A window on revolution: the images that took Egypt's uprising to the world

Egyptian streets in the past were not the most photography-friendly environment. Between a public that looked with suspicion on photographers as spies or agents for the government, and a police force who harassed photographers by arresting them, breaking their equipment or angrily ordering them to stop shooting without police permission, it was a precarious place for anyone holding a camera. In the years running up to the recent revolt , however, mobile phones and digital cameras helped to change public attitudes towards street and activist photography, as the spread of visuals helped in spreading dissent. Photography began to get more of a positive image. On Tuesday 25 January 2011 , the uprising started. The regime blocked Twitter then Facebook on the following day. On Thursday 27 January, Egypt's largest internet providers, Linkdotnet and TEdata, were shut down. Vodafone, Mobinil and Etisalat were ordered to block mobile phone networks in parts of Egypt on Friday 28 January, and services were not resumed for five days. The only network that stayed live until Sunday 30 January was Noor: this gave photographers a brief chance to share images over the internet before the cut-off. Imposing the cyber blackout was partially aiming at stopping the flow of visuals. Nevertheless, people's power prevailed over censorship – photos and videos were shared over Bluetooth, circulating among those who were initially afraid of joining the protests in Tahrir and elsewhere. Photography helped generate more worldwide support for the revolution. Such support would not have been possible without the spread of visuals that took Tahrir to the rest of the world, via the internet when the service resumed or via satellite stations that were broadcasting visuals taken by citizen journalists and professional photographers. Photography also helped to set the facts straight. During the uprising, the government orchestrated a misinformation campaign. State TV claimed there were only a few protesters in Tahrir although in fact there were about 1 million people filling the square. Other false claims were made, such as that the square was controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood and that each protester in Tahrir got one KFC meal and €50 a day to stay and sit-in. A photograph is more powerful than a thousand words and sometimes, people don't believe what they hear until they see it. Photography played a role in refuting those rumours, encouraging more people to lose their fear and share in the revolution. Without visuals coming from the streets, shot by photographers and citizens alike, the people would have been trapped by the state propaganda.