The Revolution Thru The Lens of Heba Khalifa, An Egyptian Photojournalist

I've started to feature the work of young Egyptian photojournalists working for the local newspapers, who not only documented the Tahrir uprisings, but who also participated in the revolution.

For why I'm doing this, you can read my earlier post The Revolution...This Time Through The Lenses Of Home-Grown Egyptian Photojournalists.

This is the second part in the series, and is the work of Heba Khalifa, an Egyptian photojournalist who started to work for Al Shorouk Al Gadeed in 2008. She holds a BA in Fine Arts from Helwan University, and worked in social programs for underprivileged children before taking photojournalism as a full time career. She's the recipient of the Mohammed Mounir Award for Visual Arts, Youth Salon, Egypt (2007), and a Scholarship to Study Graphic Art, Salzburg Summer Academy, Austria (2007), and participated in the Workshop in Visual Storytelling, Egyptian Supreme Council for Journalism (2010).

For each slideshow in the series, I chose the popular "Enta Omri" or "You Are My Life" from the repertory of the legendary Um Kulthum, the Egyptian singer who was the incomparable voice of her country. I owe the idea to a wonderful multimedia essay titled Spring by Shirin Neshat in the New York Times, who also used it as a metaphor for the revolution.

Giovanni Savino: Misterios

"Oral Tradition is the most valuable of our possessions and if we don't lose it, no one can take it away from us." And so says Giovanni Savino.

Giovanni Savino never got formal photographic training, but practiced photography since a child, and started to work in film and television as a teenager. He worked alongside Dan Rather, Morley Safer, Ed Bradley and many others, and this career led him to witness and record unique historical events such as the fall of the Berlin wall, the conflict in the Balkans, the war in the Persian Gulf, etc.

A few years ago, he was able concentrate more on still photography and complete several portraiture and editorial projects, such as the one I recommend you watch...Misterios, which is on his website.

I was taken by many of Giovanni's still photography in Misterios, which is a peek in the complex and mysterious world of Vudu in New York, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Many of his still photographs of Vudu are dark and brooding, are of rich red and blurs...the reds of animal sacrifice and the blurs of ritual motion. It was these that I thought were the most compelling. I think you will agree with me.

The Revolution Thru The Lens of Eman Helal, An Egyptian Photojournalist

As I wrote in my earlier post The Revolution...This Time Through The Lenses Of Home-Grown Egyptian Photojournalists, I am starting to feature the work of young Egyptian photojournalists working for the local newspapers, who not only documented the Tahrir uprisings, but who also participated in the revolution.

The series start with the work of Eman Helal, an Egyptian photojournalist who started her career at El-Shourouk (a local newspaper) a few years ago after graduating from the College of Communications. A 25-year old, she covered the daily uprisings in Tahrir square and in Cairo, showing not only talent but also determination.

I chose a popular song from the repertory of the legendary Um Kulthum, the Egyptian singer who was the incomparable voice of her country, to accompany the series. The song is "Enta Omri" or "You Are My Life". I owe the idea to a wonderful multimedia essay titled Spring by Shirin Neshat in the New York Times, who also used it as a metaphor for the revolution.