World Photography Day: War-torn Peshawar's love for studio photography

Sean Foley, a visual anthropologist of Irish origin, and Lukas Birk, an Austrian visual media artist, chanced upon the wondrous culture of studio photography in Peshawar in 2011. On the lookout for 'tourists' who had come in across the Khyber Pass from Afghanistan for a research project, and not knowing where to find them, Foley and Birk instead stumbled upon a cottage industry of image-making using modes that had all but disappeared from most parts of the world.

These consisted of 'studios' where people went to get their photos taken against painted backdrops, posing with a cutout of an actress (mostly Indian), whiskey bottles (with diluted cola or tea) or guns (often real ones); where large format film cameras of yore were still used; and where 'colour' photography was nearly non-existent and artists were employed to delicately fill in water colour by hand (with often crude effects).

Peshawar in northwest Pakistan borders Afghanistan and has been very closely affected by the wars that have ravaged this part of the world – it was the centre of mujahedin resistance to the Russians; and it was where thousands of Afghans fled from the Talibans or to escape the US bombings. Peshawar, thus, wasn't propitious ground for photography to flourish, especially given that the Islamic zealots who hold sway do not look kindly upon it.

But flourish it did, found the authors, partly due to the desire – almost universal – to have a likeness taken, and also the ingenuity of the studio proprietors, both to get clients and keep them happy. See, for evidence, the 'montages' they painstakingly created using analogue cameras – showing their subjects in a Rambo poster or holding their own decapitated heads in their hands. Digital cameras, especially phone cameras, have been a big blow, and while many studio photographers embraced the new technology, some have closed shop.

Photo Peshawar is full of photographs that show the gamut of the studios' production – portrait photography, family portraits, or images taken on occasions such as weddings or a funeral. The introductory text, short but comprehensive, is a fount of information on the history of the studios, their origins, their owners, where they learnt the craft, their techniques, etc. For all intents and purposes, they are the very last practitioners of their craft.