Two Silhouetted Men and Their Shadows, Iran

From the Iran I collection


I went to Iran in 1971 to work on a book of the 2500th celebration of the formation of the Persian Empire.
 
It was instant culture shock. I had never experienced heat (like this) before. On a less that 110°F day I saw a security guy sitting at his desk with a heater to mitigate the cold.
 
Security was unbelievably tight. Everybody had to wear photo ID. That included people like Haile Selassie and Ferdinand Marcos. You get the idea. People with machine guns were every few feet. The Shah was in power at the time and I was supposed to photograph him (no photographers used the expression “shoot someone” the entire time I was there).
 
I passed the assignment to Burt Glinn because he was better dressed than I was and had brought a tuxedo along. I am always the worst dressed person in the room so they were relieved not to have me visible to VIPs.
 
The celebration itself took three or four days as I remember it. Then we went off to other places to “shoot Iran”.
 
I was arrested the first day of the trip because of lack of proper ID. I showed the police my photo ID for the “2500thCelebration of the Founding of the Persian Dynasty”. He said that was yesterday. “Today you need new ID.”
 
Of course it was all resolved because our guide knew a guy who knew a guy who knew the cop I was dealing with.
 
Contrary to most of my trips that ended up with me photographing mostly people, in Iran, I was amazed at the architecture, the interiors, and the landscape, as well.
 
It was an overwhelming trip. A kaleidoscopic journey that I still count as one of my favorite experiences.
 
I am saddened by what has happened since then, but I feel that it will inevitably change as all political relationships do.

Two Silhouetted Men and Their Shadows, Iran

Iran
Kodachrome, 1971

$2,400.00

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From the Iran I collection


I went to Iran in 1971 to work on a book of the 2500th celebration of the formation of the Persian Empire.
 
It was instant culture shock. I had never experienced heat (like this) before. On a less that 110°F day I saw a security guy sitting at his desk with a heater to mitigate the cold.
 
Security was unbelievably tight. Everybody had to wear photo ID. That included people like Haile Selassie and Ferdinand Marcos. You get the idea. People with machine guns were every few feet. The Shah was in power at the time and I was supposed to photograph him (no photographers used the expression “shoot someone” the entire time I was there).
 
I passed the assignment to Burt Glinn because he was better dressed than I was and had brought a tuxedo along. I am always the worst dressed person in the room so they were relieved not to have me visible to VIPs.
 
The celebration itself took three or four days as I remember it. Then we went off to other places to “shoot Iran”.
 
I was arrested the first day of the trip because of lack of proper ID. I showed the police my photo ID for the “2500thCelebration of the Founding of the Persian Dynasty”. He said that was yesterday. “Today you need new ID.”
 
Of course it was all resolved because our guide knew a guy who knew a guy who knew the cop I was dealing with.
 
Contrary to most of my trips that ended up with me photographing mostly people, in Iran, I was amazed at the architecture, the interiors, and the landscape, as well.
 
It was an overwhelming trip. A kaleidoscopic journey that I still count as one of my favorite experiences.
 
I am saddened by what has happened since then, but I feel that it will inevitably change as all political relationships do.

Paper & Printing

Epson Legacy Baryta 

Baryta paper has a white, smooth satin finish with the look and feel of the revered silver halide F-surface darkroom papers and provides excellent image permanence.

13x19 prints are placed on backing board inside a clear plastic bag. They are then packaged in a custom 15x21x3 corrugated box protected inside 3 inches of charcoal foam. More about shipping...

20x30 prints are shipped flat in MasterPak PrintPak Art Shipping Sleeves. A "container within a container" with multiple layers of protection.

40x60 Paper prints will rolled and shipped in a archival tubeMore about shipping...

Dye-Sublimation onto Aluminum (Metal)

Transferring the print to aluminum produces a vivid, archival quality print that is scratch resistant, doesn’t require glass or framing, and is lightweight and easy to hang. More about the paper...

Metal prints are shipped in a sturdy 44x63x3 wooden crate. More about shipping...