Landi Kotal Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

Landi Kotal is a town near Peshawar, on the way to the Khyber Pass, back in 1992 you had to get a police escort if you wanted to go there (you can see my escort on the left hand side). Really though, given that you can buy a AK47 there, his old rifle offered little protection. In fact, I reckon it was just a method of supplemented superannuated policemen's income.

Landi Kotal is a market town and notorious as a centre for buying drugs in huge quantities.

thea0211, atha2pan, holmertz, leo61, pauloog, Wanda1, phwall has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

scalerman (25611) 2009-05-17 1:08

Steve: a powerful film image. Forget the rather light DOF - for here we can see some menacing background details... This is classic reportage - lacking for the most part on this site. regards, c

thea0211 (1355) 2009-05-17 1:18

steve,
this looks like a movie scene indeed.
full of stories both in the background and foreground, cleverly composed and handled.
without including your police escort this could be a much older scene, but of course including him we get even more (and different) meaning.
alive, impressive and very, very good! please, show us more if you have.
stay well!
teodora

atha2pan (3307) 2009-05-17 1:31

I can only repeat the saying of Scalerman, this is indeed a great photo.
Well done
Sakis

holmertz (9250) 2009-05-17 1:54

Hello Steve,
A fine document from days long gone. It would be even more difficult to take this picture these days. This must be one of the toughest places on earth, and although the young men give you some kind of smiles, the atmosphere could easily turn dangerous. The guy with the AK47 gives us some idea of what kind of place this is.
A splendid contribution to TE.
Gert

chriswhitley (1458) 2009-05-17 2:00

Hello Steve. A really interesting shot. A sense of tension but at the same time an element of friendliness. Great how you have achieved some interaction from these two rather than just snapping a quick shot in the street. Great document. Chris

leo61 (42774) 2009-05-17 2:03

Hi Stephen!
A great streetshot and multi portrait.Great light and good depth.
Regards,leo

pauloog (6278) 2009-05-17 2:09

Hello Stephen.
good that you came back safely to show us this view... A fine photo in darker colours and although the person in the middle is not completely sharp it is a fien witness of the atmosphere in the village. I would really like to see more real travel photos like this on the site!
regards,
Paul

Wanda1 (10878) 2009-05-17 2:31

Hi Stephen
Great filtered lighting in this shot creating a kind of subdued colouring which I think fits with the story in your note and the mood of the shot. Nice expression in this double portrait as they are frozen in a moment of time amongst the hustle and bustle which is going on around them. nice.
Regards
Wanda

phwall (5412) 2009-05-17 3:02

Hi Steve,
A fantastic shot, it looks like it is straight out of a movie scene, any Art Director would be proud of this set-up. The lighting, the wardrobe, the lighting, the location, brilliant.
I love the way you've included your body guard in the background of the shot.
Too good, superb shot.
Regards
Peter

yquem46 (7736) 2009-05-17 3:39

The first guy at the FG is "à la scalerman". Not surprised that Caleb likes this one
It is a reportage shot - James Nachtwey would not disregard it - and I'm quite amazed by the quality, given that it's already 17 years old
Bravo stephen
Patrick

kschanna (2586) 2009-05-17 3:57

Hello Stephen,

Great atmosphere and mood in this picture, the covered bazaar is offering very good light. You are right, the 303 rifle wouldnt have stood up against an AK47 :). I hope the problems settle soon so that the tourist route can re-open. I am stuck in Islamabad for now.

Cheers
Kamran

delpeoples (5334) 2009-05-17 22:27

Hi Steve, nice double portrait, these fellas look like they're enjoying being your models. T eimage is nice and sharp with a beautiful shallow DOF. Excellent work also including your escort who was packing the machine gun, tells a story all of its own! TFS and have a good week, Lisa

daddo (11263) 2009-05-30 6:04

Hi Steve. You sure are a brave soul. Great capture of these characters under a lovely light. Strong sense of locale. Regards. Klaudio.