Documentary filmmaker turned photojournalist Nish Nalbandian speaks about the importance of narrative, the “flow state” of working in conflict zones and the state of the photo industry today
As the Syrian Civil War drags on and morphs and changes and grows, Nish Nalbandian’s hard-hitting documentary photographs of the conflict continue to resonate more than a year after they were made. Assistant editor Alexander Strecker reached out to Nalbandian to find out more about what drew him to Syria to make these photographs.
Two YPG fighters stand in a damaged garage in the Sheikh Maqsood District of Aleppo, Syria on April 20, 2013. The YPG (Popular Protection Units) of the Kurdish Democratic Union…
While documenting a war-torn Syria, photojournalist Nish Nalbandian has seen countless buildings perforated by bullet holes. He’s seen rockets illuminating the night sky. He’s also encountered body parts— limbs and torsos blown off by artillery shells.
Award-winning photographer Nish Nalbandian’s debut monograph A Whole World Blind depicts the realities of Aleppo, Syria where war has become part of everyday life. Shot over the course of a year and a half between 2013 and 2014, Nalbandian’s photos are a honest and uncensored testimony to the strength and vitality of the people living amidst cataclysmic turmoil, from fighters in the thick of the nation’s ongoing civil war to everyday citizens trying to coexist with the nonstop violence.
