The newly-established Beirut Center of Photography (BCP) launched a premier course for beginners in their effort to support the culture of photography in Lebanon and to ensure that photographers have the adequate tools and guidance to achieve their best work.

Led by master Lebanese photographer Elie Bekhazi along with lectures by renowned photographers Patrick Baz, Michel Zoghzoghi, and Aline Manoukian, students have been taking part in a four-course workshop series covering both theory and practice, culminating in  Photo Action that aims to document Dalieh of Rouche, the historic natural landmark on Beirut's coast.

According to the World Monument Funds, “Beirut’s Dalieh, a prominent landmark on the main coastal promenade and a landscape of beauty, rich social history, and cultural memory, has been a feature of city life for more than 7,000 years. The Dalieh is part of the landscape of the iconic Raouche (the Pigeon Rocks), an icon of Beirut’s shoreline that appears in thousands of images of the city. The open rocky area along the sea shore has been used for hundreds of years by working-class families for everyday activities from swimming to religious festivals, as well as farming and fishing.”

The Documenting Dalieh Photo Action challenges students to put into practice a series of photography concepts including shadow and light, depth of field, showing movement, freezing movement, and backlight, along with the one theme dedicated to "joy". Photos were all shot on February 25, 2017 between 10am and 2pm.

To learn more about Dalieh and its struggle for survival amid Beirut’s urban development boom, click here.

Cover photo by Rami Mansour.