The Wonder of Photography
For several issues in a row, Visit Uzbekistan has profiled talented Uzbek photographers. The hero of this issue is Dilmurad Akhmedov, who was ranked among the top 900 photographers in the world by 35AWARDS, a major international photography competition.
Text: Sevinch Umarova
The idea is to show what is inaccessible to many, what nature really looks like, what can be achieved, and maybe inspire others to travel. – Dilmurad Akhmedov
Now 31 years old, Dilmurad was born in Tashkent and spent his entire life in this wonderful city. Since childhood, he admired the nearby mountains and dreamed of travelling. He has hiked in the mountains of Uzbekistan and journeyed to Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
Dilmurad took up landscape photography on his first trip to Chimgan. “I was simply amazed by the stars, the sunset and the mountains. Slowly I began to hone my skills and learned everything by myself,” he says. Now he takes videos and photos while hiking. He usually doesn’t make detailed plans of where to go; he finds an interesting place and heads there, or he gets together with his friends, they check the weather forecast and go. “Every trip brings new sensations, unique locations, and yes, I spend every weekend in the mountains,” he admits.
Dilmurad puts his soul into his work, trying to bring the mountains to life in his photography and reminding his viewers that, in principle, everyone can travel. We asked him a few questions about his work…
What is your life credo?
I don’t have one. I just do everything from scratch and try to do it from the heart
What is the story behind these photographs? How did the idea come about?
The idea is to show what is inaccessible to many. Or something that many people don’t see, to show what nature really looks like, what can be achieved, and maybe to inspire people to travel. And to show that every place is special and has its own characteristics. It doesn’t matter where you are – nature is beautiful. It’s the moment that matters. Whether it’s sunset, sunrise, night-time or daylight, it doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that you can enjoy it in that moment.
This series of photographs was shot from 28 June to 2 July in Oygaing, an area of Ugam-Chatkal National Park that is known for its inaccessibility. The location is quite wild and remote; except for some border guards, there’s nobody there. It takes 12 hours to reach, and only by SUV with special permission. It’s probably easier to get there by helicopter!
