I know you posted these six years ago, but I just came across them this morning--very delicate, beautiful colors, and very, very beautiful. And, as a minor point, they are made with equipment that we might today consider limited. My personal favorite is the street scene.
Wonderful, fascinating images. Despite all the photography and video that I have seen of Afghanistan, I think these gave me more of a feel for the country than any I have seen before. They appear to be slices of ordinary life.
What year were they taken? How safe was it for you to be there taking pictures? Do you speak Pashto or Dari? Was it important to appear as a native?
Thanks for the kind words. They were taken back in 2012. I've been to a few places where there are violent insurgencies, and the thing that is always surprising is just how normal things are. Reading the news you forget that 99% of life for 99% of people in those places is still just going to work, shopping, hanging out with friends, etc. But yes honestly it was fairly dangerous there then, and when I went back in 2014 even more so. I speak Dari--albeit with an Iranian accent--and can blend in decently with local clothes and a tan so I was able to get around much more comfortably than obvious foreigners. And it helped to have local friends watching my back!
If and when there is peace there, I think Afghanistan will go back to being a wonderful place to visit, as it was back in the days of hippie road trips from Morocco to India. Untapped possibilities for both cultural tourism and adventure sports like mountain climbing, river sports, skiing etc are endless.
narjoman wrote:
Thanks for the kind words. They were taken back in 2012. I've been to a few places where there are violent insurgencies, and the thing that is always surprising is just how normal things are. Reading the news you forget that 99% of life for 99% of people in those places is still just going to work, shopping, hanging out with friends, etc. But yes honestly it was fairly dangerous there then, and when I went back in 2014 even more so. I speak Dari--albeit with an Iranian accent--and can blend in decently with local clothes and a tan so I was able to get around much more comfortably than obvious foreigners. And it helped to have local friends watching my back!
If and when there is peace there, I think Afghanistan will go back to being a wonderful place to visit, as it was back in the days of hippie road trips from Morocco to India. Untapped possibilities for both cultural tourism and adventure sports like mountain climbing, river sports, skiing etc are endless....Show more →
Thank you for the information. The context makes the pictures all the more interesting and striking. Yes, to how most of the people may be going about their lives during the kind of war that is on-going in Afghanistan. But it is also striking how deep the divisions can be in a country where people have to go about those lives in close proximity to others who might quite easily choose to grievously harm them.
I was visiting an inmate at the Arizona Pioneers Home and one of the ladies working in the dining room had this interesting tattoo. I asked her about the story behind it and if I could take a picture. It is of Melvil Dewey. The man who invented the Dewey Decimal System. She loved reading and had so many favorite authors she could not decide so she went with Dewey.
Thanks Peire. It feels great to see such nice images taken with the NEX-5N.
The NEX-5N is my first Sony camera. Occasionally I still use it.
So small and uncomplicated. One of my favorites.
so I was able to get around much more comfortably than obvious foreigners. And it helped to have local friends watching my back!
