I really like the violent contrast and saturation that comes out of this Harman Phoenix film. I took these with a Nikon Lite-Touch point and shoot because I wanted to be “lite” on my feet while walking around Beirut, and I think that really added to the raw quality of some of these photos: whatever makes this stock undesirable to professionals (something something dynamic range) makes it perfect for how I wanted to see this city.
I loved this Hamra ready-made so much that I photographed it twice; here it is on Harman Phoenix 200, the world’s newest experimental color film stock that I just knew would do incredible things to Beirut street scenes.
Christine had noticed a lot of stuff that had been “knocked over” across Lebanon, and as soon as she mentioned it, I started seeing it everywhere too. It’s hard to explain; it literally was a lot of random stuff like this old traffic cop shelter knocked to the ground and just left that way, like some depressive with no energy to pick up their room.
The graffiti calls out the “rule of banks” and the second slide is my very hastily taken shot in front of the central Bank of Lebanon, similarly graffitied.