Kabul Minaret

[Wendy Thurman]

I am back in Afghanistan after 13 months away and it is good to be here. Afghanistan is one of the most visually interesting and arresting places I have ever seen. This minaret was photographed outside my window in the morning:

It's off to Farah for a few days- it's quite volatile down there so don't know what the photo-op situation is (can't be any worse than Baghdad!)

I am trying very hard to arrange a trip to the Wakhan Corridor, which is that finger of Afghanistan squashed between Tajikistan and Pakistan ending at China. It's incredibly remote, requires bags of permits, and is stunningly beautiful. Wish me luck getting the permits, much less getting there!

Wendy

 

[Cem_Usakligil]

I am back in Afghanistan after 13 months away and it is good to be here. Afghanistan is one of the most visually interesting and arresting places I have ever seen. This minaret was photographed outside my window in the morning:

It's off to Farah for a few days- it's quite volatile down there so don't know what the photo-op situation is (can't be any worse than Baghdad!)

I am trying very hard to arrange a trip to the Wakhan Corridor, which is that finger of Afghanistan squashed between Tajikistan and Pakistan ending at China. It's incredibly remote, requires bags of permits, and is stunningly beautiful. Wish me luck getting the permits, much less getting there!

Wendy

Hi Wendy,

Thanks for sharing this remote part of the world with us as you see it. I can imagine that it must be a photographer's valhalla over there. I hope that you'll get all the required permits and return back from a safe journey with yet more images to share . Fingers crossed....

Cheers,

PS: Re. the image itself, I like the coming together of the geometrical elements in the composition very much. Such as the ridge in the mountain pointing down towards the peak of the minaret. Judging by the hue of the greens, I'd guess that your WB might need warming up just a little bit.

 

[Wendy Thurman]

Thanks for the wishes and the tip, Cem- in the original image everything was somewhat "washed out" so I adjusted contrast and saturation with NX2. I'll revisit the greenery and see what happens.

I am anxious to get out to Wakhan (Pamirs) but time is my enemy- if I can't get there by September it will have to wait until the spring when the passes clear. It's high-altitude and it takes days to go any distance at all as there are no real roads or infrastructure. Meanwhile, there is Herat, Mazar, Panjshir Valley, and the list goes on!

Wendy

Wendy

 

[Asher Kelman]

I am back in Afghanistan after 13 months away and it is good to be here. Afghanistan is one of the most visually interesting and arresting places I have ever seen. This minaret was photographed outside my window in the morning:

Glad you are back in your element. You didn't seem to enjoy Iraq as much! I like the use of color in the minaret. It seems a modern structure.

It's off to Farah for a few days- it's quite volatile down there so don't know what the photo-op situation is (can't be any worse than Baghdad!)

Be very careful! Do you have to have your head covered? Are you able to go in Taliban controlled places? Is there any way of knowing where strict rules apply?

I am trying very hard to arrange a trip to the Wakhan Corridor, which is that finger of Afghanistan squashed between Tajikistan and Pakistan ending at China. It's incredibly remote, requires bags of permits, and is stunningly beautiful. Wish me luck getting the permits, much less getting there!

We do wish you luck every step of the way!

Asher

 

[Wendy Thurman]

Glad you are back in your element. You didn't seem to enjoy Iraq as much! I like the use of color in the minaret. It seems a modern structure.

Be very careful! Do you have to have your head covered? Are you able to go in Taliban controlled places? Is there any way of knowing where strict rules apply?

We do wish you luck every step of the way!

Asher

Asher-

Farah is mostly Taliban country, as are the provinces of Nimroz, Uruzgan, and Helmand (where we operate; I am here on an agricultural program). Security is of course necessary. I haven't been down there yet but I imagine it's much more Iraq-like than Northern Afghanistan- volatile and hot desert. Been there, done that sort of place, I suspect.

If I am out and about in the North and around Afghans, then I will wear hijab, the head covering. It's the polite thing to do and I have found that people appreciate that. No burkas- I draw the line there, I'd trip and break my neck!

The Wakhan Corridor is, as I mentioned, extremely remote. There are no roads, electrical power does not exist, no running water of course, and it is sparsely populated by herders and subsistence farmers. The area has been largely untouched by the years of fighting that have wrecked Afghanistan. The logistics of getting out there are going to be pretty daunting- I probably won't make it this year. I'm hoping for late spring-early summer of next year and as I will only have a week, I won't get far but at least I will have seen- and photographed- the area.

Wendy