“I am quite stunned and overcome with the beauty of your photograph of me. Your use of light, texture and placement makes you an amazing photographer. Your book of landscapes demonstrates magnificently how well you use light. The photograph of me, which is printed now on canvas, is superb. There is no way to thank you adequately for what you have done.”
– Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, U.S. Supreme Court
“Freedom, truth, justice, peace and love. Mankind should have access to any one of them. With the divine honesty of words, eyes and soul, Yousef Khanfar’s compelling work urges us to reach out and embrace all five. With a camera and a pen as weapons, he roams the corridors of hatred, evil and injustice—in an attempt to destroy them. In Search of Peace is surely a fitting title. It is also Yousef’s Symphony, one that will forever play hard and deep inside the roots of universal evil.”
– Gordon Parks, One of the most influential artists of the 20th century.
“I often wake up in the middle of the night when everything is dark and silent. I turn on an overhead spotlight that casts a small pool of light on the images of my favorite art books. As I slowly turn the pages, if the work is true, I am transported into the emotional field of the artist. I use these midnight sojourns to travel the emotional spectrum. When I want to immerse myself in pure tranquility and view the eloquent images of a Master, I pick up the work of Yousef Khanfar.”
– Phil Borges, An award winning humanitarian photographer.
“In every way, it must be described as a celebration of beauty in imagery, nobility in language, and transcendence in wisdom. This book, In Search of Peace, must rank as one of the great pleasures in a very privileged life.”
– Galen Robbins
“Your book is fabulous! I had no idea you were such a fine photographer. The images, the words, the design, and the reproduction all come together into a wonderful whole, more reminiscent of the classic Sierra Club exhibit books than the big publisher pabulum of today.”
– Galen Rowell
“His latest project, In Search of Peace, is arranged as a symphony in three movements Sublime, Freedom and Divine, with photographs forming the musical staff. The “symphony” is accompanied by original poetry in a prophetic and transcendent form that invokes fellow Levantine Kahlil Gibran. Khanfar’s composition, use of light and angle, and brilliant eye create a masterful collection that demonstrates his world-class talent.”
– The Washington Report
“Perhaps the most striking thing about Khanfar’s portraits of women who are incarcerated for non-violent crimes is their optimistic humanism…In statements accompanying the images, most of these women seem remorseful and philosophical, but not bitter, about the crimes that got them there…”
– America photo magazine, Invisible Eve.