Archive for December, 2011

Egypt photojournalism

December 22, 2011
photojournalism in cairo

a young woman helps an elderly woman down a side street strewn with rubble and two skeletons of chairs

photojournalism in cairo

panoramic view of Cairo

photojournalism in cairo

an elderly man travels to work early in the morning on his donkey on the outskirts of Cairo in the farming community

photojournalism in cairo

father waits with his young daughter in the outskirts of Cairo

photojournalism in cairo

man guarding the entrance shaft to the pyramid

photojournalism in cairo

photojournalism in cairo

photojournalism in cairo

photojournalism in cairo

man waits with his donkey outside the pyramids

photojournalism in cairo

photojournalism in cairo

stray dog outside of cairo at the entrance to the pyramids

photojournalism in cairo

photojournalism in cairo

photojournalism in cairo

photojournalism in cairo

photojournalism in cairo

photojournalism in cairo

photojournalism in cairo

photojournalism in cairo

weavers talk amongst themselves in the carpet district outside of Cairo

photojournalism in cairo

photojournalism in cairo

silk hung and ready to weave

photojournalism in cairo

portrait of a weaver

photojournalism in cairo

photojournalism in cairo

photojournalism in cairo

this bread is a staple of the Egyptian diet and served with every meal. we happened upon this woman as she prepared her bread and baked it in the wood fire oven

photojournalism in cairo

photojournalism in cairo

hanging lanterns in the Mohamed Ali mosque at the citadel

photojournalism in cairo

photojournalism in cairo

holy ground

photojournalism in cairo

photojournalism in cairo

photojournalism in cairo

photojournalism in cairo

view from the peephole into the prison row at the citadel

photographs of cairo

photographs of cairo

photographs of cairo

Dustin looks out the window of our apartment building

photographs of cairo

free range chicken

photographs of cairo

photographs of cairo

a building lays in ruin beneath the Citadel after a fire destroyed it during the revolution in January

photographs of cairo

photographs of cairo

photographs of cairo

photographs of cairo

children play kickball on a corner of an ally amidst torn-down posters for the impending election

photographs of cairo

photographs of cairo

here, cars are constatnly being repaired and put back on the street. autobody stores populate every corner; automobiles are not discarded, they are used, and fixed, and used again until they simply can no longer function at all. This vehicle will likely be back carrying passengers on the roads soon.

photographs of cairo

photographs of cairo

photographs of cairo

modes of transportation

photographs of cairo

photographs of cairo

women sweep the floor of the mosque

photographs of cairo

call to prayer

photographs of cairo

photographs of cairo

photographs of cairo

photographs of cairo

photographs of cairo

outside the mosque a woman weighs two handfulls of screaming live chickens

photographs of cairo

photographs of cairo

photographs of cairo

a man delivers a crate of freshly baked bread on his bicycle on the overpass highway

photographs of cairo

photographs of cairo

lanterns illuminate the nighttime in the khan el khalili marketplace

photographs of cairo

photographs of cairo

photographs of cairo

perfumer mixing his concoction in his tiny shop in the khan el khalili marketplace

photographs of cairo

photographs of cairo

photographs of cairo

egyptian engagement photography

egyptian engagement photography

egyptian engagement photography

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

engagement session in Egypt

This November i had the incredible (!) opportunity to photograph Shaun and April where they live in Cairo, Egypt.  They are planning their wedding (which will be here in the states) while living and working there, so it only made sense to do their engagement session in one of the most amazing places on earth.

We started off at the Pyramids at Giza and slowly made our way back into the heart of Cairo before ending at the incredible Khan el-khalili Market.

We were so fortunate to have amazing weather- but we did run into some obstacles.  dress code is strict in Arab nations, as is public display of affection.  we definitely had to tip toe around and find out of the way places before we could get comfortable with each other.  but, it made it sort of fun, and you know i love a challenge! I love anything that pushes me out of my comfort zone and into unfamiliar territory, which we definitely were in!

Shaun and April made us feel so at home, however, and so safe.  We drank Turkish coffee (more on that tomorrow!), smoked Sheesha, climbed down into a pyramid (by ourselves! oh my word!), kissed a camel, wore some great pashminas, and ate the most amazing food.  it was absolutely the opportunity of a lifetime, and i am looking just as forward to their wedding this coming summer!

and…. because you know i wouldn’t leave you with just one post on Egypt… more to come tomorrow about the culture and people with some of my favorite shots yet…  stay tuned!

Cairo engagement session

just a little sneak peek!  I’m so excited to share some of the shots we got in Egypt during this incredible engagement session.  stay tuned….  tomorrow will be a full post!

This is so great! check out this awesome little production Canon put together from the premiere in NY as well as a bit of the regional premiere in LA! it’s getting me excited to have our own little regional premieres in Madison WI and Tampa Florida. i cant wait for all my friends, clients, and family to see this incredible film that Ron and Bryce have worked so hard on. i’ll be posting details about the premieres as soon as i know dates/times/venues!

for the beginners…

December 6, 2011

I promise to share more pictures of Egypt soon…. very very soon.  but first, I wanted to share this hugely inspirational video.  i know a lot of photographers and creatives out there follow this blog.  maybe some of you are just starting out, maybe some of you followed the beginning photography articles i wrote for www.sliceoflemon.com.   maybe some of you are advanced creatives but are in a lull.

maybe some of you just need reminding of where you came from… where all of us came from or still are. it lasts just a tiny minute, so take a second and watch.

Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

So if you’re frustrated with your work right now, if you know it’s not what you aspire it to be, Dont.Give.Up. what that really means is that you have the potential to be incredible. You are already on that path. You are already on the journey, dont hop off the train while it’s moving. pull your camera out, or whatever media you use to be creative and make whatever you can. i dont care if all you have is your iphone, shoot something, edit something, create something, even if it is just for yourself, and you never show anyone else.

shoot everyday. make something every.single.day. the camera should be an extension of your hands. if you dont know what that means, then you are probably still looking with your eyes for the right buttons to push. when you know your camera, you dont need to look. when your camera is part of you you can walk into a room and already know what ISO to use, what aperture to use, and what shutter speed give or take a couple hundredths of a second. you already know what your image will look like without looking at the LCD screen. you’ll begin to ‘see’ photographs in the world even when you dont have your camera- the term “oh that would be a great shot” start to happen 10, 20, 30 times a day. you’ll know what ‘good light’ is and be able to seek it out, knowing where it will be before you even turn the corner.

YOU and YOUR WORK are just around the corner…

story told by incredible Ira Glass, edited by David Shiyang Liu

dragonfly story

“In the bottom of an old pond lived some grubs who could not understand why none of their group ever came back after crawling up the lily stems to the top of the water. They promised each other that the next one who was called to make the upward climb would return and tell what had happened to him. Soon one of them felt an urgent impulse to seek the surface; he rested himself on the top of a lily pad and went through a glorious transformation which made him a dragonfly with beautiful wings. In vain he tried to keep his promise. Flying back and forth over the pond, he peered down at his friends below. Then he realized that even if they could see him they would not recognize such a radiant creature as one of their number.
The fact that we cannot see our loved ones or communicate with them after the transformation which we call death is no proof that they cease to exist.”

For my beautiful friend Sarah and her family.   a heartbreaking loss of a tiny little life, who is now a beautiful dragonfly.

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