When the Ghazal collective asked if I could photograph their weavers in February, my first thought was the light. February is the kindest month in Al Ain: clear mornings, soft afternoons, and a sun that drops quickly behind Jebel Hafeet.
Planning around the day
I booked ten days for eight weavers, knowing some would be lost to family visits, a wedding or a day of rain. In the end it was three. I kept a list on the wall of the guest house: who could be moved, who couldn’t, who only weaves in the morning.
Letting people choose
Every weaver chose where she wanted to be photographed. That decision did more for the pictures than anything I brought with me. Hessa wanted the view from her doorway. Moza wanted only her hands. Shamsa wanted her yarn, then, on the last day, finally agreed to a portrait, in her own majlis with her daughters beside her.
- Two cameras, three lenses, no lights.
- One reflector, used twice.
- A lot of gahwa, and a lot of waiting in doorways.
The best portraits were made in the last half hour before sunset, when the light came in low and clean.
Prints before publication
I took every weaver a signed print of her own portrait before anything was published. Two asked for changes, and we made them. It’s their story; I was only there to help tell it.
The book is out in November, and the exhibition opens in Al Ain in January, in the cool season.
