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Oct. 7, 2011
Focusing her lens on Islam
Donna DiDomenico promotes interfaith dialogue through photos.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY
The first juxtaposition is her professions: financial analyst and commercial photographer. The second is that she’s a Jewish woman “on a mission to refute stereotypes about Islam.”
The Public Affairs Office of the U.S. Consulate General hosted Donna DiDomenico in Vancouver Sept. 26-27, on a trip to Canada that also took the New York-based assistant vice-president at HSBC Securities and photographer to Winnipeg. She was traveling not only to promote her award-winning book Islam Through My Eyes (2009), but interfaith dialogue as well. Among her many stops, which included visits to mosques and Muslim schools, were a meeting organized by the Temple Sholom Sisterhood and a coffee with the Jewish Independent.
DiDomenico grew up in Framingham, Mass., about 30 minutes west of Boston. “When I was younger, I attended Hebrew school on the weekends, was a member of BBYO [B’nai B’rith Youth Organization] and went to Israel through Young Judea. I still keep in touch with the friends I’ve made through these experiences,” she told the Independent in an e-mail interview.
She began studying photography in high school, and majored in photojournalism at Syracuse University. It was on the Semester at Sea program that she ventured to many countries – from Brazil to Japan, Puerto Rico to India – in search of Muslims outside the Middle East.
“I focused my investigation outside the Middle East because the majority of Americans think that is the only place where Islam resides, when, in reality, South East Asia has the largest population of Muslims,” she writes in Islam Through My Eyes. In the book, she also notes, “No religion is perfect and there are some aspects of Islam with which I do not agree. However, in each country I visited, the Islamic community welcomed me with open arms and I am grateful for that.”
DiDomenico pointed out to the Independent that, “In most of the countries I went to, Jews and Muslims got along really well. Many times, they shared the same buildings for their place of worship or were business partners. I even visited an NGO [nongovernmental organization] that was funded by a worldwide Jewish organization that was providing micro-finance loans to a halal shop owner.”
On her website (donna-d-photography.com), DiDomenico briefly describes the process of creating Islam Through My Eyes: “I immersed myself in their communities, first identifying how Islam spread to each country and analyzing how it took root. From these experiences, I documented contemporary Islam. This book examines the lives of Muslims around the world and attempts to break through stereotypes surrounding the fastest-growing religion in the world.”
She explained further to the Independent, “Through the Semester at Sea program, I was able to go to Puerto Rico, Brazil, South Africa, Mauritius, India, Myanmar, Vietnam, Hong Kong, China and Japan. Our boat left from the Bahamas in January and returned to San Diego in April. At each port, we had around a week to do what we wanted before the boat would move onto the next port.
“I took a journalistic approach, where I relied on meeting people, but I was really impressed as to how welcoming everyone was and at the level of access they all granted me. I hope I was able to document how warm and welcoming all these people were.
“I also want students to know that if they have the passion for doing a project, they can do it. You can get the funding; it can be a struggle, but if you’re willing to go through the steps of filling out the paperwork and filing petitions; if you are determined enough, you can accomplish your goals. When I was interviewing at colleges, I was even telling them I planned on writing a book before I graduated. I wasn’t sure what it was going to be about, or what kind of book it would be, but I just knew I wanted to incorporate my interest in Middle Eastern studies with photography.”
That this project came to fruition is testament to what DiDomenico sees as commonalities between her two chosen professions.
“One unique thing that draws me to photography is the storytelling,” she said. “Additionally, my entrepreneurial spirit has helped me to get started in both fields and the more experience I gain, the more I realize how important it is for building a successful career in either field. This entrepreneurial spirit has clearly helped me in photography and allowed me to build up what was a hobby into a nice side business. It also helps whenever I am away shooting in different locations, as it pushes me to take some risks and the initiative in meeting new people. In the world of finance, being entrepreneurial allows you to see opportunities and be a good team leader.”
While Islam Through My Eyes is DiDomenico’s first book, she has been photographing people and places for clients in the editorial, not-for-profit and corporate sectors for 10 years.
“For me, a good photo needs to capture the moment,” she explained of her craft. “A good photo needs to be well composed, framed properly, with good lighting and a good background. I believe Henri Cartier-Bresson expressed it best when he said there is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture, your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative. Oops! The ‘Moment’! Once you miss it, it is gone forever.”
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