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© Tahir Amin
Caption: Boys praying at Al Aqsa Mosque, West Bank (Palestine), © Tahir Amin

Please leave your feedback for Tahir Amin in the [comments] section of this post for this image.

Show & Tell: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.

Tahir Amin is a lawyer from the UK currently working with the Alternative Law Forum in Bangalore, India on intellectual property issues and its affect on the public domain. Following his departure from the corporate legal world he has been an activist in the U.K Stop the War Coalition, the International Solidarity Movement as an international peace activist/observer in the West Bank, Palestine and currently working on legal issues for the Affordable Medicine Treatment campaign in India.

Activism/protest or simply disseminating information for a cause can be done in many ways, though usually in the form of writing or actual physical protest. However, Tahir believes the power of visuals through photography are equally relevant forms of activism and protest, as images rarely fail to have at least some impact on the neutral observer. From images of the millions of people protesting in London, to the destruction and conflict in Palestine, to protests against patents and the right to medicine, the camera is not only able to tell a story, but it also acts as an instrument of awareness, protest and activism.

He is currently preparing to carry out photography projects around India, in particular, raising awareness about rural India's intersection of art and activism to empower local artists, a project for an NGO in Bombay working on placing homeless children in schools in order to raise funds, a look into the lives of refugees from Tibet living in one of the largest Tibetan settlements in India, as well as the Tsunami relief effort in the eyes of the dalits in Tamil Nadu. He is also planning to return to Palestine in the future.

Seshu | Editor & Publisher

Seshu | Editor & Publisher

Seshu is an Avon, Connecticut based headshot photographer and family portrait photographer. He edits and publishes Tiffinbox and produces Tiffincast for photographers like you!
Seshu | Editor & Publisher

@picseshu

Seshu | Editor & Publisher

Comments

  1. Seshu says

    This is a very ambiguous image. The caption says one thing but the image doesn’t resolve that information we have at hand into something recognizable. Are the boys REALLY praying? What visual cues do we have that say that? Or, are they really just standing around. Unlike image#12, this image just sits there. It’s quiet and not as arresting. I wish there was someone coming out of that door to the left to disrupt the image. How do we connect with images of people? Usually, their eyes meet ours. It’s a visual handshake of sorts. A spark of recognition ignites even the most disparate of cultures when we come face to face with people. This is, in my opinion, what makes image#12 a success.

    When I first saw this image, Tahir, I thought the two were lined up at a drinking fountain. The alcove they are standing in front of doesn’t suggest “mosque.” The faint Arabic writing on the top of the door isn’t indicative that this is a holy place. To my eyes, this could be shot anywhere. What makes it special is that it is at the controversial Al Aqsa mosque in the West Bank. Is the mosque fortified in any way? Are there armed guards you can juxtapose these kids against?

    The question is where is the drama in this image? At the cost of repeating myself, I’ll say this – it’s much too quiet to make an impact on me and doesn’t reveal what is really going on in that politically charged place.

  2. Seshu says

    This is a very ambiguous image. The caption says one thing but the image doesn’t resolve that information we have at hand into something recognizable. Are the boys REALLY praying? What visual cues do we have that say that? Or, are they really just standing around. Unlike image#12, this image just sits there. It’s quiet and not as arresting. I wish there was someone coming out of that door to the left to disrupt the image. How do we connect with images of people? Usually, their eyes meet ours. It’s a visual handshake of sorts. A spark of recognition ignites even the most disparate of cultures when we come face to face with people. This is, in my opinion, what makes image#12 a success.

    When I first saw this image, Tahir, I thought the two were lined up at a drinking fountain. The alcove they are standing in front of doesn’t suggest “mosque.” The faint Arabic writing on the top of the door isn’t indicative that this is a holy place. To my eyes, this could be shot anywhere. What makes it special is that it is at the controversial Al Aqsa mosque in the West Bank. Is the mosque fortified in any way? Are there armed guards you can juxtapose these kids against?

    The question is where is the drama in this image? At the cost of repeating myself, I’ll say this – it’s much too quiet to make an impact on me and doesn’t reveal what is really going on in that politically charged place.

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