The Beirut Photo Marathon 2013 — 1 City, 12 Hours, 100 Photographers, 1200 Photos — NOW ONLINE!

By T.K. Maloy

BEIRUT – It was beginning to be another sleepless night.

I had filed the last of my copy to the international news service in Paris I work for and at 1 am began to aimlessly troll through twitter feeds, FB postings, international news updates …

Then, suddenly, there it was.

1 City, 12 Hours, 100 Photographers, 1200 Photos — Capturing one day in Beirut! The BeirutPhotoMaratahon.com!

“Together we will take this city in a storm of flashes and shutters. Armed solely with our cameras and our perspective we will unite to pay her tribute, understand her – frame her – every stone, every street, every mood; and in return, she will help us better understand ourselves,” organizing group, FRAME Beirut, said in their mission statement.

It was now nearing 2 am, Thurs, July 4th (Beirut time) and there were nine spaces left. After several failed tries – Net problems – I properly registered and posted my headshot along with a gang of nearly 100 other photogs.

The marathon began Saturday, July 6th, with a 9 am briefing at Universite Saint Joseph, Campus de L’Innovation et du Sport. The event officially kicked-off at 10 am after a group shot of the 100 person cohort, all wearing the BeirutPhotoMarathon signature cap and holding aloft their panoply of cameras.

The photogs quickly fanned out from the USJ campus toward all directions of the compass in Beirut. I first opted for the Tomb of the Unknown Solider under the Roman colonnade by the National Museum for my “Icon” theme, then on to Basta neighborhood for “Chaos” in the form of the swirling metal sculptures long ago attached to the light poles to designate the city’s antique-selling district.

I was already venturing into a part of town I had been meaning to visit, but had not done so during my 16 months in Beirut and Lebanon, where I have visited a great many places.

Comprised of amateurs — such as this correspondent — and professional photographers, the photo marathoners had taken en-masse to the streets of the city on a collective documentation project to capture one day in the life of Beirut.

And there is, and was, so much to capture…the FRAME themes included: Icons, Heritage, Chaos, Barriers, My Life, Escape, Taboo, Expressions, Words, Sound, The Other, Propaganda and a blissful bonus theme of Love!

All required some consideration. What does one define about Beirut theme-wise — a busy, blossoming historical city, with traffic like nowhere else, warm hospitality, burgeoning political tensions that keeps the government on a tight wire act; lingering animosities amid incredible cultural diversity.

A dragging economy; empty luxury hotels, glitter next to ghettos; a ubiquitously deployed military and a looming war next door in Syria; but perhaps ultimately, a city and country ready to put a fractured past behind it, discover a new definition of itself, if only events allow.

Many observers of the metropolis of Beirut – particularly those devoted to the preservation of the city’s heritage – have spoken out about the irrevocable nature of much of the rapid development change that is taking place. And for the average citizen there is always a certain sadness that the city of their memory is quickly disappearing.

But much still exist of the Beirut’s past and perhaps if saved or restored a new harmony will emerge between old and new Beirut. What the future holds is anyone’s guess.

The rules of the Photo Marathon were simple, and fairly self-explanatory: One took part with a digital camera or high quality mobile phone, data on memory cards, cameras, phones or any devices used to take photos. All equipment was cleared before the marathon.
Also, everyone was required to bring necessary transfer devices (memory cards, USB’s, etc.)

Marathon photographers were required to capture 12 images on 12 themes (one image per theme); after the first meeting at USJ and distribution of the first four themes and instructions. Photogs then reunited at Virgin Megastore, Martyr Square, 2 pm, to submit their first four photos and receive the next four themes. Box lunches were provided by Urbanista café and many photogs lay sprawled around the store entrance and onto the square, chatting and eating before departing on their next jaunt.

At 6 pm everyone regrouped again to submit their second set of four shots and receive the last four themes at Virgin Megastore Hamra. Everyone was expected to hand in final shots by 10 pm, at the latest, back at USJ.

Personal information on photos were recorded in each photographer’s respective log notebook distributed by the organizers. Under the rule, all images were to be taken using the same device; and all shots were to be saved as JPEG files. Photographers were free to use flashes, filters and tripods.

In the must not category: Photogs were not permitted to edit the images, use any image-processing programs or use images that were not taken during Marathon.

It was a clean, level, playing field, and the rules ensured the veracity of the documentary that would be compiled by the 100 participating photogs – amateurs and pros.

“FRAME hopes to mobilize citizens to use creative mediums such as photography and film to engage large groups, cross boundaries, and tell stories from our streets, our communities, and our people,” said one of FRAME co-founders, Ali Sayed-Ali, a Lebanese-Canadian: “We all tend to define areas of Beirut. Thus, some people avoid visiting other neighborhoods. We want to break down these barriers.”

I was later to find myself down by the Corniche for the hard to define photographic theme of “Sound”; I had thought this one out for quite a few hours over cups of strong café libanais, when it struck me – the giant electric guitar outside Hard Rock Café.

Soon I was on the medium strip with the hurly-burly of Corniche traffic flowing around me; honking, revving, punctuated by the staccato burst of motorcycles, as I lined up my shot, holding, holding, and then click.

The Imam’s call to prayer from the nearby corner mosque began for the late afternoon, and I closed my eyes sinking into the hum and chant of the call.

The traffic roared by, but for a moment the centuries rolled back.

After the marathon, FRAME Beirut will print and display the submitted 1,200 photos in a “one-of-a-kind” installation in the heart of the city.

“When brought together in one space, the collection of photos will form an installation well beyond the scope of typical exhibitions. The installation venue will act as a canvas for ‘One City, One Day’ meant to activate shared introspection, bringing to poignancy the contradictions, beauty, and reality of Beirut in one magnificent space,” said the FRAME group.

“These images will also hold historic value and significance for generations to come, as the moments the photographers capture will represent a day and age in the history of Beirut,” the group said.

As I handed in my last shots and chatted with the organizers, they pronounced themselves not only satisfied, but inspired by the creativity of all of the shots that flowed in from the photographic marathoners.

“I think it was a great concept, both in terms of the logistical structure but also in terms of the overall vision of a way to build a community of people around ideas of shared public space, social participation and mobility,” said Richard Shotton, recently come from England for contract work with a foundation.

“This is in some ways not an easy city to get around for practical reasons such as traffic and cultural reasons, such as ‘not my terriroty’,” Shotton added. “Powerful interests in property development and road building seem to be solidifying a divisive urban geography with monolithic construction projects which have no human scale and threaten to crush community spirit.”

“The (Marathon) themes were very well chosen, open to personal interpretation, provocative and challenging,” he noted.

Ali Sayed-Ali added that as the over 1,000 photos were submitted, the FRAME volunteers noted “both the commonality (of concepts) and the differences.”

“I was extremely impressed with the quality,” he said.

FRAME has registered to become a documentary-oriented NGO in Lebanon to continue it its creative work.

Photographers of all types, Beirutis – of many backgrounds and sects – and a number of expatriates such myself, all milled around weary and excitedly exchanging recounts of various shots as if comparing notes from a safari. There was no standoffishness.

All day we had been running into each other in many corners of the city, popping out hallways in Hamra, stalking through Achrafiye, Sursock, and the downtown; rambling through Raouche, Verdun, Mazraa.

Each time it as if seeing a fellow player in a large fortune-hunt that covered the entire parameters of the city. We would give a thumbs up or shout “which theme.”

I considered my year-and-a-half here as an expat and smiled.

Traffic jams, pollution, the occasional bomb or gunfight, along with expensive flats, floods of refugees, and high café prices — I still have an enduring fondness for Beirut — a colorful, vibrant city of the arts, delectable cuisine, music, poetry, dancing, laughter and love.

For more information:
www.beirutphotomarathon.org
www.facebook.com/beirutphotomarathon