Thursday 6 November 2014

Frédéric Lagrange | The Wakhan Corridor

Photo © Frederic Lagrange-All Rights Reserved
"You get older faster in the Wakhan Corridor."
The Wakhan Corridor, the region known locally as Bam-e Dunya (or roof of the world), is the narrow strip of territory in northeastern Afghanistan that extends to China and separates Tajikistan from Pakistan. The corridor is wedged between the Pamirs to the north and the Hindu Kush to the south. Sparsely populated due to its harsh climate, the region has about 12,000 people and is a political creation of the Great Game, the strategic rivalry and conflict between the British Empire and the Russian Empire for supremacy in Central Asia.

It took many years for French photographer Frédéric Lagrange to plan and organize his month-long trek to the region, taking with him local porters, an Afghan guide, donkeys and 100 rolls of film. 

During his trek, Lagrange photographed and produced film footage that eventually became a 20-minute film, Lost on the Roof of the World.

Frédéric Lagrange started his career in 2001, focusing mainly on travel photography, then widening his work to include fashion and portraiture. His photographs have been featured in numerous magazines and ad campaigns around the world such as: Vanity Fair US, The New York Times magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue (Japanese, German, Spanish, Indian), The New Yorker, Louis Vuitton, Condé Nast Traveler, GQ (US, Japan), Anthropologie, Free People, and W hotels, among others.

Currently living in Brooklyn, he was chosen as Photo District News’s “30 under 30 Photographers to watch in 2003”, and was the recipient of many photography awards and his work is also featured in The American Photography Annual, The Society of Publication Designers Annual, and the PDN Photography Annual. He is also one of 30 photographers sponsored by Kodak worldwide.

 



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