Rodrigue Zahr is a Lebanon based director, editor and photographer whose imaginative humanistic style is reflected in the documentation of exceptional events, products and people within his work. Zahr is the production manager and photography director at ELLE Oriental magazine but has worked for national and international firms such as Monocle magazine, LS:N Global, Louis Vuitton, Ladurée Paris, Swedish minister for international development cooperation, Bank Audi, Step Together and many more. Zahr is known for his discerning journalistic sensibility.
Pep Williams grew up skating on the streets of LA, knew Tupac, Dr Dre and Kurt Kobain. He is a professional skater, a model and a photographer. He has travelled the world photographing and being photographed. Pep’s pictures have a gritty rawness that only someone who grew up on the same streets as those who pose for him could achieve. His subjects are often the tattooed sort of people that might make you consider crossing the road but Pep draws out their vulnerability and shows their human side. Click the jump to read my conversation with Pep Williams.
I was in Leica Store Manchester yesterday and they let me take the new Summaron 28mm f5.6 out for a play. In fact, they insisted. I was looking at trading up my 50mm Summarit for a cron and we got chatting about the new lens, next thing I know he’s putting it on my M9 and sending me out to play.
Waffleman
I love this shot. The composition might not be technically perfect and I’ve made my usual mistake of not concentrating on the edge of the frame, but I think it’s not enough to ruin this shot.
This Christmas I took my m9 to our family gatherings with the aim of getting some family portraits to celebrate the occasion. My teenage nephew is at the stage where he refuses to have his picture taken though. So rather than a smiling picture under the tree I managed to persuade him to have a picture taken with his one true love. His Les Paul guitar. On the condition I did not take any pictures of his face. I think he liked it from the grunts he made.
“We are doing our bit for the German economy” joked Kostas as he finished the paperwork for the car I was to hire after I asked him how business was these days. His joke hinted at the bitterness that many Greeks feel towards Germany and Europe in general and it is easy to see why.
I decided early in 2015 to go back to film. The reason was I had my 30th birthday and decided that I wanted something special to mark this occasion. But what to get? My dream camera of course. A Leica. I know, I know they cost a lot. I know, a lot of people buy them just for that little red dot. I know you can get a camera that will give great results for a fraction of the price but… It has been my dream to own a Leica since I’ve owned a camera.
Robert Poole 