My Photos in an Exhibition

This post is about what I have been up to the past two weeks, and that is preparing for my very first photography exhibition. How exciting, right?!

I got inspired by an article I read online a while ago. The idea was to exhibit your photos in a public place instead of a rented exhibition hall. I really liked this idea, since it's my very first exhibition.

So all I need to do was print the photos, how hard would that be. Well, apparently, it's not as easy as you may have imagined. First there's the "theme" issue. Picking a bunch of your favorite photos randomly won't do. And I wanted something different, instead of picking a theme that involved lots of flowers.
After much consideration, I decided on a theme, but discovered later on that there are only three photos in my archives that fit the criteria and aren't flowers. If you're an artist or a photographer like myself, you would know how much of a pain it is to try to make something "artistic" and "unique" under pressure!
So, the theme had to be changed in order to allow more flower shots in.

Ok, so the theme is decided, the photos are ready, now I need to print them. Piece of cake, or so I thought.
I won't get into much details and write about the agony I went through, but I'll say that I was suffering. Finding the right studio to print your photos the way you want is not as simple as it should be! Maybe in a more civilized country it is.. but not here. (no offense)

Long story short, after a week of searching and going from one place to another, I printed the photos. I thought they would never get done in time, but alhamdulilah, I picked them up last night, and I'm lovin' them!!

 It all happened so quickly, I needed more time to advertise, but I wanted to do this before 2010 ends, and this weekend is my last chance. It has been like running a marathon this past week, I'm so glad this is over, and now I can rest and wait for Saturday to come.

So if you happened to live in Cairo, please stop by! Unless you're one of those online stalkers, then that certainly would be weird.

♥ This exhibition is dedicated to all of you lovely people out there who have shown support over the past two years! And of course my very special family ♥

...

She was a young successful silver jewelry designer, married with two kids. She was the friend of a friend.
I didn't know her personally, but I got in touch with her a while ago via facebook, offering my services as a photographer to catalog her jewelry pieces.

A month ago, she was diagnosed with leukemia, three weeks later, she passed away.

It was a case of being here one moment, and gone the next. The news hit me hard, like a rock on my head, and for a second there, I felt like I was being introduced to the concept of death for the first time. I came to a sudden realization that, I too, could die any second! without warning, without feeling that "my time is drawing near".. without nothing.

I looked at my body, and felt my soul watching it, felt that my soul was a separate being, something living inside a machine or a device, and it could exit this device any minute, leaving it cold and useless.
I had a hard time sleeping that night. For some reason, I could hear the silence around me. My heartbeat sounded louder than usual, but not faster. My eyes were seeing things I usually don't notice in the dark. My feet were very cold, and I had a stomachache. I felt very much alive.
But was I ready?

People forget, they eventually get caught up in what we call "life" and forget. Until something like this comes their way, and reminds them that nothing.. is forever.

I hope this young woman's soul is somewhere beautiful, in a place where she feels at peace.

This...

.. is how the world looked like from my window last night.