Fouad El-Batrawi: Capturing the Stars
A young man who is already making a name for himself in landscape and astrophotography, we speak to Fouad El-Batrawi, whose work captures the night sky, the stars, and the nature that surrounds him.
Dec 30, 2015
Fouad El-Batrawi - landscape photographer, night sky gazer, and astrophotographer - had spent two years of his life playing around with cameras before discovering that this is his true passion. It didn't take him long to start making money from photography, which, despite it not being as much as a man would want to make out of such a demanding career, was enough to cement his foothold as a professional photographer. We interviewed El Batrawi to find out how it all worked out for him, what his photography career means to him, and who his role models are in photography.
We know you're into landscape and astrophotography; what got you into that specific line?
I've been exploring different fields of photography for about two years now and found that, in Egypt, people tend to go for street photography - mainly photographing faces. Nobody was into capturing scenery, and this country has a lot of great scenery. People don't appreciate the desert while Egypt is more than 95 per cent desert. I wanted to do something different than the mainstream, so I started to study and research astrophotography because I like stargazing and wandering towards the sky. I studied constellations so that I can photograph specific stars, not just random sky shots.
When did you start taking pictures as a hobby, and when did it turn into a career?
I got my first camera in early 2013; professionally, it didn't take me long to start making money out of photography. I'm a huge geek, so I quickly learned how to control my camera and get a good grip on photography.
If you could relate your work to music, how would you do that?
I like post-Rock music and that kind of affects me; I'm always listening to music while shooting, either through speakers or headphones. When I'm editing my shots sometimes a particular shot would come out looking a certain way and, if I were to revisit the same shot, the edit would make it completely different - this all has to do with your state of mind when picking colours and adjusting them.
Photo Credit: Dany Eid
What's one of your favourite shots and what's the story behind it?
My favourite shot, not my best, was in the white desert in March of 2015. I follow a lot of astrophotographers and a lot of them take self-portraits, so I was inspired to do the same. This was the first trip I succeeded in capturing good night sky shots; it was part of a workshop with Lebanese photographer Dany Eid. Dany has taught me so much, and he is one of my biggest supporters. This is when I learned landscape and night sky photography.
Do you sell your art?
Not yet
It's hard to put a price on art; how do you price your pieces?
I really don't know how to. I've never sold my work before, but if you can hook me up please contact me!
What's your favourite piece of equipment?
My tripod, because lenses and cameras are all upgradeable but my tripod will stay with me for years - I made a big investment in it. Everybody is walking around with cheap 200 - 300 LE tripods that usually break on you mid-shoot after a day's use; not going to happen to me!
If you could have one major photographer as your personal tutor for one day, who would you pick?
There's a guy named Mikko Lagerstedt, he's a Finnish photographer who specialises in night sky and surrealist photography. He is one of the major influences for what I do.
If you could pick one spot on Earth to hold your next photoshoot, where would you go?
New Zealand or Iceland - both are magical!
New Zealand or Iceland - both are magical!
For more of his work, check out Fouad El-Batrawi's Facebook page here, and follow him on Instagram @fouadelbatrawi.
Photo Credits: Fouad El-Batrawi and Dany Eid
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