TEACHING PHOTOGRAPHY IN AMMAN

For the past month I've been teaching a photography class at an arts college here in Amman called SAE. It is a good school, and one of very few opportunities here to learn photography. Professionals in Jordan don't like to share tips and advise I suppose out of fear they may educate someone else into their jobs. I don't share that fear. I miss the way photographers in the US push each other to be better and the community they form. My students are very talented and have really impressed me thus far (we are a third of the way through the twelve week course). Yesterday we had a field trip with the aim of getting practice taking street photography. Not an easy thing in any country, but down right difficult in Jordan. After only an hour out on the streets of Madaba, they captured a ton of people pictures, doing the tough things I was asking them to, like staying with a subject for a while and moving people into better light. They went out again and got even better stuff. It should be noted that the majority, 12 of 17, are women. This is not the easiest country to be a woman, or so I've heard and seen. Appallingly, there are no women in the photography business here, but in my opinion, they have a clear advantage over most men; they can photograph women much easier than a male photographer. We ended the day on the farm of a friend taking magic hour photos of a gypsy family. A really great day of photography. Tonight I get to see what they shot, and if they'll let me, I'll post some of my favorites on this blog. Above are a few of my favorites that I shot.