As the majority of Christians in Egypt belong to the Orthodox Coptic
church, Christmas is celebrated on the 7th of January. It was just
after the bombing and people decided to celebrate in a quite way
remembering those who died and praying for them.

A Coptic family helping their young man wearing his chanting clothes to be a part of the celebrations held in the Church

Some people decided to watch the celebrations through the television, either scared or too old to go.

Two members of a Coptic family heading to a Church to celebrate the Coptic Christmas

Women are seen praying for those who died in the attacks on the church in Alexandria

Every picture is a freeze moment, its something you saw and wanted to save it. It might be a picture for yourself that reminds you of something or someone.

“This post is the first of a continuous series under the name of Unforgotten Moments.”

It will include Pictures that mean something to me, some of them are a bit personal but i decided to share.

Pictures are during this period of time 2004 – 2011

On my way to the revolution  5-02-2011

It was the only plane going to Egypt from Denmark at that time, Only 9 people on the plane.

Egypt Vs Zambia – World Cup Qualifications   10-10-2009

Hassan Shehata ( National Team Coach ) Celebrating with the Egyptian fans after winning against Zambia 1-0

Zambian Governmental School   9-10-2009

“I was on an assignment for the newspaper covering the match between Egypt and Zambia. I had only 3 days. I thought about going around and visiting some places.I decided to go to a school and asked the principal if I could take pictures inside. He agree and everyone was very happy so I went to many classes. This one was very special. Once I entered all of the pupils said ” Good Morning Mr “

After taking pictures inside, I said ” bye everyone , thank you and good luck “

This picture was the ” Bye Bye Mr “

My first biking experience in Denmark  20-03-2011 ( Photo By : Vy )

I didn’t eat or sleep well that day, I went to get my bike from Dieter a great, kind Danish man who offered his bike to me just to help.

I went with Vy as she knows the way and always bike. We were downtown and going up towards home. ITS UP THE HILL . I biked , biked biked then suddenly I just stopped and told Vy ” I’m not feeling well , I …. “

” Are you OK ? shit .. Are you fine ” She said

I fainted !

Obama’s visit to Cairo   4-06-2010

I wanted to participate in this event. Actually it was so hard to get access into Cairo University to take pictures for the speech.

I asked Hossam Diab my boss at work ” What can I do to be a part of this ? “

” Go to Al Sultan Hassan Mosque and wait till the people remove the flowers after his visit ” He said

I was like WHAT !!  I laughed and didn’t believe him 100 %

” Trust me, Just go and you will come back with a good picture “

To be Continued ….

Picture by : Laurent Carre

Things not to forget in your Travel Bag:

1. Good walking shoes
2. Slippers or sandals
3. Tee shirts and sweat shirts
4. Jeans
5. Underwear
6. Socks
7. Sweater
8. Swimming suit.
9. Sunglasses
10. Hat.
11. Formal Dress and Formal Suit ( Optional )
12. Rain Plastic Body Cover ( Optional – Depends on the Country )
13. Gloves and Ice Cap ( Optional – Depends on the Country )

Useful Items to bring:

1. Medications.
2. Flashlight.
3. Additional Glasses ( Optional – If you cant see without your glasses then you must have at least one reserve)
4. Camera.
5. Laptop.
6. Memory Cards.
7. Digital Recorder.
8. Tripod. ( Optional )
9. Sun block.
10. Alarm clock.
11. Tooth paste & Brush.
12. Shaving Gel & Machine ( Beards – Optional for Hair as its very expensive to cut your hair in many countries and other countries you cant trust the barber, Its still your head ).
13. Deodorant.
14. Hand Gel.
15. 110-volt transformer so you can use your 220-volt electrical appliances, such as razor, hair dryer, travel iron, etc. ( Optional )
16. Electric Plug Convertor ( Better to have one ).
17. Money belt: The flat type that you can wear under clothing.
18. Small Back pack for carrying water, camera, etc.
19. Compass ( Important ).
20. Map ( Most of the maps you get from the information desk once you arrive in the airport )
21. Lonely Planet Travel Guide ( Depends on where you’re going, They are the BEST ) it’s a must have.
22. Travel diary and Pens: For journaling or memory-recording.
23. Swiss Army Knife ( very helpful )
24. First aid kit.
25. Books to read in the traveling days.
26. Mobile Charger.
27. Musical Instrument. ( Optional – Just take your instrument with you because you will regret it if you can jam with someone in a different country and you don’t have your own Baby )
28. Some souvenirs from your home country ( Optional but its important & special because you never know who you will meet )

Must Have:

1. Passport
2. Military Travel Permission ( Optional )
3. Plane Tickets
4. Converted Money ( Depends on where you’re going )
5. Visa Cards

Try not to have heavy luggage to be quick and practical.

It’s just some tips I learned from traveling & I think it might be helpful for anyone interested.

Pick what you need from the list & again it depends on where and when are you traveling .

Cheers,

A

Picture by : Pierre Morel

“Don Troop “A Street Musician in Paris Subway

It’s a story about his life behind performing in the street.

I had this idea long time ago as I’m interested in street music and what’s behind performing in the street, what’s the street musician personal life.

I decided to do my final project for the Danish school of journalism in Paris about street music.

Total 15 days in Paris, first 3 days searching all around Paris and walking to know the city and finding musicians till I met Don in Chatelet metro station.

I followed him for 12 days trying to document everything he does.

Don is a great example of hope and challenge, I learned a lot from him, he inspired me a lot with his way of thinking , his philosophy in life and how he balance the relationship between him and his guitar and children.

12 days sleeping on Pierre’s couch in Belleville. Pierre is a French photojournalist working as a freelancer.

I had many challenges while doing this project:

• Broke my glasses in the 5^th day of shooting so I had to work the rest of the days with my old glasses.
• I was sick like 3 days in the shooting and my head was burning.
• I had only 2 days to edit, I did the story board in one day and applied in the other.
• Living in a culture that doesn’t accept the English language and doesn’t speak it, but I managed to survive with same French words and some petit English.
• I almost got arrested in the Anti G8 protest in Paris but Pierre helped me with his press card.
• Belleville, where Don Lives is a dangerous area full of drug dealers and prostitutes, I had to go to his place secretly as the owners of the hostel didn’t accept me to shoot inside but it’s important for my story so I went at night without anyone noticing.

Everything in this video was made by me

It’s shot with the Canon 5D Mark II – Canon 16-35mm 2.8 Lens – Canon 50mm 1.4 Lens – Canon 70-200mm 2.8 Lens – Zoom H2 Sound Recorder

Most of the shots were handheld and the rest using a Mini Tripod.

Special thanks for Don to let me be a part of his personal life and document it.

Special thanks for Virginie for teaching me some French words and showing me around and helping me find a place to stay.

Special thanks to Pierre Morel for accepting me in his house for 15 days.

Special thanks to Salma Adel for helping me in research before going there.

Trust me if you have an idea in mind, work hard on your research and GO for it.

Ahmed Hayman     10-6-2011

It was very interesting for me to attend a protest in Paris or lets say a foreign protest, in the beginning it was boring because nothing was happening then the police started arresting people individually and putting them into a bus to check their identity and take them away.

More info About the G8 Summit : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/27th_G8_summit

This is the Anti G8 TRANSPORT Protest in Paris on Thursday, May 2011

Jim Hougaard sees the world differently. When he sees a wall, he does not see something that blocks his path — he sees an opportunity. Rooftops are obstacles to jump across. Stairs are things to flip over. With Aarhus Parkour, Jim and his friends practice the art of parkour — the process of getting from point A to point B as fast as possible — and sometimes most creatively. But to some, Aarhus Parkour is not just a collection of backflipping maniacs — it provides an outlet to live without boundaries and foster a better lifestyle.

3 weeks project with Bombay Flying Club in the Danish school f media and journalism learning how to make a multimedia story.  Learning about Sound,editing with Final Cut and shooting using Canon 5dMark II and 7D.

We were divided into teams. I mainly focused on shooting video and some editing . Others were responsible for sound , writing interview, editing, shooting stills and video also . Its all about team work and how to tell a story through pictures and video .

Produced by Katie Currid, Theo Erbenius, Ahmed Hayman

I went back to Egypt two months after the revolution for only 2 days and i saw Tahrir Square from above with cars moving, life is back . You smell freedom and smile while watching Tahrir from above.

Tahrir Square, 8-2-2011 , Cairo , Egypt

Tahrir Square, 19-4-2011 , Cairo , Egypt

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Egypt has become a major public health problem. Alarming rates were reported for many African nations, reaching as high as 14.5% in Egypt.

Bread became a symbol of inequality in Egypt.

The city also suffers from water pollution as sewage system tends to fail and overflow. On occasion, sewage has escaped onto the streets to cause health problems.

The government has threatened to reduce food subsidies.

The nonstop increase in the prices of the Gas pipelines.

In a report from the Rural Studies center for the year 2008, statistics shows the following

• Egypt has 48 million poor, 2 and a half million in extreme poverty and 45% under the poverty line.
• The unemployment rate reached 22% of the laborers
• 12 millions have no shelters & 2 millions live in cemeteries as per the central agency for public mobilization and statistics
• 46% of the population do not have the basic needs to live.. No food & clean water is one of their biggest dreams.

These are some pictures i photographed in Egypt while working as a photojournalist for Al Masry Al Youm Newspaper from 2008 till 2011 .

Living Alone without hearing or seeing . No water no family no humanity. Ayat Village 2010

Every day’s long queue fighting for gas . Giza 2008

Their house is full of dirty water Due to the sewage system Overflow nearly every two weeks. Fayoum 2009

Amonseeto Workers Sleeping in front of the People’s assembly building for a one month protest to get their rights . 2010

Sewage Worker cleaning with his bare hands without any safety equipment. Ayat Village 2010

This lady Died suffering because of the absence of basic human needs , water, food, care. I heard the news when i went there again . Ayat Village  2010

The 25th January Egyptian Revolution, Tahrir Square 2011

” Come on, you want to be good looking then you must trust yourself, the photographer, breath deeply and be sure that you will look perfect  ” I said

Tatiana Tilly is a young Journalism student at the same School . Those are my favorite portraits from that day.

Check her website with more pictures : http://tatianatilly.dk

I thought about making my assignment about firefighters because I think they are a real example of people who love their work,reliable persons,charismatic. Special characters that must be good at dealing with people and controlling their emotions

” I love what I’m doing and I’ll continue helping people because that’s my duty and I enjoy doing it, Everyday is definitely a new experience”  Andreas – Fire Fighter

First series of BW Portraits using an off camera flash on a soft box

Second Series of Colored Portraits using the Natural light coming from the big window