Since it isn't as easy to get out and make new stuff these days, I revisited some 10+yr old photos to see what I could do with the newest versions of processing software. Had some nice surprises, or maybe my aesthetic has simply evolved over time.
These were taken in 2010-2011 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, the two most intense years of the two-decade conflict in the country. The faces say it all, you can see clearly the sentiment of the time. Below that initial surface level, I found it fascinating to see how different age groups carried themselves. A wide range between optimism, anger, frustration, indifference....and in the children unawareness. Kids are truly amazing, they just fall right into their situation and express the same happiness with life regardless of their surroundings. Perhaps ignorance really is bliss.
A bit of a longer post to follow. Lots of COVID time on my hands haha.
These street portraits really represent the prevailing attitude of the working age people. It was not an easy time to make a living, as there was constant pressure from all sides to support their objectives. For people who traditionally have not cared about much beyond their tribal boundaries, it was not a welcome change of pace.
On the other hand, for the older people who had been through the soviet war era, this was all old news to them. They seemed rather distant, as if this was just another one of many inconvenient situations in life. This elderly gentleman was waiting outside his home for call to prayer, lost in his own thoughts.
This man was collecting up sticks, presumably to heat his home. They were also fairly fragrant. He seemed curious, more than anything.
For the local security forces, suddenly thrust into a role that was not at all culturally normal, there were mixed responses. Sort of a hesitant optimism. A job that provided decent pay and benefits (compared to subsistence farming), but some hesitation as to why exactly their work was important. In a society where legal disputes were typically handled outside a formal legal system, between village leaders, the attributes of 'service' and 'justice' are not necessarily associated with police for them.
For the kids, often times the presence of foreigners was a fun spectacle, something different to accentuate an otherwise fairly straightforward village life. For the slightly older ones, a definite sense of curiosity, as they were trying to frame out the greater context for what was going on around them. Full of energy as always, and observant.
