Among the dozens of photographers, he was able to distinguish the face of the artist Mervat Amin at the funeral of director Ali Abdel-Khaleq, to take a group of photos for her, which became the talk of the Egyptians.
Like wildfire, the image documented by Egyptian photojournalist Mohamed Salah spread on social media platforms, and was seized by bullies who criticized Mervat Amin’s body and blamed her for her age, as if she had the corner of the matter.
Speaking to “Al-Ain News”, Mohamed Salah revealed the scenes of taking Mervat Amin’s photo, and his opinion on the comments that accompanied it, stressing that he did not intend to make this fuss about it, and that he is not responsible for the negative comments about it, and to the text of the dialogue:
What are the scenes of taking Mervat Amin’s photo?
I received an assignment from the newspaper to cover the condolences of the late director Ali Abdel-Khaleq, and I attended with dozens of photographers from newspapers and television programs, and I was a meter and a half away from Mervat Amin, and I took more than 10 pictures of her, and I always say the picture is Rizk and Tawfiq from God, and professionally I do not find this The picture is good enough as a “portrait”, but Mervat Amin’s feelings and body took the picture elsewhere. After the spread of the photo and the ridiculous comments about it, I contacted the sheikhs of photojournalism to clarify their opinions and they assured me of the integrity of the photo and that it did not exceed professional and ethical standards.
Did Mervat Amin notice your presence while taking the photo?
As I told you, I took more than 10 photos and 3 minutes of video for her, and I was very close to her, and if she was refusing or resentful of filming, she would have told me and did not respect her desire to do so. I reject some of the behaviors that we see on such occasions, such as crowding photographers at funerals and funerals.
Did Mervat Amin or her lawyer contact you after the photo spread?
I received a message on WhatsApp from a person claiming to be Mervat Amin’s nephew, and he told me that he had assigned a lawyer to take legal action against me, but he quickly deleted his message, and nothing like that happened to me so far, and the truth is that I sought to communicate with Mervat Amin I reached her personal number to clarify my position, but she did not respond, and I hope the photo did not bother her.
Mohamed Salah.. Who is Mervat Amin’s photographer?
I am Mohamed Salah, an Egyptian photojournalist, I am 31 years old. I started photojournalism about 10 years ago, when I was a student at the Faculty of Mass Communication, Cairo University, and I am a member of the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate.
In conclusion, what is your message to Mervat Amin?
I am a big fan of Mervat Amin, and that is why I published her picture the day after the funeral, and she is a great artist and her history is full, and certainly I was exposed to such things and experienced them a lot. I completely reject bullying from Mervat Amin and her mourning body, and on the contrary, I see her as the moon, and I do not understand any opinions otherwise, and I hope that the great artist will be the nature of our work as photojournalists.