Story
The photographer
Farshad Usyan was born and educated in Afghanistan’s northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif. Farshad’s interest in photography began when his brother Qais started working for the Agence France Presse (AFP). When Qais died in 2012, he was asked by the agency to take up a role as a photographer to continue his brother’s work. Since 2013, Farshad has covered stories the length and breadth of Afghanistan, producing work for numerous international publications. Farshad uses his camera to tell untold stories with a powerful social message. Beyond his work with AFP is regular contributor to Climate Tracker, and the Ground Truth Project.
The concept
In war-torn countries the vast majority of professional photographers work for news agencies. This means their work is often focused on coverage of conflict. Our project is motivated by the opportunity to give talented photographers an entirely new outlet for their work. Through this project we hope to reveal a side to war-torn countries rarely seen in the international media.
