Nikon Photo Contest 2014-2015

Category C Open theme, single photo:
2nd place

Crossing

Ali

Iran, Islamic Republic of

Comment

I am, as an Iranian photographer, acquaintance to the Afghanistan lifestyle. It is because of our similar culture, religion, tongue. And the main reason is that our country is the neighbor of Afghanistan. Afghan people have lived many years with war. A lot of people died and buried in the cemeteries during these years. I was in Kabul, during the winter of 2013. Many families move from cold areas to warm areas, as they do not have any way of keeping themselves protected from the cold weather in winter. The extreme poor cannot emigrate and live in absolute poverty. Afghans rarely have electric or gas heating, they rely on burning wood , so during the long winters it always smells of firewood and cold air coming down from the mountains. Afghanistan is one of the most challenging places in the world. Today, in the post-Taliban era, daily life for most Afghans revolves around the exigencies of rebuilding a war-ravaged state. On the brighter side of daily life, the ban enforced by the Tali ban on most forms of entertainment has been lifted, and the social atmosphere has become more relaxed. Afghans are again enjoying their life and now they are trying for better future with composure.
Snowfall in winter is always the most difficult time for taking picture. I had a lot of problems to protect my camera against cold and snow snow. I seen the low temperature in the capital, Kabul. The city is located in a valley at an altitude of about 1800m so snow is a regular feature here. My picture shows hard winter in Afghanistan that creates many problems for people.

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