Just try and watch the following video without smiling. Seeing 8-year old Qamar Hashim handle a camera the size of his face and hearing his remarkably eloquent remarks on the importance of photography could make anyone reach for the Kleenex.
Hashim got his start taking pictures when he was 4-years old, when he would capture US troops invading outside his window. His father, a photojournalist, sparked Hashim's curiosity and supplied him with the means to explore it. He is the youngest photographer to win a variety of local Iraqi photography awards, including the Iraqi Society Photographic (ISP). He hopes to be included in the Guinness Book of World Records.
In an interview Hashim described his favorite picture he had ever taken: "My favorite picture is of a man sleeping who sells books at al-Mutanabi street. Also a picture of a bee on a rose, I ran a lot to follow the bee until I got this picture."
What does the future have in store for such an accomplished and creative spirit? Apparently photography is not Hashim's only passion. He said in an interview: "I like to act and I would like to be a child-activist." Whatever avenue Hashim chooses to pursue, he is off to a wonderful start.
You can watch another look at Hashim's vision in this Al-Jazeera video.
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