فيصل الست علاقتي وثيقة بالمختبر والاستديو. مجلة فن التصوير اللبنانية ع٣٦_ فريد ظفور

Faisal Al-Sit.. I have a close relationship with the lab and the studio

Photographer Faisal Al-Sit is considered one of the most important black-and-white photographers in Syria. He owns a photography studio and introduces us in our interview with many of the methods approved by him for lighting and developing inside the studio, with a pause on the functions of chemicals.

Faisal Al-Sit, born in: Damascus 1945 - works as a photographer and loves collecting old photos about Syria.
He seemed to be an amateur in the year 1960, with his first camera carried by "Kiev 4", then he worked in a laboratory that sold photographic and photographic equipment. He relied on practice and some readings. He specialized in portraiture photography, under the guidance of his teacher, Abdel Fattah Riyad, where he got to know him through his books.
Faisal says about the relationship between photography and plastic art:
Painting has become inseparable from plastic art and necessary, and painting has a sense of depth, composition, color, mixing, and its shades of gray and color.
As for his favorite times to shoot, he says:
- My favorite times for photography are sunset and sunrise, and I prefer the foggy weather because it means tenderness and softness to me.
◻ What are your favorite cameras that you use yourself?
- Use cameras: Pentax, Rolly-Flex and Mamiya Super / 23 "6 x 9" with special macro lenses for portraiture 100.

◻ Who are the most important portrait photographers locally, in your opinion?
Pioneers of portrait photography in Damascus: Professor Muhammad Talo, Dr. Sabah Qabbani, Dr. Qutayba Al-Shihabi, and Dr. Marwan Maslamani. Internationally, I like the Austrian photographer: Hattermeyer.

◻ Have you participated in photography exhibitions?
- I participated in one exhibition / the first annual exhibition of the Art of Painting Club. Note that I am one of the founding members of the club, and I believe that it will take its place in the future. In terms of exhibitions, I am attending a special exhibition about the city of Damascus.

◻Which do you prefer colored or black and white?
- I prefer black and white over color, because I consider it a stronger work of art, as it depends on the capabilities of the photographer himself, unlike the color one. Likewise, the gradation and control of the normal color is greater. As for the color, I use it in most of my works with a cloth filter, because it gives a distinctive artistic formation along with the color.

◻ How do you find the photography movement in the Arab world?
- We have an excellent and good group of Arab photographers who are now competing with the world's leading photographers, despite their limited capabilities compared to foreigners.

◻ If you weren't a photographer, what would you like to be?
If I were not a photographer, I would not have chosen to be a non-photographer, because I find myself in this field that has become a part of me, and the weakest belief is that I have a camera to record the beauty of my country.

◻ When do you feel happy as a photographer?
- I feel happy when I enlarge an image of an unusual size and its results are good. I have enlarged a picture of the Umayyad Mosque with a length of three meters, and it is located in the Endowments Directorate.

◻ Since you allocate a lot of time to work inside the laboratory, can you benefit those interested in acidification matters?
- The laboratory constitutes a basic basis for the completion of any photographic work, from here I deal accurately with laboratory matters mixed with my view and my feeling for the work and its composition, and when the photographer reaches this stage of understanding, he will actually have reached an advanced stage in photography. In that I use litho films to produce positives, or I use filters during printing, and most of these filters are invented and put by myself. In addition, the acidification issue remains, which must be given care and importance through the selection of solutions and the accuracy of their control. To access the contrasts and gradations of colors in black and white.

To develop the films, use a solution consisting of one liter of water. Metol 10 g - Sulfite 100 g. with a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius.
The development time is 16 minutes. This solution is for developing films only and to obtain a high degree of image smoothness.
- To develop all kinds of films in a tank with a capacity of 3.5 liters of water.
With a temperature of 20 °C and an acidification period of 6 minutes.
Metol 7 g - Sulfite 350 g - Hydroquinone 17.5 g - Eurex 7 g -

- As for the solution used for all types of paper, with a capacity of 3.5 liters of water and a temperature of -22-22 degrees Celsius, it is:
Metol 7 g - Sulfite 88 g - Hydroquinone 21 g - Carbonate 140 g - Bromide 3.5 g.

- As for the fixing solution, it consists of a liter of water - 250 g of hyposulfite - and 10 g of metabisulfite or sodium sulfite.

◻ What are the functions of each of the chemicals mentioned in brief?

- Almitol: an exfoliating substance that gives a contrast with smoothness and softness.
- Sodium sulfite: a preservative so that chemicals do not spoil.
Hydroquinone: a stimulant that gives contrast to contrast.
- Sodium carbonate: an alkaline substance that activates the process of expression.
- Borax gives smoothness and is used with portrait images, and only in developing films.
Bromide: prevents chemical fog and increases detail.

◻ What lighting do you use inside the studio? .
- Used in studio lighting, for portraiture, a set of projectors and photofluid bulbs with reflectors. Basic: with a power of / 500 watts / and with the camera it forms an angle / 45 degrees / from the person.
The assistant: / 200 watts / is in the bag of the camera to remove the shadow from the nose and chin.
Back: It is used according to the dress.
Al-Rassi: It is used according to the hair

Farid Zafour
Syria