We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sandra Dahdah a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Sandra with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
My parents, two brothers, and I immigrated to the States when I was 8 years old. We left Lebanon because of the civil war. So witnessing and understanding how hard it was for my parents to start all over in a new country, learn the language, and adapt to a new culture was not only a difficult transition but also scary for them and us kids. But my parents worked very hard to enable a better life for us, and that contributed to our work ethic. We don’t take anything they did for us for granted. We want to make them just as proud and to make sure they see that their sacrifice wasn’t for nothing.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I love my craft very much! This line of work and my camera have been a compass to my biggest adventures. I have so many incredible stories because of that and have learned so much about life and people by being behind the lens. I love capturing people’s essence, the fleeting moments, and the continuous contribution to this artistic universal language we get to call photography. People of all backgrounds, especially musicians and other creatives, brands, and food are my favorite subjects to work with. I love to travel and explore different places with my camera only to capture the unexpected.
and the images are a collection of colorful fleeting moments of Barton Springs goers over four years.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I believe having passion for such a profession has played a huge role, because through the ups and many downs, loving what you do will go a long way. It’s also important to always learn something new, so your skills are constantly improving.
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
My family and friends, as well as my mentors.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sandradahdah.com
- Instagram: @sandradahdah
Image Credits
My bio photo on page 7 by Niki Lemon
