Ali Noorani photography

Photos: My Scholarship entry - A 'place' I have visited

alinoorani — Fri, 5 Jul 2013 02:18:00 GMT

Before and after I started photography I tried many fields. Music, graphic design, sound/video editing, TESL, journalism, etc. I’m still loving and following most of them now. I’m actually earning my career through video editing and English news writing. But ever since I started photography 5 years ago, I have felt a passion inside the likes of which I never knew before. It wasn't only about how my heart started beating by the sight of a ‘then-EOS 20D’, but it was also about thousands and thousands of images I saved from the Internet on my PC as an inspiration and visited them all the time. When I bought my first DSLR in 2008, I just shot anything and I learned from every shoot. Now I have taken a few classes in lighting and contemporary photography and fine art. I am in love with Earth, and I have a thirst to add a tiny bit of something to the world of photography. I am a fast learner, a creative & flexible person, and have a very keen eye for details. I believe my experience in graphics, video and journalism always come handy for my main passion: Photography. I have proved it to others, so will I do that to you. I will not disappoint you.

Tehran to Mashhad on Train

alinoorani — Fri, 5 Jul 2013 01:18:00 GMT

Travelling by train is one of the most common ways of transportaion in Iran. Despite being old and often times slow, trains have proved cheaper and safer than any other transportation means in the country. While most of Iran's tracks were laid during the Shah of Iran before the 1979 revolution, for a more expensive ticket, modern and fast trains are also available for major routes. These are five images of an ongoing series I shot while travelling to my hometown Shahrud (a smalll city half way through Tehran-Mashhad route).

A man is bidding farewell to his family behind a train window as the train is waiting in Tehran’s main train station and is about to set off to Mashhad on a mild winter morning. Oddly for any public place in Iran, photography is often times allowed in and outside trains. 3/19/2012

A man and his son have no tickets and have to sit in the cramped head area of the wagon next to the toilet. Second and third class wagons/trains are anything but comfortable even for the passengers with tickets. 3/19/2012

Two students are travelling on a ‘second class bus wagon’ on a cold winter day. They are not related to each other. The wagon is yet to become warm as the air condition was out of order for a few hours in the freezing morning. 12/30/2012

A train is at a small station en route to Mashhad. These old trains were acquired second-hand from European countries many years ago. A yellow sign reads “Tehran-Mashhad, Salon 11”. The 860 km-trip (535 miles) takes about 14 hours. Sheets, blankets and pillows are provided to ‘6-bed first class’ passengers. 12/30/2012

A man is travelling on a ‘6-bed first class’ and lying down on a ‘second floor’ bed. There are 3 rows of beds which can be folded and fall back on the wall. Once folded, the first row becomes the bottom seat, and the second row the back seat. Train and tracks are often old and slow. Many prefer to pay a bit more to be able to sleep during the long travels. 12/17/2012

Ali Nooorani

Photos: Tehran-Mashhad on Train

alinoorani — Fri, 5 Jul 2013 01:00:00 GMT

Travelling from Tehran to my hometown Shahrud on a Tehran-Mashhad train.