During the Taliban era, photography of human beings and animals was forbidden. After the fall of Taliban, ordinary Afghans started to take photos again, and they love to have their photos taken. Decades of wars have kept Afghanistan locked in time, so the camera that was popular in the first years of post-Taliban era was this box camera from the 1950s, locally known as kamera-e-faori (“instant camera”). When I came to Afghanistan for the first time in 2003, you can find photographer with box cameras all over the streets of the capital. But Afghanistan is quick to adapt with outside world. The sudden arrival of digital cameras, later followed by smartphone, has made box cameras soon to be a rare antique.
Kandahar, Afghanistan, 2006