The Photography of Ahmed Zahid
May 4, 2006 6:35 PM Subscribe
Propelling under iridescence of the influential weather. Selfish Reflector basks on vastness of the faded blue pastels. Army of the inauspicious Barrel riders. Participating amongst the lines of expected anticipation. Journeying within the parallex Worlds of soaring heights. The greedy feeder treats the drifting creepy sleepers. Chain gang Members hang-in the dignity of thriving redundancy. And much, much, much more. Now everything is illuminated.
She said she wanted my body not my mind so I showed her my dictionary to show the words that I know and how loquacious I can be when I set my mind down to it, and she wasn't impressed. She wasn't impressed at all. She whispered in my ear. she said. "Wanna get lucky little boy?" Well I smiled. I smiled and I said: "Is it luck?"
posted by furtive at 6:47 PM on May 4, 2006
posted by furtive at 6:47 PM on May 4, 2006
The photos are very, very nice, but I can't figure out yet if the titles are pretentious crap or not. Thank you for posting this.
posted by marxchivist at 7:19 PM on May 4, 2006
posted by marxchivist at 7:19 PM on May 4, 2006
You're quite welcome. This post is particularly touching/revealing.
posted by azul at 7:23 PM on May 4, 2006
posted by azul at 7:23 PM on May 4, 2006
Great photos. Here's an interview with him. On working with professionals:
Shootin’ the breeze: Is working with them a necessary evil? What do you take from your time with them?
Ahmed: Mainly because of my job. And I learn from them as well. And the photo opportunities. And the exposure to new clients. And the girls! God.
posted by tellurian at 7:26 PM on May 4, 2006
Shootin’ the breeze: Is working with them a necessary evil? What do you take from your time with them?
Ahmed: Mainly because of my job. And I learn from them as well. And the photo opportunities. And the exposure to new clients. And the girls! God.
posted by tellurian at 7:26 PM on May 4, 2006
I would like to see a photograph of the thesaurus that was used to title these nice photos.
posted by Ohdemah at 7:30 PM on May 4, 2006
posted by Ohdemah at 7:30 PM on May 4, 2006
I wish I could land up a decent job, so I can ditch this throw-away pocket camera and invest in a DSLR.
This should be required reading for every photo equipment fetishist who bought a "prosumer" camera set-up to take snapshots of his kid's youth soccer games.
posted by TimeFactor at 7:33 PM on May 4, 2006
This should be required reading for every photo equipment fetishist who bought a "prosumer" camera set-up to take snapshots of his kid's youth soccer games.
posted by TimeFactor at 7:33 PM on May 4, 2006
AZ isn't the only one who speaks flickrish. But when the shots are good, it's easier to overlook pretentious — or incoherent — titles.
posted by rob511 at 7:41 PM on May 4, 2006
posted by rob511 at 7:41 PM on May 4, 2006
I couldn't afford a camera for many years and had to clap my hands at those glorious tropical sunsets back home. This brings back a lot of memories.
posted by azul at 7:49 PM on May 4, 2006
posted by azul at 7:49 PM on May 4, 2006
Hey! Ahmed Zahid is in my contacts! Amazing photos, indeed!
Another of my flickr favorites is Thank You For Shopping.
posted by shoepal at 7:55 PM on May 4, 2006
Another of my flickr favorites is Thank You For Shopping.
posted by shoepal at 7:55 PM on May 4, 2006
Great photos. The guy has a tremendous eye and is incredibly versatile.
This should be required reading for every photo equipment fetishist who bought a "prosumer" camera set-up to take snapshots of his kid's youth soccer games.
Indeed.
posted by diddlegnome at 8:02 PM on May 4, 2006
This should be required reading for every photo equipment fetishist who bought a "prosumer" camera set-up to take snapshots of his kid's youth soccer games.
Indeed.
posted by diddlegnome at 8:02 PM on May 4, 2006
Yeah, well your camera may not matter but its funny how the pictures (like most of these) that blow people away are taken with wide, wide angle lenses. Wider than you get with the inexpensive point 'n shoots, that's for sure.
posted by spock at 8:23 PM on May 4, 2006
posted by spock at 8:23 PM on May 4, 2006
if only they came in 1600x1200 (or, optimally, 3200x1200). fantastic pictures!
posted by Mach5 at 9:25 PM on May 4, 2006
posted by Mach5 at 9:25 PM on May 4, 2006
Daily Debbie Downer moment. Gone in 50 years due to rising sea levels.
posted by Nquire at 9:26 PM on May 4, 2006
posted by Nquire at 9:26 PM on May 4, 2006
spock, I may be missing something (I didn't go back and look at each photo again after your post), but I don't see any evidence in these photos of extremely wide angles. And with the point-and-shoot cameras I've used, I've generally been frustrated that the lens was too wide, not too long. I'd be interested in knowing specifically which knock-me-out photos you think are taken with an ultra-wide-angle lens, either from this Flickr set or from other places.
posted by diddlegnome at 9:48 PM on May 4, 2006
posted by diddlegnome at 9:48 PM on May 4, 2006
I'm leaning towards pretentious crap. Nondescriptive pretentious crap.
posted by Artw at 9:49 PM on May 4, 2006
posted by Artw at 9:49 PM on May 4, 2006
it's like he thought "gee, a picture's worth a thousand words, but none of them seem to be 'journeying within the parralex (sic) worlds of soaring heights', and those are words that just need saying, dammit".
Still - these are some remarkably beautiful pictures - and no poorly-worded headers are going to change that.
(and is there a chance that English isn't his first language?)
posted by bunglin jones at 10:05 PM on May 4, 2006
Still - these are some remarkably beautiful pictures - and no poorly-worded headers are going to change that.
(and is there a chance that English isn't his first language?)
posted by bunglin jones at 10:05 PM on May 4, 2006
I'm suddenly ashamed of the crappy photos I take with my new 8MP Canon ...
posted by bcveen at 10:38 PM on May 4, 2006
posted by bcveen at 10:38 PM on May 4, 2006
I was planning on a trip to Mauritius or the Seychelles, but maybe the Maldives would be nicer. Or not. Must look in to the matter.
posted by Goofyy at 11:10 PM on May 4, 2006
posted by Goofyy at 11:10 PM on May 4, 2006
Ahmed's on my contacts, too. I personally find that having a DSLR gives a greater range of options. I like very wide shots, thus I like using my 10-22mm lens. I like night shots, and a relatively clear 3200 ISO setting makes it easier to do, though a tripod would serve me better, I don't usually carry a real one on me (a cheap stand, yes, but not a real hefty one). I have a Canon Digital IXUS40 I keep with me all the time, and a 20D I use when I go out just looking for pictures.
posted by Poagao at 11:14 PM on May 4, 2006
posted by Poagao at 11:14 PM on May 4, 2006
Spock, from the interview I linked: "I have my handy Powershot with me. It’s a Cannon [sic] 5MP camera".
posted by tellurian at 11:35 PM on May 4, 2006
posted by tellurian at 11:35 PM on May 4, 2006
The titles are wonderful - like stereolab songs - it's interesting to watch the comments from the delete me group - 'the horizon is squint' etc and then seeing that none of the deleters can actually take a good photo......
posted by sgt.serenity at 11:41 PM on May 4, 2006
posted by sgt.serenity at 11:41 PM on May 4, 2006
Yeah, the Deleteme group is infamous for that. I've only gotten a handful of photos through them into the vault, but the real entertainment is going to look at the photos of the people who give the harshest critiques.
The Powershot doesn't qualify as a real DSLR, does it?
posted by Poagao at 11:54 PM on May 4, 2006
The Powershot doesn't qualify as a real DSLR, does it?
posted by Poagao at 11:54 PM on May 4, 2006
Thanks, TimeFactor. One of the nice things about Flickr is that you can see what (digital) camera was used, not just the brand and model but also all the parameters such as shutter speed, ISO, aperture, flash or no, etc. under the "Additional Information" - "More properties" button on the right-hand side of the picture page.
posted by Poagao at 12:59 AM on May 5, 2006
posted by Poagao at 12:59 AM on May 5, 2006
I can't be bothered with flickr users who don't make available anything bigger than the default low-res size.
posted by D.C. at 1:09 AM on May 5, 2006
posted by D.C. at 1:09 AM on May 5, 2006
um, parallex (sic)
posted by bunglin jones at 1:18 AM on May 5, 2006
posted by bunglin jones at 1:18 AM on May 5, 2006
I can't figure out yet if the titles are pretentious crap or not.
Oh, for heaven's sake. 1) The guy's first language is not English, and 2) he likes fancy words. Enjoy them or skip them, but they're not "pretentious crap."
The photos are (as everyone else has said) amazing. Thanks for posting them.
posted by languagehat at 5:40 AM on May 5, 2006
Oh, for heaven's sake. 1) The guy's first language is not English, and 2) he likes fancy words. Enjoy them or skip them, but they're not "pretentious crap."
The photos are (as everyone else has said) amazing. Thanks for posting them.
posted by languagehat at 5:40 AM on May 5, 2006
A Nikon D1 with 16mm lens, for instance. I'm not implying that this guy doesn't have a great These are wonderful shots. However, we tend to find pictures of paradises and sunsets attractive because of their inherent color and beautiful scenes. Still, I'd love to see what this guy could do if he was dropped in northwest Kansas.
posted by spock at 5:45 AM on May 5, 2006
posted by spock at 5:45 AM on May 5, 2006
Spock: He says in the interview linked by tellurian that his boss owns the D1, and he's gotten to shoot with it a few times.
Looking at most of his other photos ("more information") it looks like he's shooting mostly with a Canon Powershot A95 or a Canon Digital IXUS 330 (Powershot 330).
posted by splatta at 6:53 AM on May 5, 2006
Looking at most of his other photos ("more information") it looks like he's shooting mostly with a Canon Powershot A95 or a Canon Digital IXUS 330 (Powershot 330).
posted by splatta at 6:53 AM on May 5, 2006
Good stuff all around, both the pics and the titles. Thanks for links.
posted by Staggering Jack at 7:32 AM on May 5, 2006
posted by Staggering Jack at 7:32 AM on May 5, 2006
Ahmed is one of my contacts on Flickr. Has been for about a year. His photos are amazing. His titles are goofy, but I'm pretty sure he is not a native English speaker.
And he has pointed out more than once that while his pictures are of a beautiful place, the people there live in abject poverty (usually to the European or Westerner that says he lives in paradise). Which is a good thing to remember, for me.
He's a genuinely cool guy, too, it seems.
And living proof that photography is not about the gear -- it's about the vision (says the chump with very expensive gear that lacks real vision).
posted by teece at 4:25 PM on May 5, 2006
And he has pointed out more than once that while his pictures are of a beautiful place, the people there live in abject poverty (usually to the European or Westerner that says he lives in paradise). Which is a good thing to remember, for me.
He's a genuinely cool guy, too, it seems.
And living proof that photography is not about the gear -- it's about the vision (says the chump with very expensive gear that lacks real vision).
posted by teece at 4:25 PM on May 5, 2006
spock, you're right about that photo - the wide angle is obvious. And I agree with the rest of your post. I bet the guy could do a nice job with a Kansas wheat field, though.
posted by diddlegnome at 12:09 PM on May 6, 2006
posted by diddlegnome at 12:09 PM on May 6, 2006
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posted by dammitjim at 6:45 PM on May 4, 2006