Phil Weymouth has long been my favourite photographer in Bahrain. While others are constantly on the move, Phil will pick his spot, observe and with what looks a relatively old battered camera gets the most amazing results. An example is the Remembrance Day Service: while other photographers competed to get a prime position for the wreath laying ceremony and were a constant distraction, especially in the Two Minute Silence, Phil was quietly perched under a tree. For me his black and white photo of the Chelsea Pensioner on his own standing to attention at the far end of the cemetery caught the spirit of the solemn occasion better than any of the other photographs that I have seen. Through his observant eye, his love of life and interest in people he opens up new worlds.
So it was great to have Phil come and speak at our November Living Room Dialogue about his life, his work as a photographer and in particular the project to develop an archive of Bahrain Life which will not focus on the glitz that you’d find in a tourist brochure but on what is authentic to Bahrain. As part of his faith archive he took a few photos of our Evening service – here during The Peace.
|