I think of myself as a writer who photographs. Images, for me, can be considered poems, short stories or essays. And I've always thought the best place for my photographs was inside books of my own creation.

My favorite author is Anton Chekhov, not so much for the plays but for his short stories, and I think he was really my tutor.

Short stories are tiny windows into other worlds and other minds and other dreams. They are journeys you can make to the far side of the universe and still be back in time for dinner.

I love short stories because I believe they are the way we live. They are what our friends tell us, in their pain and joy, their passion and rage, their yearning and their cry against injustice.

كان صديقي عادل ينتظرنا واصطحبنا إلى شجرة الغاف التي اتفقت معه أن يرينا إياها مسبقا، فتح عمر فاهه من الدهشة وتحركت يده تلقائيا لالتقاط الصور، قال بحماس وبصوت عال: "كم عمر هذه الشجرة بالضبط؟!"
أجاب عادل: "أربعون عاما، إنها مازالت في أوج عطائها.."
عمر: "في أوج عطائها؟! إنها عجوز.."
عادل: "بل مازالت في أوج عطائها، إن أشجار الغاف تستطيع أن تعيش لمئة عام، لقد زرعها والدي بقصد أن ينتفع بها جيلين أو ثلاثةعلى الأقل

I'm not a writer. I think I can write short stories and poetry, but film writing, brilliant film writing, is a talent - you can't just do it like that.