R Magazine, Ex-TeenArt_Issue 1_Authenticity Jun. 2015 | Page 79

Knock and It Shall Be Opened
Here is the first picture in Rome, Italy. “It gives me a
lot of peace for some reason, even if it is a closed door,”
Magdoline explains. “It is as if I am Alice in wonderland,
and I am going to open that door and find a new happy
world in the back of it. The round handles seem old, but
also beautiful and eternal.”

Who is
Magdoline Youssef?
Magdoline Youssef is a 35-year-old professional
photographer. From Alexandria, Egypt, she moved
to Montreal, Canada at the age of 12. She has been
offered her first manual camera by her father when she
was 12 years old, and she then developed a real love
for photography. She took photography classes in high
school and went to Dawson College where she obtained
a DEC in Professional Photography in 2001. On top of
several group exhibitions, Magdoline have had 5 solo
exhibitions, the first being held in 2001 and the last this
past May. She also has her own company that she has
been managing since 2009.

Her opinion regarding black and
white photos
“I love Black and white photos. But it is too bad that
nowadays it is not like the good old time with films and
dark rooms. We used to stay hours there to get the
perfect print, but now with the new digital cameras and
programmes like Lightroom and Photoshop, you could
get a good black and white picture. In my last exhibition,
I had a lot of black and white pictures. It looks pretty
good even with the new technology. Honestly, I don’t
dislike anything about black and white photos because
they hide all the defaults, get the good parts out, and
give a feel of timeless photos.

Samples of her work
As an artist, Magdoline claims to have had a hard time in
her personal life. During that period, she went to a trip
to Italy to take pictures. “I took almost all the pictures
in black and white,” she says. “I found at the time that
it got my emotion out and made me feel better.”

The Open Door
The second picture is also taken in Rome, Italy. For
Magdoline, the doorway with light on the other side means
that one should never give up because there is light on the
other side. The black and white, she says, makes her feel
amazingly comfortable. “I love this picture because at the
time of that trip, I was really despair,” the artist explains.
“But going to take picture in Rome was my therapy, and
that one, because of the light, made me feel better. It
made me feel like there is a way out and it is the way you
look at things that makes it all better.”