People

My Scholarship entry - People of Kashmiri mountain village

India | Thursday, November 20, 2014 | 5 photos

I am a passionate traveller and photographer, currently based in Toronto where I work as free-lance photographer. My biggest dream and ambition is to work for National Geographic one day.
These are 5 photos of most inspiring people I have met in small mountain village in Kashmir. The village is extremely remote, 8 hours away from any bigger city and 5 hours by horses up in the mountains. There is a truly beautiful community of people, living life that all of us could learn from.
Photo #1 Strongest woman I have ever met.Her husband makes bricks for the village and she distributes them on her back to people in her village. She also watched her house burn down three times, all caused by Kashmiri terrorists.
Photo #2 Brightest boy with best marks in the whole school, despite of both parents being illiterate.
Photo #3 An old man who is stronger then ever, strictly eating his milk products every day and still running up and down the mountains in rubber sandals. He is 83.
Photo #4 The oldest lady in the village who takes care of everyone just like of her 9 grand kids.
Photo #5 Two sisters - raised in the wind, cold, and beauty of the mountains. The older one is just 10 years old but she takes care of her younger sister to help out her parents while their are hard at work.
My main artistic focus is a travel photography and portraits. I am fascinated by obscure places, nature and people. Every year I go on my own travel expedition for couple of months, stay with local people and capture what I see and witness. Being chosen for this scholarship would have an tremendous impact on my work. Learning from an experienced photographer, through hands-on assignment is something irreplaceable and would certainly bring me closer to National Geographic!