Certainly, the current American perception of Pakistan is not a particularly positive one. My experience in Pakistan was largely focused on documenting the making of high quality, hand made oriental rugs. I traveled in the Punjab, in the north, and the northwestern tribal territories. I stayed in Peshawar, I photographed in Afghan refugee camps, I went up the Khyber Pass to the Afghan border.
I was always treated with respect, and in some cases with warm, gracious hospitality. Having said that, there were some places you just didn’t want to go as an American in particular and a western in general. I always wanted to travel to the extreme north in Pakistan, up past the Swat Valley, into the Karakorum (think K2 and the Hindu Kush). As it becomes more and more dangerous for Americans to be wandering around in Pakistan, it seems that ambition is on the back burner.
I made the image below one afternoon walking past a stadium in Lahore. As I’ve mentioned in past posts, I collect images in bodies of work: one of which is images of bicycles. What initially caught my eye were the bicycles with little pennants on the front fenders. Then I saw the white wall and the spectators. I still can’t take my eye off the gentleman with the cigarette. I like the way he and the other man look right into my camera, right into my eyes.
