He was driving down a crowded sidewalk, screaming: “Ahmadinejad is coming! Get out of my way!” When I stopped him for a photo, he laid out his daily schedule: “I smoke water pipe. Then I go to work. Then I smoke water pipe with apple flavor.”

(Tehran, Iran)

The clerics of Iran, for better or worse, are synonymous with the government. Their “party line” is the mirror image of their Western counterparts: “The American people are a good people,” he says. “We have a problem with the American government.”

(Tehran, Iran)

An Iranian Air Force lieutenant takes a stroll with his girl in the
mountains of North Tehran.

(Tehran, Iran)

Common Eye

(Tehran, Iran)

She plans to be an actress.

(Tehran, Iran)

Seen in Tehran, Iran. 

They were selling pieces of advice. Mine said: “Don’t consult with jealous people.” 

(Tehran, Iran)

A group of self-professed “street kids” demonstrate why football is the world’s most popular sport. All you need is a foot and a ball. (Isfahan, Iran)

Seen at the Grand Bazaar, Tehran.

Big Sister

(Isfahan, Iran)

Date Night

(Isfahan, Iran)

I tried to communicate my vision through my guide. I’d say we got about 80% of the way there. But between the beauty of the young women and the garden, I doubt anyone is looking too closely at composition.

(Isfahan, Iran)

This wonderful man crossed in front of us as we were speeding down a mountain road. His clothes, his hair, the lines on his face— he seemed to be a perfectly natural extension of the landscape.

(Abyaneh, Iran)

I hesitated the first time she skated by, and missed my chance. So when she passed me twenty minutes later, I thought the Universe was trying to tell me something.

(Isfahan, Iran)

She was selling pressed fruit. I didn’t want to take her photo without buying something, so I asked my guide to make a purchase. He spoke with her for awhile, then said: “We can’t do it. The prices are too high. It’s a rip-off.” I took another look at the woman, and the mountainous backdrop, and said: 

“Pay her whatever she wants!” 

(Abyaneh, Iran)