سعید ابو حمده .. هجرت ادارة الاعمال واحترفت التصوير ، مجلة فن التصوير اللبنانية _ ع٤

Saeed Abu Hamda is one of the veteran Arab photographers. Photography was his childhood and youth hobby. In 1955, he obtained a "Bachelor's" degree in commerce from the American University of Beirut. On that day, the president of the university at that time came to him at the moment of congratulating him at the graduation ceremony and said to him: "It should have given you a bachelor's degree in photography." Saeed entered the classroom with a camera in his hand, and his commercial studies turned into professional photography, and the dream came true After twenty years of experience in the world of photography, Abu Hamdeh tells us about his early beginnings by saying: Photography began as a hobby in my imagination, that was in 1935 when I was 12 years old. Art until I have a comprehensive concept and a clear vision in this art. And I prepared a darkening and enlargement room in my house, and began to apply the theories that I was reading and got a reasonable result. After that, I moved to the American University to study business administration and graduated in 1955. I worked for the “Cat” company, owned by the late Emile Boustany, for several years. I left work and joined the photography club at the American University of Beirut, where I learned more about its principles and rules, and gained experience that enabled me to open the Center for Modern Art, in 1962, and I am still managing it until now. Photography as a hobby is very expensive, so I estimated the results of practicing my hobby and being professional in it with growing conviction, and I think that achieved a lot of my ambition. Do you mention some of what you achieved * a lot of projects, most of which are in Arab countries, especially photographing oil projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, because my field of specialization is Industrial and engineering photography and advertisements. She has completed many projects for the Directorate of Buildings and some tourist photos about Lebanon. She has published two photo books: A Poet and His Country, and Gibran and Lebanon. It is a photo book that contains scenes from Lebanon, and each photo carries a comment selected from Gibran’s works chosen by Dr. Suhail Beshr, Lee and John. Metro and Marx Smit The Second Book on the Hajj in Saudi Arabia. . He told me about the appreciation awards that followed because of the photography

She obtained a diploma from the Durst Company and a certificate of appreciation from the Kodak Company in London, and in 1965 she received a medal of excellence in photography at the New York International Exhibition. Who are the Arab leaders that you photographed with your camera? You photographed King Faisal, may God have mercy on him, for an official photo, and the American Time magazine asked for a photo of the late Emir of the State of Kuwait Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, and the Emir of Bahrain. Have you taught photography in university colleges? I taught photography at Beirut University Colleges for five years, and I had my own TV program in 1973 about photography, with a duration of 15 minutes. What is behind this ability to give? The ability lies in extracting experience, reading and delving into photography books and magazines, and attending exhibitions and seminars to develop capacities and talents. Then I visit European exhibitions to follow the latest developments in this field, especially the “Fototina” exhibition in West Germany, which takes place every two years, and I observe the modern technical development that has occurred in the world of photography. Do you use private cameras? Usually, I use a 35mm camera. But circumstances that require special features in terms of accuracy and magnification, so use a 12 x 9 and 18 x 13 camera of the “Lithof” type. . E What about your work inside the studio? In the studio, I focus on advertising photography in particular. Knowing that few photographers are interested in this field, noting that the advertising image is the basis for drawing attention in an artistic way. Hence, we see that companies spend huge amounts of money on printing advertisements and take advantage of the process of photographing them, although the opposite should be the case. From here, you see that advertising photography is very low in Lebanon, and the advertising image must be
She obtained a diploma from the Durst Company and a certificate of appreciation from the Kodak Company in London, and in 1965 she received a medal of excellence in photography from the New York International Exhibition. Who are the Arab leaders that you photographed with your camera? You photographed King Faisal, may God have mercy on him, for an official photo, and the American Time magazine asked for a photo of the late Emir of the State of Kuwait Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, and the Emir of Bahrain. Have you taught photography in university colleges? I taught photography at Beirut University Colleges for five years, and I had my own TV program in 1973 about photography, with a duration of 15 minutes. What is behind this ability to give? The ability lies in extracting experience, reading and delving into photography books and magazines, and attending exhibitions and seminars to develop capacities and talents. Then I visit European exhibitions to follow the latest developments in this regard, especially the “Fototina” exhibition in West Germany, which takes place every two years, and I observe the modern technical development that occurred in the world of photography. Do you use private cameras? Usually, I use a 35mm camera. However, in circumstances that require special features in terms of accuracy and magnification, use a 12 x 9 and 18 x 13 camera of the "Leithof" type. . E What about your work inside the studio? In the studio, I focus on advertising photography in particular. Knowing that few photographers are interested in this field knowing that the advertising image is the basis for drawing attention in an artistic way. From here, we see that companies spend huge amounts of money on printing advertisements and take advantage of the process of photographing them, although the opposite should be the case. From here, you see that advertising photography is very low in Lebanon, and the advertising picture should not be Less important than the media image. How do you portray the reality of photography in Lebanon and the Arab world? A: There is a leap, and what is required is to develop this art by academic methods in schools and universities. In the past, photography was seen as a useless hobby. Today, I see an acceptable artistic output from some new photographers in this field. The desire of the beginner and the amateur is important for his upbringing and the growth of his artistic sense. By the way, let me criticize you for this magazine, which is undoubtedly risky, and it should have been born a long time ago, because it fills an important gap for lovers of this art. It increases their culture and refines their talents, and in any case it is an indispensable artistic and technical reference. What do you say about the phenomenon of recruiting foreign photographers to carry out some photographic work? And what is the reason in your opinion? . This is the problem of the Arab countries, as they bring in these photographers to do photographic work (scenes, books, urban projects... In Lebanon, for example, some artist photographers like Manouk, who left this country because of the phenomenon of bringing in foreign photographers. E. How does the work of the Lebanese photographer work? It is not hidden. The Lebanese photographer takes pictures with sensitivity, sensitivity and transparency, and he embodies things better than the foreign photographer, and his works attest to that. The Ministries of Swimming and Information must help creative photojournalists, and take care of their production, promotion and marketing. What are you doing now, and what is your new in photography Now, I am preparing the traveling exhibition on Gibran Khalil Gibran, on the occasion of his roasted birth. The exhibition will be scheduled for next June in Beirut, after which it will move to European countries and the United States of America. Gibran’s photographs are in black and white and in color, measuring 70 x 100 cm @ Other Brothers: Saleh Al-Rifai