Stairway Standoff, photographed in Herat, Afghanistan, in 2024, received third prize in The Independent Photographer’s 2024 Visual Story Award. The competition was judged by Nichole Sobecki.
The photograph places two Taliban fighters beneath the faceless figures of their predecessors. Past and present occupy the same frame, locating the men within Afghanistan’s layered and contested history.
The editors’ response
The Independent Photographer editors described the image as powerful, painterly and rich in tone and shadow. They highlighted its connection between past and present, its surreal intensity and its objective approach to a complex national history, calling it a reminder of documentary photography’s importance in recording its time.
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