Logan Willis - Weekly Artist Post #6

Asmaa Waguih

1) Asmaa Waguih is a photographer born and based in Cairo, Egypt. She mainly photographs current events or things happening in her community. These particular photos are from one of the common rituals in Egypt - sand baths. The sand baths are used for healing purposes and are used to help with things such as rheumatism, joint pain, infertility or impotence. These photos are very interesting to me because she uses many different technical approaches. For example, in the first photo, the man's face as well as the covering over him are the focal points. She focused particularly on these as he is the main focus in the first photograph. In the second photograph, she uses her zoom to focus on multiple people while also including the background while it may not be in focus. In the third photograph, she uses her zoom feature again as she focuses in on one man's face so closely and precisely that you can see the sweat dripping from his face as he is in a tent that they use as saunas after they take their sand baths. In the last photo, Asmaa chose to focus on the two people in the photo as well as the tent they are attempting to move into. She also includes a deeper depth of field as you can see the horizon in the background as well as what looks to be a building in the background.

2) Asmaa Waguih uses common themes throughout her works. She states, "When I take a photo, I’m thinking: 'this is an important moment, and I’m here." She is not only a photographer but also a journalist so she is commonly covering news. I think she covers the current events in Cairo because that's not only where she is based but where she is from. She covers important current events and issues going on throughout her community. For example, she has also covered issues such as Syrian's creating their own weapons, women waging war on an Islamic state, and also photographs other things such as parts of Egypt that are hidden from the crowded cities.

3) Asmaa Waguih's work really moved me because it was not only photographs but stories being told at the same time. I never would have known about sand baths in Egypt until I stumbled upon her work. I also think that it is very interesting that she started as a journalist and transitioned into a photographer. I have a lot of respect for her mainly because she is covering controversial issues and also current events. She is taking risks that most people would never consider taking. I think these photos also reveal the climate differences in different areas of the world, even though we may not be used to them. For example, in the third photo, she truly shows the man's emotions as he is sweating in a sauna tent after his sand bath. This truly shows how different other cultures are and also what extremes other cultures take to follow their own rituals for health related reasons, etc.