رضا سالم من مدرس لغة انكليزي الى فنان ضوئي .. مجلة فن التصوير اللبنانية _ ع٣٣

Reza Salem, from an English language teacher to a photo artist

Across the Arab world, there are many professional photographers, who were not presented in the required manner due to the lack of magazines and other media outlets that are interested in the photographic direction.
The prevailing false social media between the “photographer” and the “teacher”.
Reda talks about his experience from the beginning until his coverage of the World Athletics Championships - Paris 85 -


Reda Salem is a Kuwaiti artist who has adopted photography as a shortcut to express his ability and comprehension through his laboratory work. This method is called Posterization, in addition to his interest in sports photography, as he accompanied the Olympic missions, recording many important sporting events.

About his beginning, Reza told us:
My start was very early, but the serious stage was in 1976 when we - as a group of young people - established a photography department within the Scientific Club, in Kuwait. Looking at the pictures as they gradually appear in front of you, under a red light... It is a natural birthing process that I share with all my emotions and feelings.

During the period from 1976-1981, I made a great effort to refine myself through reading, experiments and practical applications, as I benefited a lot from my proficiency in the English language, especially since the Arab library completely lacked books and magazines in the field. The actual start or the practical start when I decided to leave my original job as a photographer. Concerning it is possible to refer to the year 1981 as an English language teacher, devoting himself entirely to photography, which is of course not an easy decision, especially because of the social view of this profession, but after the passage of this period, I find myself happy with this choice.

And about the practice of photography as a professional and to what extent. He replied:
Photography in general has become a permanent occupation of my time, and it is at the heart of my life, in addition to my work site in the Bushehri Foundation.
But sport in general attracts me, so you see me interested in sports photography, but through a hobby...
I consider sports photography a pure hobby and a challenge for me that I practice in my spare time. Therefore, I chose sports pictures as the subject of this interview, and I was keen to display this type of pictures because of the rarity of them being taken up by photographers in the Arab world.

What about the style used in these pictures?
These works were prepared by Posterization, which is a pure laboratory technique, so that any image can be converted, whether it is colored black and white, by drawing additional copies of the basic image using (Graphic Att Film), and these films are slides that separate the degrees of color intensity. On several films, and re-photographed color filters.
- What about photography between hobby and professionalism, and where do you place yourself in these two fields?
A: I believe that photography as a hobby or a profession is still at the beginning of the road, whether in Kuwait or the Arab world in general, as is the case with all other fields.
In my opinion, the most important obstacle to its launch in a proper and organized manner is the lack of photographic literature in the Arab Library, which constitutes a starting point for the development of this art and an extension of its consecration as a culture among people, so that they become better prepared to accept photographic works.
On this occasion, allow me to express my happiness with the publication of The Art of Photography, wishing it success and continuity in carrying out its mission and satisfying the urgent need of those interested.
What about the reality of photography in Kuwait?
We have a good renaissance in this field, but talents must be honed in order for the works of their owners to come more seriously.
And about the experience of sports photography and benefit from it?
First of all, if we desire something that we can be creative with, what is required is psychological readiness to accept sports. It also requires prior knowledge of the sports systems that we are interested in, especially athletics and the preparatory movements that can be quickly picked up. Here we have to know how to start, arrive, run or run. Jumping or throwing the iron ball or the javelin... All of these things, if we find knowledge of its system and timing, we can thus obtain rare shots, and this also applies to football, as knowing the game system enables us to seize rare shots. All of these matters have been mentioned in my book Kuwait 83.

- What are the most important courses that formed photographic materials for your photographic collections?
I participated in many sports tournaments, the most important of which is the 82nd Asian Games in New Delhi, the 83rd Asian Athletics Championships in Kuwait, the 84th Los Angeles Olympic Games,
Los Angeles Olympic Games 84, World Championships in Indoor Athletics - Paris 85.

Finally, I believe, without a doubt, that attending courses and games develops the photographer's ability to be inspired by moments, and thus leads to technical friction between photographers⏹
Mohammed Zeitoun - Kuwait

⏺ Reda Salem

Born in 1951
- Kuwait, BA in English Literature
Assistant General Manager at Boushahri Color Film Company.
The official photographer of the Kuwaiti Olympic Committee.
He held an exhibition of sports photos on the occasion of the Olympic Day.
- Winner of the award for the best sports photographer for athletics in 1983.
Winner of the Best Sports Photographer Award for the year 1984.
He issued a book entitled: Kuwait 83 (83 Kuwait) on the Asian Athletics Championships - photographed and designed by him.