An Exclusive Interview with Abdellah Azizi

To be honest, I wasn’t waiting for it, especially seeing all those great photos in the competition. I’m really honored with this. Thank you, and special thanks to all those people who have voted for the photo.

I was in an assignment to photograph the famous Kasbah of Taliouin, at the Atlas Mountains. I was accompanied by some colleagues and a gentleman from the state of Taliouin. He was showing us different places, then took us to a local school where we met this kid Hamza.

He has this special look, one of my colleagues asked him to pose for the camera, so he did, and ... you know, It was just the right time, the light was nice, he was confidant, and was looking directly to the lens... I knew I took a good one, a perfect one.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="330"] Atlas Child, by Abdellah Azizi[/caption]

It was a stressful journey, as I didn’t have lots of experiences. I know many people have liked my photos, because they told me, some even sent me message on Facebook. Yes I’m definitely proud, but still, I’m always challenging myself to do something better.

Indeed, in Morocco there are lots of different cultures, costumes, and languages, and I know that there are some great numbers of photographers who have photographed this diverseness of Morocco. But I doubt that they have succeeded, because it is just too much, and it will take forever to do it. You know here in Morocco you can make beautiful photograph without traveling half the world. And even if you are from here, or from any parts of the world, I believe you need to learn everyone’s culture, and respect their traditions, no matter how it differs from yours, to photograph is perfectly.

I’m still learning and every day is a new experience for me. For now I love to take portraits in real life, and doing photojournalism.

What I like about photojournalism is that you always have to be alert, where one should learn the body language, and need to become master your equipment, so when the moment comes, that few seconds will be enough to make the photo. This doesn’t mean that you would not have to wait for a long time before that moment comes... still, you are visualizing it all the time.

No, not yet.

I think photography is all about sharing, sharing your photos, your knowledge, and even your criticism, this is why me and some of my photographers friends here in Oouarzazate have started a Photography Club, (Ouarzazate photographer society). We have a group in Facebook, where we share our “passion” of photography.

Life is full with ups and downs, same as in photography, sometimes you get the right moments, sometimes you won’t. The time when you stop using your camera, is the time you stop getting the moments. Just think in that way, and don’t only shoot for participating in a competition, enjoy it, you would get some beautiful photographs.