Wedding Photoshoot (Summer 2008)

Peace on you,

I was invited to a cousins wedding this summer, I decided to take my camera along because it had got extremely dusty (well it would have if it wasnt in a nice bag!) Lets just say im really glad I took it along.

I have a few hundred photos im still working on (suprise, suprise) some need cropped, lighting changing etc. God willing they'll be done really soon, I wanted to create a specialised DVD cases, put the photos onto DVD and send them out.

A few pics:

Peace,
Yahya

Feed Season card (2007)

Peace on you,

Another brief I worked on with Zarah Malik (feedzarah.blogspot.com)

This was for a Feed Christmas/ Seasons card for last year 2008, which we hoped to send out to studios and the like (It was too close to Christmas when the card was finished so we didnt get to).
Being Muslims, we dont celebrate Christmas, so it was fairly difficult at first trying to think up something with real meaning. We decided that instead of trying to look at it through the view of wider society, we should look at it as we saw it as Muslims.

We found our inspiration in the Qur'an and the story of the miraculous conception of the Christ (peace be upon him), in particular when the angel Gabriel came to the lady Mary (may God be pleased with her) and told her she would have a child,
she replied 'how can I, when no man has touched me?' and was told that anything is possible by the will of God, all He has to say is 'be, and it is'

The main circular image is of a human egg being fertilised. The smallest and most hidden, seemingly unhidden moment, yet one which results in your very being. Praise be to God.
I found it to be the most appropriate image, than fitting the one word 'be' into it, leaving it to be pondered on.

Working images:



Peace,
Yahya

Eid ul-Adha Card (December 2007)

Peace on you,

This is a brief I worked on with Zarah Malik (feedzarah.blogspot.com)

Info coming soon

Research pics :


Our Final Design:


Peace,
Yahya

Christmas/ Winter Season card (Christmas 2007)

Peace on you,

Below is my final piece for the Season card brief we were set last year.

I went with a playful theme using a small paper bag as my 'card', However it did have a serious undertone of how the season which is regarded traditionally as one of joy, appreciating family ties, freinds and many of the other great blessings; has become one of utter comercialisation.

Consumerism has not only replaced spirituality, but has become one itself. You are told that you cannot have a good Christmas (and so cannot apreciate your blessings and find satisfaction) unless you place yourself into debt by buying everything in sight.
God help us to find true satisfaction.

Layout:


Final item:


Peace,
Yahya

Photography Final (June 2008)

Peace on you,

My final piece following photojounalism, looking into torture and rights abuses.
The figure in the picture is easily recognisable as the prisoner being electrified at Abu Ghraib. I chose to use a mannequin for my shoot because it represented how many people either dont appreciate the seriousness of situations like this happening everyday or prefer to forget.

I had variations of the poster, some with other text but I decided it held the audience better with the picture by itself, and the current text or link speaks for itself.



Peace
Yahya

Photography (Sep 2007 -Jan 2008)

Peace on you,

A few pics from last years basic photography course:




Peace,
Yahya

Updates

Peace on you,

Ok I havent updated this for ages. Ive got a few things to put up so will be done by this evening God willing.

Peace,
Yahya

Islamic Awareness Week Poster (part 3)

Peace on you,

Okee, these are the final posters which were used;

 

And a couple of previous posters;

 

Peace,

Yahya

Islamic Awareness Week Poster (part 2)

Peace on you,

This post carries on from the earlier one about a poster for UWN Islamic Awareness Week. The above came about as a development from the earlier post, adding in elements influenced by the general idea of media stereotyping against Muslims.

However, I had another idea yesterday, and this developed into another poster, the variations of which are below. The image of the baby was drawn from something i had been developing for the college 'mother' brief.

Peace,
Yahya

Islamic Awareness Week Poster

Peace be upon you,

Heres a basic layout for a poster idea I have for 'Islamic Awareness week' at Newport University. personally i'm not to convinced by the basic idea, but im going to try blending some tradition Islamic geometric art into it, hopefully i'll be able to work out how exactly to do it.

Peace,
Yahya

Need to Update

Peace be Upon You,

Okay I think I need to update this blog and get my college projects back on track. Theres a lot so its quite daunting, oh and i also have to create a personal blog so I can ramble on about non-design related items.

I'll dedicate this evening to that inshaAllah (God Willing).

Peace,
Yahya

Brum Brum...

Peace be upon you,

Pics of central Birmingham taken a couple of weeks ago;


Beautifully decorated buildings, theres a whole little culturaly rich quarter which will most probably be bulldozed soon to make way for concrete and glass blocks and a couple of bucks. It is quite sad that very few would have seen, and if they had; stopped to appreciate this amazing little area. How ironically funny that Birmingham council are running around trying to 'improve' an outsiders view of Birmingham, when this little cultural paradise lies only 5-10 mins walk from the concrete mess known as the 'Bullring'.


I love these brick structures, I'm not exactly sure how old these bridges are, a lot of the main sewer systems are built from similar architecture and go back to the Victorian Era. I'm just quite amazed that one of these bricks hasn't dropped on someones head.



Birminghams canals, we have more than venice; but alas much dirtier. A wonderful reminder of Birminghams history. If you care to spend some time walking along it, you can see how things might have working during the industrial age; where the barges would've stopped and been unloaded, where the factories would have been located.
The first image is a true example of how nature will surpas man, no matter what.


I have no idea if these lights were just for show or actually had some significance on the rail tracks above, but it felt amazing standing there all the same. (btw the actual image is portrait, but looks better landscape)

Peace,
Yahya

First Post- About Time :)

Peace upon you all,

Mother Brief: The last time I did this brief I was looking at physical and emotional loss. This time I want to move away from physical objectification and look more in depth at the essence of the 'mother' relationships.



Based on the verse from the Holy Quran [45:16] "We have enjoined on man kindness to his parents: In pain did his mother bear him, and in pain did she give him birth. The carrying of the (child) to his weaning is (a period of) thirty months. At length, when he reaches the age of full strength and attains forty years, he says, "O my Lord! Grant me that I may be grateful for Thy favour which Thou has bestowed upon me, and upon both my parents, and that I may work righteousness such as Thou mayest approve; and be gracious to me in my issue. Truly have I turned to Thee and truly do I bow (to Thee) in Islam." (Yusuf Ali Translation)

The part of Significance here is 'In pain did his mother bear him', represented above by the arabic shaped around the form of an unborn child.

Motherhood is not something to be overlooked or undermined; the pain, suffering, effort and grief a mother must face just of carrying the unborn child is of extreme importance, one which we find little time to appreciate. Despite what Islam may be stereotyped as, women are given a high status, especially mothers. Their honourable status' being one most rightly gained due to the hardship they must endure.

Peace,
Yahya