Monday, July 3, 2017

Daughter of Sheikh, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, 2009


On the 11th of August in 2009 her portrait was made, over a dozen years after my photography was born in her camp. She and her family lived in Lebanon as migrants, and her father was in charge of negotiating between the Lebanese farmers and the Syrian laborers in his encampment. Her community had one foot in Lebanon, and the other in Syria.

She has two older sisters who had been photographed by me previously, when they were allowed to be photographed... and two younger sisters who photographed freely with us at the time of this portrait. She is the most precious of girls, and words fail me in describing my feelings for her and her family. She is like a daughter to me, and my upcoming trip to Lebanon is filled with the hope of seeing her again.

One day as we finished our photography and were walking back to her tent, we shared the most incredible conversation out in the open, yet out of hearing range from the community. It will remain in my memory for life, and is what drives this work forward. Such experiences are priceless and demonstrate how special this path in life truly is.


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Note: This image was made with a Hasselblad 555 V system.

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