up to the one and only: Arc du Triomphe. One of the most amazing and memorable sights of Paris, and an experience to remember, forever. The view from the top was simply mind-blowing.

The next day we would visit Giverny where the famous Impressionist Monet lived and painted, all his life. We woke up extremely early and took a coach, which went straight to Giverny in just over 20 minutes. The town itself was calm, peaceful and rural. Shortly after the coach trip, we made our way to Monet's Garden. We bought tickets and saw a gigantic but exorbitant gift-shop. The Gardens were beautiful: the flowers were all different colours; pale pinks, lilacs, violets, oranges and real reds. And then the most terrific experience of all: the lily pond -- a deep, turquoise -green pond, full of light pink water lilies and in the corner, Monet's very own boat with an oar inside. Over the pond, was a green bridge: the exact one he had painted! We all stood there, and took in the magical view. We even went to visit Monet's house. It was huge. The walls were plain and you were not allowed to touch anything; in case you destroyed it. The evening ended, with some painful goodbyes and many exchanges of hugs with my aunt who had to leave.

Next day we went to the one and only Sacre Coeur. Inside the church, prayers were being recited and some people joined in! We even went on this small train, which transports you to all these different places in Sacre-Coeur.

In the evening, we took the bus to the Eiffel Tower. We bought a sandwich at the snack shop and devoured it as our dinner. We arrived at 8pm and joined the endless queue for the second floor. After an hour of waiting, we finally boarded the crowded lift. The view was stunning. Night seemed to be crawling upon us, though it wasn't quite there yet! After the admiration session of the view, we began to join another queue. Despite the length, we managed to contain our excitement. Then another queue was formed for the lifts! Basically queue, after queue, after queue…

Finally we managed to get to the top; and enjoy the view -- something that everyone must see at least thrice in their lifetime. The lights, the deep, dark night and the wonderful skyscrapers across the capital! The exciting facts and fearful journey within the lift, and the pushing to get into one; all of it was special in its own way. But the view itself was above and beyond everything in the Universe. I mean the Universe!

After a tiresome day, we fell asleep.

Friday was fabulous, seriously. We went to the Orangerie, an amazing art gallery full of famous art pieces (Memorable ones in History). It included pieces from Monet, as well as a miniature rooms you could glance into. The gallery itself was quite small, but we all relaxed in a huge surrounding garden. They had a huge pond, with gigantic squirting fountains and ducks swimming and quacking loudly.

Later, we went to visit the Jardin du Luxemburg (the garden of Luxemburg). We ate lunch there, and had another small relaxation session. We bought out appetising snacks and took in the phenomenal view: greenery, pools of water, different-coloured flowers and many monumental sculptures.

Saturday, was one of the most exciting days of the whole trip, we all went to the Louvre -- the biggest art gallery in the world. Shaped like a pyramid and absolutely amazing, the Louvre had so much more to offer than its looks. There were three floors. First we set off to see the Mona Lisa. We found it smaller than expected, but couldn't see it because everyone was in the way. Eventually, we managed to sneak-peek a glance and took a couple of photos.

We saw an exhibition called 'Prints and Paintings' which featured detailed and delicate drawings from many centuries ago. Furthermore, we saw another exhibition full of African and Asian arts. The exhibition showed a variety of different coloured sculptures, with a very simple structure and design. After that, we had a browse around the whole gallery and saw various paintings from different cultures.

Sunday, was the last full day we spent in Paris. We decided to go on this Boat called BatoBus, which transported you to all the different key sites in Paris. This included: The Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Louvre and the Arc Du Triomphe; there were snack machines on the boat and it stopped at different stations, just like a bus. The boat had a transparent cover, to allow sunlight to seep through. There was a top as well but that was too crowded. The bus/boat could be used as a form of transport to the sights, or even just a tour. The guide on the boat gave us some background information on each site in three languages!

Monday was the day we had to leave. We spent our last few hours browsing shops and buying me a floral, pastel top. And also hanging around Sacre-Coeur.

So there it is: my story in black and white. In all I loved the trip. There is one last sentence I would like to leave you with: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!


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