Mirna Abass regards his small Egyptian city as \u201cheaven for street, travel and documentary photography\u201d. At the intersection of the Nile and the Mediterranean, the governorate of Damietta is home to Ezbet El Borg, a shipbuilding and fishing port. Abass describes it\u00a0as \u201ca\u00a0colourful hub of\u00a0daily fishing life; fishers and their nets, boats being built, maintained and painted\u201d.<\/p>\n
On the day he took this shot, Abass had joined a walk with the Egyptian Camera Crew<\/a> photography club. Abass works as an agricultural engineer, but describes film and photography as his true passions. Henri Cartier-Bresson is one of his biggest inspirations, and he is often guided by the pioneering photographer\u2019s concept of the decisive moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we explored the shipyard, I saw this teenage fisher jumping between several boats,\u201d Abass says. \u201cI set up my iPhone 13 to capture these two contrasting boats, side by side, and waited patiently, hoping he might eventually make the jump in front of me. I\u00a0was elated when he did, and went to show him our very own\u00a0decisive moment.<\/p>\n \u201cThe human element gave a sense of scale, of\u00a0how large these ships are, and I loved how I\u00a0captured him leaping from the white ship to\u00a0the colourful ship,\u201d he\u00a0adds. \u201cIt is almost as\u00a0if he is escaping from pale life to fruitful life.\u201d<\/p>\n