Videographer focuses his lens on his home city – Hamtramck

Videographer Syed A. Khair has been documenting Hamtramck people and events. You can view his work on YouTube.

By Alan Madlane
Syed A. Khair is a fan of his adopted town, Hamtramck. Luckily, it turns out that he is also a skilled video creator.
One with a desire to support his city.
To that end, he seized on an opportunity, as he will tell it, to get some footage of some Hamtramck folks that you might recognize, who talked about the various good things in, or about, Hamtramck.
And then he edited that footage together, and made a pro-Hamtramck video.
We emailed him some questions about this project, and he was kind enough to reply.

The Review: Syed, let’s start with this: How many videos have you made altogether, touting Hamtramck? Are they all available to watch somewhere, and if so, where?
Syed A. Khair: So far, I have made two videos for the City of Hamtramck, and I am currently working on two more. They are all available on my Facebook page, which is “Syed A. Khair.” This video is also available on the City of Hamtramck’s official Facebook page.
Another place you can check it out is on my young son’s YouTube channel, called “Zayan’s Kingdom.”
Review: Do you live in Hamtramck? If so, how long have you lived here? Did you attend any of Hamtramck’s schools?
Khair: I came to America in 2012, and have been living in Detroit and Hamtramck since then, but I’ve been living in Hamtramck for the last six years.

Review: What prompted you to decide to create your most recent video?
Khair: Last fall, I was doing official photoshoots for the City of Hamtramck’s elected officials. During that time, I found the elected officials and city management and management team all at the same place at the same time.
I didn’t want to miss the chance to get a positive statement from everyone. I wanted to highlight the positive things that Hamtramck has to offer. The city officials and everyone else were happy to do so.
In December 2020, due to Covid, the city could not hold their annual tree lighting ceremony in person, so City Manager Kathy Angerer asked me to make a virtual tree lighting video, and I just made it happen.

Review: What kind of feedback have you gotten so far on this latest video? Have any news outlets picked up on it? Has City Hall responded to it, one way or the other?
Khair: I have had tremendous feedback from the community, from city management, and from city officials.
I am glad that everyone received it positively, and enjoyed the video. To my knowledge, no news outlet has picked up on it. The Hamtramck Review was the first to reach out, and I’d like to thank you for doing so.
City Manager Kathy Angerer officially responded to me also, and sent me a “thank you” card. And I’d like to give a special “thanks” to Hamtramck’s Director of Community Safety and Services, Max Garbarino, for coordinating both of the videos.

Review: Did you have to spend out of pocket at all to make the video? Or were you able to get any financial help, if you needed it? It certainly looks professional – are you a professional videographer?
Khair: I am a professional videographer, and I also run a YouTube channel for my seven-year-old son just as a hobby. I voluntarily made the videos for the city and the community, and I bore all the cost myself — even though it did not cost me much, as I already had all the equipment I needed.

Review: What’s next for you? Do you have plans to do any other videos, or any other types of promotion for the city?
Khair: Certainly, there will be more in the future. I am currently working on two more videos, one of them being a kind of documentary on Hamtramck.
I am glad that the City of Hamtramck gave me the opportunity to do something positive for the city and community. Surely, I will use every chance I get to do good things for Hamtramck.
Posted May 28, 2021