Just posted 20 pics i took in Afghanistan in January. It's the beginning of a book project based on life in Afghanistan post 11th Sep. I'm also intending to take every image with an M. Any feedback and pre orders for the book (it may take a few years) would be appreciated....

In the meantime I want to sell my 28mm Elmarit (mint - and not boxed) and when its fixed a 35mm summilux ex+ (1966 boxed).

http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=190598

t: (0044) 01273 270118 m: (0044) 07930 605483 w: www.portfolios.com/weir e: weirs99@aol.com

-- Stewart Weir (weirs99@aol.com), March 12, 2002

Answers

Stewart - I was just this moment going to post a message here to tell people to look out for your beautiful pictures on photo.net. They are stunning: humane, intelligent, sensitively composed. The rueful young boy with the "college" sweat shirt with the old man, the girl with the injured bird... I could go on and on. You seem to have a genuine empathy which lights these pictures up. Staggeringly good just when I was giving up hope of really exceptional work. Steve

-- Steve Jones (stephenjjones@btopenworld.com), March 12, 2002.

Stewart,

Very nice photos. You say you wish to sell your 28mm lens, but when I see the compositions, I see the work a person that "sees" in 28mm... there is not much wasted space in the frame. It looks like the 28mm angle of view is your vision.

What time frame were these photos made? In the last year?

-- Al Smith (smith58@msn.com), March 12, 2002.

Excellent,you were a bit near those tanks for comfort.

-- allen herbert (allen1@btinternet.com), March 12, 2002.

nice work. why do you need a warming filter for tri-x?

-- stefan randlkofer (geesbert@yahoo.com), March 12, 2002.

Awesome images, great job! I agree with the above response about your use of the 28. I HOPE you are only selling it so you can replace it with the 28 Summicron asph! Keep us posted.

Cheers,

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), March 12, 2002.

Stewart very good work. My favorite is of the 3hree women eating by the mosque. I am taking the liberty to include a LINK to the photos.

-- Gerry Widen (gwiden@alliancepartners.org), March 12, 2002.

They were taken during a 2 week period whilst producing a photo documentary for a charity. I always try to fill the frame, love the 28 perspective and now hardly use the 35. I really believe that by shooting (most of the time) with one lens your reaction times are a lot quicker and the minds composition is far quicker. I use a warm up filter because I like the contrast I get from it plus I gain an extra stop when its very bright.. and yes I'm selling the Elmarit for the ASPH.

-- Stewart Weir (weirs99@aol.com), March 12, 2002.

Stewart,

no one will be able to reach you from overseas dialling the numbers as listed. Overseas callers into the UK shouldn't be dialling the zero in front of the second group of numbers. And overseas diallers in the US would use 011 rather than 00 in front of the 44 in the first group of numbers [i.e. 01144 etc rather than 0044]. And in the majority of other countries it would be (00144)

-- Mani Sitaraman (bindumani@pacific.net.sg), March 12, 2002.

whoops....thanks for that message above!

-- Stewart Weir (weirs99@aol.com), March 12, 2002.

Stewart, the pictures are quite nice, but I feel that as a group there are too many with people just standing and staring at the camera (mostly children). Obviously this is a long term project. I'd like to see more about family life and I feel the pictures should tell us more about their subjects. For instance the refugee camp picture - what are those kids up to? I think the Ismael Khan tanks picture needs a radical crop, and the chicken seller should be selling chickens rather than holding them up in a static pose, however nice the shadow. I think there's a lack of intimacy, many of the pictures look a bit as if you had seen something and said - hold still one second while I take a picture. I feel you need to grub into the texture of everyday life more. People at home, cooking, eating, sleeping, talking about the price of chickens these days. One technical note - I don't think a 28 works well photographing kids from above. And - there are too many pictures of kids; it's always easy to get sucked into photographing kids because they're always ready to be photographed, but they are only part of the subject. They should at least be interacting or playing or doing their homework or something like that. Each picture should tell a story and add to the total story you're telling.

That said, the subject is certainly a good one and I look forward to seeing more. It's a very important subject, worth devoting a lot of time and energy to.

-- rob (rob@robertappleby.com), March 12, 2002.

I've photographed in every country in Europe plus N America and China. With the exception of China - Afghanistan is by far the most difficult place I have ever worked in. Take away the fact that few of the locals had seen a westerner going around taking photos I came to learn what the word 'AXX' (thats the sound of the word!!), it means 'photo'. I could not work for more than a few minutes before being surrounded by beggers, street kids and people who could speak the slightest English asking for a job, to carry my bags or take me on a site seeing tour.. The images themselves speak for themselves. No images are posed...they are just as they appeared in front of me. Yes...lots of kids...but I was working for a kids charity and the emphasis of the project will be that these kids will be Afghanistan's future. I don't mean to sound over protective of my work but as I have already said this will be a long project and the more intimate stuff requires more time and planning. I shot 40 rolls of TriX, 35 rolls of Provia 100 and 3 gigs of digi. My first edit of black and white was 179 images so this really is a very small selection. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I must say constructive critisism is very good for the soul!!

-- Stewart Weir (weirs99@aol.com), March 12, 2002.

Stewart - I'm well aware of the problems of being the whitey with a camera! I'm pleased you didn't take my criticism personally.

-- rob (rob@robertappleby.com), March 12, 2002.

Rob- Yours is a welcome, sort of constructive criticism, not the disrespectful and uninformed type that shows up from time to time. As Socrates might put it: "Agree with me if I seem to you to speak the truth' or, if not, withstand me that I may not deceive you as well as myself in my desire, and like the bee leave my sting in you before I die."

Stefan- I also wonder what a color warming filter does with Tri-X. Gerry- Glad you put the link on this.

-- Frank Horn (owlhoot45@hotmail.com), March 12, 2002.

Rob...it was'nt that I'm 'white' it was more that I was foreign, was taking photos and did not fit in with their world. You would be surprised how European some of the Herat people looked. A lot of my colour stuff really does look as if it was taken in the Balkans. Herat was a major trading post where in many ways it was the cross roads of European/Asian trading. I saw everything from blond to ginger haired Afghans including quite a few 'Mongol' (Hazaras).

-- Stewart Weir (weirs99@aol.com), March 12, 2002.

FANTASTIC!!!!

Love your work. I'd love to visit a place like Afganistan. The people are very unique and interesting. Keep more pics comming. You have a great eye!

-- Kristian (leicashot@hotmail.com), March 12, 2002.