A former photography club member returns expecting the old competition. A paired project about a neighbourhood bakery offers a different reason to take pictures.
01Read the Arabic story
الْعَوْدَةُ إِلَى نَادٍ تَرَكْتُهُ
تَرَكْتُ نَادِيَ التَّصْوِيرِ فِي الْحَيِّ قَبْلَ عَامٍ، بَعْدَ أَنْ خَسِرْتُ فِي مُسَابَقَتَيْنِ. كُنْتُ أُقَارِنُ صُوَرِي دَائِمًا بِصُوَرِ الْأَعْضَاءِ الْأَكْثَرِ خِبْرَةً، وَأَعُودُ إِلَى الْبَيْتِ غَاضِبًا مِنْ نَفْسِي. وَعِنْدَمَا دَعَانِي صَدِيقِي بَاسِمٌ إِلَى اجْتِمَاعٍ جَدِيدٍ، تَرَدَّدْتُ. قَالَ إِنَّ النَّادِيَ يُعِدُّ مَعْرِضًا عَنِ الْحَيِّ، وَإِنَّ لَدَيْهِ فِكْرَةً تُنَاسِبُنِي.
دَخَلْتُ الْقَاعَةَ وَأَنَا أَحْمِلُ كَامِيرَتِي الْقَدِيمَةَ. بَدَلًا مِنْ لَوْحَةِ الْفَائِزِينَ، رَأَيْتُ عَلَى الْجِدَارِ أَسْئِلَةً عَنِ الشَّوَارِعِ وَالْمَتَاجِرِ وَسُكَّانِ الْحَيِّ. شَرَحَتِ الْمَسْؤُولَةُ أَنَّ الْأَعْضَاءَ يَعْمَلُونَ الْآنَ فِي أَزْوَاجٍ، وَيَعْرِضُونَ صُوَرَهُمْ كُلَّ شَهْرٍ دُونَ تَرْتِيبِ الْمَرَاكِزِ. لَمْ أُصَدِّقْ أَنَّ الْمَكَانَ نَفْسَهُ يَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ يَبْدُوَ مُخْتَلِفًا إِلَى هَذَا الْحَدِّ.
أَخْرَجَ بَاسِمٌ صُورَةً قَدِيمَةً لِمَخْبَزٍ كُنَّا نَشْتَرِي مِنْهُ الْخُبْزَ. اِقْتَرَحَ أَنْ نُصَوِّرَهُ مِنَ الزَّاوِيَةِ نَفْسِهَا، ثُمَّ نَعْرِضَ الصُّورَتَيْنِ مَعًا. ذَهَبْنَا إِلَى الْمَخْبَزِ وَاسْتَأْذَنَّا صَاحِبَهُ. كَانَ الْبَابُ جَدِيدًا، لَكِنَّ سَاعَةَ الْحَائِطِ بَقِيَتْ فِي مَكَانِهَا. انْتَظَرْنَا حَتَّى غَادَرَ بَعْضُ الزَّبَائِنِ، ثُمَّ الْتَقَطْتُ الصُّورَةَ الْجَدِيدَةَ.
عِنْدَمَا رَاجَعْنَا الصُّورَةَ، وَجَدْتُ أَنَّ ضَوْءَ النَّافِذَةِ جَعَلَ جُزْءًا مِنْهَا شَدِيدَ الْبَيَاضِ. كِدْتُ أَحْذِفُهَا، لَكِنَّنِي سَأَلْتُ عُضْوًا أَكْثَرَ خِبْرَةً عَنْ طَرِيقَةِ تَحْسِينِهَا. شَرَحَ لِي كَيْفَ أُغَيِّرُ إِعْدَادَاتِ الْكَامِيرَا، فَعُدْنَا فِي الْيَوْمِ التَّالِي لِنُجَرِّبَ مَرَّةً أُخْرَى. لَمْ تَكُنِ الْمُحَاوَلَةُ الثَّانِيَةُ كَامِلَةً، وَلَكِنَّ تَفَاصِيلَ الْمَخْبَزِ ظَهَرَتْ بِوُضُوحٍ.
فِي الْمَعْرِضِ، وَقَفَ صَاحِبُ الْمَخْبَزِ أَمَامَ الصُّورَتَيْنِ، وَحَكَى لَنَا عَنْ أَبِيهِ الَّذِي عَلَّقَ السَّاعَةَ الْقَدِيمَةَ. أَضَفْنَا قِصَّتَهُ إِلَى الْوَصْفِ تَحْتَ الصُّوَرِ. قَبْلَ أَنْ أَخْرُجَ، سَجَّلْتُ اسْمِي لِلْمَشْرُوعِ الْقَادِمِ. ثُمَّ سَأَلْتُ بَاسِمًا عَنِ الْمَكَانِ الَّذِي سَنُصَوِّرُهُ مَعًا. وَفِي طَرِيقِ الْعَوْدَةِ، فَتَحْتُ دَفْتَرِي لِأَكْتُبَ أَسْئِلَةً عَنْ ذَلِكَ الْمَكَانِ.
Show English translationHide English translation
I left the neighbourhood photography club a year ago after losing two competitions. I was always comparing my photographs with those of more experienced members and returning home angry with myself. When my friend Basim invited me to a new meeting, I hesitated. He said that the club was preparing an exhibition about the neighbourhood and that he had an idea that would suit me.
I entered the hall carrying my old camera. Instead of the winners’ board, I saw questions on the wall about the streets, shops and residents of the neighbourhood. The organiser explained that members now worked in pairs and displayed their photographs every month without ranking them. I could not believe that the same place could seem so different.
Basim took out an old photograph of a bakery where we used to buy bread. He suggested photographing it from the same angle, then displaying the two pictures together. We went to the bakery and asked its owner for permission. The door was new, but the wall clock remained in its place. We waited until some customers had left, then I took the new photograph.
When we reviewed the photograph, I found that the light from the window had made part of it very white. I nearly deleted it, but I asked a more experienced member how to improve it. He explained how to change the camera settings, so we returned the next day to try again. The second attempt was not perfect, but the details of the bakery appeared clearly.
At the exhibition, the bakery owner stood in front of the two photographs and told us about his father, who had hung up the old clock. We added his story to the description under the pictures. Before leaving, I put my name down for the next project. Then I asked Basim about the place we would photograph together. On the way home, I opened my notebook to write questions about that place.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| مُسَابَقَتَيْنِ | two competitions |
| تَرَدَّدْتُ | I hesitated |
| فِي أَزْوَاجٍ | in pairs |
| تَرْتِيبِ الْمَرَاكِزِ | ranking the places |
| الزَّاوِيَةِ نَفْسِهَا | the same angle |
| وَاسْتَأْذَنَّا | and we asked permission |
| الْتَقَطْتُ | I took; I captured |
| إِعْدَادَاتِ الْكَامِيرَا | the camera settings |
| بِوُضُوحٍ | clearly |
| لِلْمَشْرُوعِ الْقَادِمِ | for the next project |
03Check your understanding
Choose one answer for each question. Look back at the Arabic story when you need a clue. Open the English support if you need help understanding a question.
What to remember
- A familiar group can change, and returning can reveal possibilities that were not there before.
- Compare the narrator’s early comparisons with the later request for advice to infer a new approach to learning.
Explore the Arabic in this story
Related grammar and vocabularyOpen Araqick guides connected to this story.
Arabic Time and Place Adverbs: Before, After, In Front and Behind
قَبْلَ عَامٍ
Use a before phrase to place the narrator’s departure in the past.
Purpose Li in Arabic: How to Say “In Order To”
لِنُجَرِّبَ مَرَّةً أُخْرَى
Read purpose li in the decision to return for another photography attempt.
