One Photo One Story – Gaël Turine

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ONE PHOTO

08.04.2020

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Forty years after the Islamic Revolution, Gaël Turine spent three weeks travelling across Iran on assignment for the Arte TV station. Covered by a tourist visa, his road trip took him along paths through a divided society – from Kurdistan in the north to the Persian Gulf in the south.

‘Kurdistan province, Iran. I was in a car driving from one village to another to discover rural life, when I saw these two men photographing themselves in front of the majestic mountain scenery. Their traditional clothing indicated that they were Kurdish.
While the selfie-stick is experiencing record sales figures in Iran, seeing these two men take a break, carefully choosing where to stand, taking the time to frame, asking the other to smile or look towards the snow-covered peaks, was almost a relief. Suddenly, photography was much more than an ego-narcissistic gesture or an object of pure consumption.
I had fun seeing them immortalize this moment. Their attitudes, the mountain scenery, the satisfaction of being first the photographer and then the subject, the grey light of a charged sky, the two trees that have grown up amid the boulders... all magnify the moment.
Looking closely at this picture, I realized that if I loved it, it was because here was a scene that was a little out of time – even "counter-time".'

Text & Image: © Gaël Turine
Equipment: Leica Q with Summilux 28 f/1,7 Asph

The portfolio "Road to Resilience" by Gaël Turine can be found in LFI magazine 3/2020.

Gaël Turine

Turine is a freelance documentary photographer. His work is exhibited worldwide in galleries, museums and at festivals; his essays are
published in the international press. The Belgian is a founding member of the MAPS Agency,and has presided over it since its establishment.
He teaches photojournalism at the Université Libre de Bruxelles and runs documentary photography workshops in many countries.

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MAPS

One Photo One Story – Gaël Turine

ONE PHOTO

08.04.2020

Gaël Turine

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