Superb multimedia essay by Paolo Pellegrin: Iranian Memoir
I love Paolo Pellegrin’s slideshow Iranian Memoir, which you can see over at Magnum Photos.
The story is simple, but compellingly told. Pellegrin’s powerful images of modern Iran and Iranians are shown alongside audio interviews with Iranian-Americans whose parents fled the country during the 1979 revolution.
These youngsters have a totally different view of the Iran their parents left. The cleverest thing about this photo essay is the way the audio and photography are linked, but contrasting. As you watch the images flow by, you realise that many of them will be just as alien to the speakers in voiceover as they are to you.
This interview with Pellegrin gives an excellent overview of the way he works. He typically shoots black-and-wide, often with wide lenses. He prefers smaller, less intrusive cameras. He takes time to totally absorb a situation, to become accustomed to the people involved in it, before pressing the shutter switch.
