A mini story in 5 hours
Daniel, the NZZ correspondent for the Middle East, living in Beirut, wanted to show me something beautiful. Not war. Even though it is related in some sort of way. The mountains of Lebanon and the small, secret places they protect.
THE BACKSTORY
Five Hours to Make a Story
Issue 4
The first person we met was a priest. He was meant to be a guaranteed protagonist. It was clear I had to start with him. First interviews always make me nervous. I pace, listen, and think where I could take his picture.
I needed to make a portrait of him, but I decided to follow him first as he got up after the interview and went outside. I often do this. It shows my protagonists I will be photographing them all the time. It also lets me see how much they allow me to do.
The light and shadow felt right for how I wanted to portray the priest. But the sun was so harsh he started squinting. It took away some of the mystery and made the image harder than I wanted. Taken on my Leica Q3 43, ISO 800, f16, 1/2000 at 43mm.
We walked around the church and suddenly I knew this would be the image. He stood next to the altar, I also photographed him walking back down the steps - although it felt forced. The size and presence of the church in a mostly Muslim country felt appropriate. Grand.
I thought I would see this again somewhere else, so I only took two frames of the pope pictures. It ended up being the only one I saw. Top tip: when you see something, treat it as if it is the only time you will ever get it. Because sometimes it really is.
We ended up hanging out with old fighters and their children. One image is from a workshop, a son of a fighter. We spoke to his dad and other fighters. I liked this scene in the garage. It gives a bit of daily life context, the cross present everywhere. I snuck in a few more.
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Beautiful story ... I can totally relate with the team work note at the end - sharing experiences, is so important, and I imagine the stories are more complete. I'm intrigued by the little fun fact you shared - why do you switch cameras when you see an important image? Just a habit? Sometimes they come from somewhere too...