During my last trip to the Middle East (August 2011), I wanted to experiment with stop-motion photography.  I did some handheld stop-motion on the Wall in the West Bank.  I have some other handheld panorama shots from Lebanon that I need to edit and upload (hopefully in the near future).

Any feedback from above would be great and much appreciated : )

I am the President of the Board of Advisors of Iranian Alliances Across Borders (IAAB), a non-profit that works to develop community leaders with high school and college students.  This month, IAAB's Campus Action Network (I-CAN) is launching the first ever Iran Awareness Month: No Hate.

Participants from 20 university campuses nationwide will participate in this month long event.  Participants in Iran Awareness Month: No Hate will take action in any of the following ways:

Student groups and representatives host on-campus events that raise awareness of Iranian culture and promote anti-hate message such as:

• Panel, speaker, or townhall meeting
• Film screenings, art exhibits, and tablings
• Cross-cultural and interfaith dialogues
• Cultural activities such as poetry readings, hokm nights, and backgammon tournaments.

In response to the a recent wave of hate crimes, IAAB's Campus Action Network expands Iran Awareness Month to also include a message of not hate against all communities.  I-CAN's Iran Awareness Month: No Hate will include actions honoring both Trayvon Martin and Shaima Al Awadi, two victims of recent hate crimes, as well as a coordinated action condemning the unwarranted surveillance of New York's Muslim student associations by the NYPD.

As part of the campaign, I took the photograph above for IAAB.

Does having Microsoft Word make you a writer?

Does knowing Final Cut Pro make you a film editor?

Nah...I didn't think so!

That's my philosophy when it comes to cameras and photography.  Every time I am asked what kind of camera I use I know I am about to get judged.   "Oh, you use an Olympus?" is usually followed by the person taking a step back and giving me a disapproving shake of the head.  But, increasingly I've become OK with the hate people have for Olympus.  It's not a Canon and it's not a Nikon.  I'm not a fool...I know those two brands are superior but it's not the camera that takes the photos, it's the person using the camera.  If I feel comfortable with the camera and have the ability to maximize the tools offered by my E-volt 500, then why should it matter what brand the camera is?

I know many people (former co-workers), who buy expensive cameras and spend lots of money and time perfecting the technology behind photography and filmmaking that they missed the whole point of what a camera's main function is.  A camera's job is to tell a story.  You can have a 100 megapixel picture, the latest HD camera but if your frame cannot narrate a story to its attended audience then what is the point?

I've touched on this matter before in a previous blog entry but I felt like I needed to come out of the camera closet once and for all.  I use an Olympus and I'm proud of it!  I'm not a household name in photography or photojournalism nor am I close to being one.  Photography is a craft and like any craft it requires hard work, dedication, and a devotion to storytelling.  If you don't want to take my word for it, check out Ken Rockwell's blog on this subject matter.

Olympus for life!...or at least for now :)