Learned a lot this semester about photography. All I can say is it was not as easy as I thought. I was blind now I can see through various f-stops and shutter speeds. @rclose01

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Congratulations for completing the course and handing in your project work. As you can see some clowning around going on today last day of the semester. Good luck in the exams and have a great summer break.

 Nice to meet you all and I hope you enjoyed the photography course.

American University in Cairo

Prof. Ronnie Close

Photography Foundations

                                                “Breaking Norm”

                                             By: Hussein Shaker

     As the title suggests I am breaking the norm. The way I did this is, I publicly wore a very detailed oversized clown mask (it felt like a rubbery sauna when it was worn), my large body size was also a factor. I originally bought the mask for Halloween, and thought it was a shame to only be able to use it once a year, never really used to its true potential and this project was an opportunity to use it. The mask was actually made based on a 1998 movie “Killer Klowns from Outer Space”. I took pictures mostly in public places including Ain Sukhna beach, Cairo University, Baron Palace, Merryland Park, Cathedral Basilica, AUC library, and an AUC bathroom. I actually got mugged after taking my pictures in Cairo University. I also tried taking pictures at the Giza pyramids however they barred me from entering with the mask. The reason is because I need permission from the Egyptian Antiquities Ministry (I would’ve actually done it but I was short on time), and when someone wears a mask they become anonymous and who knows what an anonymous person is capable of.

      I broke the norm because not many people in their right mind would walk around wearing a mask this abnormal and strange. All this fits into my whole big idea, which is to bring the abnormal into the normal. I used a clown mask, because by default clowns have two meanings. The first being stupidity, comedy and humor like the circus. The second meaning being fear, serial killer, and true horror like Stephen King's “IT”. Wearing this mask got many reactions, some kids smiled and wanted pictures while others screamed and ran to their mothers, very sure I have traumatized some children. In some of my pictures I deliberately picked a shirt with the numbers 67 on it, because of the joke why is 6 afraid of 7 because 7 8 9. For those of you that don't understand 7 ate nine ate like a meal.

      For my test prints I tried 3 different photo studios. First I tried Kodak Express near 7 Stars Mall New Cairo, after printing there I lost hope in Kodak, I now know they are only good for passport and visa photos. Not only did they not print on photographic like I requested, but the colors were disoriented and the printing streaks were completely visible. Thankfully I found I-Plot which was close to Kodak; I-Plot had superior quality, faster (6 A3 prints in 5min) and a lot cheaper than Kodak. However the I-Plot images were a lot darker than their digital counterparts, which the I-Plot employee warned me about, but I had no time to fix the issue. So I tried a third place FujiFilm Studio 90 near Doseet Hotel. FujiFilm had the needed A3 photo paper. I tried 4 test prints which were superior to both the first two studios, but expensive. I printed the rest of my photos and in total I printed 20 A3 photo prints. Something I learned the hard way however is that photo studios crop the photos and I learned this by looking over the shoulder of the cashier and the photo editor was cropping significant part of one of my photos. I then stood with the photo editor reluctantly telling him what and where to crop; breaking Garry Winogrand’s rule of not being personally attracted to my photos, however I kept a rule in my photos “always smile when taking the photo” and the clown mask was always creepily smiling.

      The whole point of this final project was to get out of my comfort zone, which I did, and it turned out more successful than I thought. Of course I got a few negative comments like people looking at me like I’m crazy, children running away in fear and many children pulling on the mask, but I also got many positive comments like people laughing, and wanting to get their picture taken with me. I learned that being abnormal brings out people's emotions, a delight to see during this project.    

“Breaking Norm” at Cairo University, Cathedral Basilica, Baron Palace,and Merryland Park. Notice the photo of myself sitting next to the yellow shirt man the colors. Yellow shirt, bus, and sidewalk. Red woman, sign,flag,and cars.   

“Breaking Norm” at the American University in Cairo  

“Breaking Norm” on Ain Sukkna beach 

Photo taken by street photographer Garry Winogrand (1928-84) (pictured above). His rules on street photography help take the most effective photos. Myself I followed the always smile when taking a picture, follow my gut, when in doubt click the button and shoot a lot. The smile rule because that way you get a better reaction from people. Shooting a lot allows choice and variety in photos. Following my guy and click when in doubt ate almost the same and usually make for creative photos. In total it's said Winograd shot more than 5million photos about 450 pictures a day for over 30 years. More of his rules in the website link. http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2012/08/20/10-things-garry-winogrand-can-teach-you-about-street-photography/

Indestructible in a photo exhibition by AUC photography professor Randa Shaath. This exhibition focused on the unnoticed items in homes that bear history, and are part of the history of the house. When I asked Prof.Randa about the name Indestructible she told me it's not only about the item, it's also about the feeling in the photo "even if the object is gone the warm feeling still remains."The exhibition ended May 18.

What makes photography unique?

Photography is a drawing with light so it’s an art form all on it’s own, a photo “takes a moment in time and fixes it” some photographers refer to light as a physical entity “light is my wisdom and my enemy.” What makes photography unique is that it can be art and be used to raise awareness at the same time. The kodak revolution shows so much yet keeps so much for itself, however it introduced portable easy use cameras giving rise to amateur photography. Jacques Henri Lartigue (1894-1986) known as the french father of modern photography was an amateur phtographer who took photos using a brownie camera. His style was so unique that his albums seem like many photographers took these pictures. Lartigue proved that anyone can be a photographer. Amateur photography showed the true nature of photography giving the art more potential to grow

Drone photography is generally a new type of photography but now has magnificent results when it comes to photos. Bird View Aerials was started by Mass Com student Mohamed Abdel-Razak who even had a live demonstration of the drone's flying capabilities. The drone was able to take high definition video and pictures while moving and was stable in the air. Drone photography is on the rise and soon we will have more advanced photo drones. This exhibition is no longer active in AUC but Bird View Aerials has an Instagram page if you want to see more drone pictures. http://instagram.com/bird_view_aerials

Just some light hearted humor.

Everything hand made by the talented hands of this woman.

Found in a Greek folklore museum each woman actually represents a continent included Africa, Asia, Europe, America.

Fun fact this picture was actually the first time I wore this “Killer Klowns from Outer Space" mask.

Found in a Greek folklore museum looks like the logo for a hipsters' Starbucks.

Mykonos is mostly known as a Greek party Island but to my surprise while walking and exploring by luck I found "Rarity Gallery". It was free entry and even had a guide to explain the art pieces. The hyper realistic guard made me think it was an actual guard and I waved. The metallic bouquet is made entirely out of spoons, the chain next to it is made out of smaller chains and is standing with no supports. The photos were interesting because the artist picked specifically famous photos and manipulated them. The pink sculpture looks like a dessert but is a special type of plastic. The last photo focuses on emotions and how without certain facial features emotions and personality can still be shown. For more info on the art and artists Rarity Gallery official website http://www.raritygallery.com/

@rclose01 found an organization/movement called Clowns Without Borders (CWB)which helped me see another use for clowns. This organization focusses on the humor side of clowns and entertain not just anyone but refugees especially refugee children fleeing war. CEB is detected to bring back the laughter and smilies back to children robbed of their childhood because of war. CWB preform in places such as refugee camps entertaining everyone in the camp and bring laughter with them. Official website: http://www.clownswithoutborders.org/

The picture above show my printing progress throughout the project. From left to right Kodak Express, I-Plot, and FujiFilm. When submitting my final project prints I used the FujiFlim prints because of their superior quality. In some some African cultures the mask is a sacred symbol and a medium into the spirt world. Once a person wears a mask they become the mask they embody the spirit of the mask. Wearing the mask I became the clown I became anonymous, which felt empowering. because no one knew who I was, for a couple sweet moments I was just a clown not a person but a clown. Masks have many uses in religion, spreading chaos , finding justice, and anonymity. All people wear masks that are invisible only difference is my mask was out there for everyone to see.