Concept
I have been working voluntarily as a photographer for a development aid association in Nepal since 2007. This collection of portraits was shot in the mountain villages of Puru, Godasim, Pipalgaon, Luma and Padmara in West Nepal. My aim was to depict the people as authentically as possible. This means I made the portraits of the people just as I encountered them and had no influence on their clothing, jewellery, headgear, etc. All portraits were shot against a neutral background to focus more strongly on facial expressions, the traces life had left in the subjects faces and on their clothing. The portraits were shot looking slightly upwards to emphasise the self-confidence of the people of the region. The subjects were extremely focused thanks to the small improvised studio with only a chair, the background, a tripod and the use of system flash.