Exhibition features Jordanian photographers

AMMAN — “My job is to get photographs by Jordanian participants for two categories: those under and those above the age of 18, with a maximum of ten participants in each category,” said the coordinator of the Image Colleague Society (ICS) on Tuesday. 

The remark came during an exhibition organised by ICS, the International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP), and the World of Photography Group (WPG) that showcased the work of 20 photographers who participated in a global photography competition.

ICS coordinator Abdalrahem Alarjan, who is also a photographer and an art distributor, said the contest was an initiative by the Saudi photographer Najla Angawi gathering photographers from 22 countries around the world, including Jordan.

Six of the 48 Jordanians under 18 who applied for the competition were approved under the technical conditions posed by the organisers, which barred the use of Photoshop editing, while ensuring “aesthetics and the delivery of a meaningful message,” he noted.

“Our biggest challenge was to find participants under 18 since very few of them know how to use the DSLR camera required by the contest, which is also very expensive,” he added, recalling his visits to many local schools and universities, including Philadelphia University, the German-Jordanian University, Mayar International Schools and the Modern American School.

Fares Al Husban, a 15-year-old student at the American Excellence School, delivered a speech at the exhibition opening, where he explained his reason for participating in the competition.

“I always keep my camera next to me wherever I go and when I hopefully enter the field of engineering, I would love to continue taking pictures on the side” the youngest participant said.

The exhibition, held under the patronage of Culture Minister Nabih Shuqum, contained documentary, studio, conceptual, landscape and portrait photos. 

Mohammad Al Qaraleh, a 43-year-old press-photographer for Al Ra’i Newspaper, took his photo at a school in Tafileh, showing a child’s torn-up shoe.

“I took this photo during one of my visits to the school. I noticed the children’s dirty clothes, and that some of them did not have shoes on,” he recalled.

Al Qaraleh, who won a prize for the same  photo earlier this year, donated the award’s money to open a therapeutic centre for children in Tafileh and Maan, and is now planning to launch a third one in a different  governorate.

“We are planning to hold this exhibition in various governorates around the Kingdom, which is why we have searched for participants outside Amman, and included photographs such as the one taken in Petra during winter,” Alarjan said.

He said the organisers aim to showcase Jordanian talent in larger photo events around the globe within the next few years.