like a lot of other places in the last weeks our crooked little town called düren was covered in snow too. tried to shoot some snowy night shots for a while now but actually never had the chance or time to do so… but as you can see i finally made some pics. i called my friend timo who wanted to do this too. it was really friggin cold but it was fun.

oh and by the way, happy birthday again my friend. keep it rocking!

well, it’s quite a while since i am back from iran but i constantly worked on the pictures i took during that time. so without any further ado, my personal “best of” collection of the pics i took in the big old bazar in tabriz.

it’s time for something new my friends!

2009 is fading away and 2010 is ready to take off for all of us. 2009 was a year full of mixed experiences, good and bad but all in all we are all still alive
everyone of us was involved with work, studies but we always sticked together and went the way together! it’s just nice to see that young people still have the need to have people to rely on. in a time were most of the humans just try to get the best out for themselves this is really a special thing for me.

personally 2009 was really a mixed thing. after winning a poster design contest with three friends i got the chance to see berlin, a city full of creative energy and the ability to inspire people, people open for something new and fresh.

it was also the first time for me to fly to iran completely on my own, an experience that i am never going to forget. in that time the situation in iran was pretty messed up because of the election fraud the iranian regime was accused of. every day new videos popped up on twitter, youtube and facebook showing basicely all the same: people standing tall against the suppressing powers of the regime. young people standing together, singing together, throwing stones and getting beaten up by their own people working for the government. young people got arrested, tortured and killed but the will and strength of the crowd was too big! somethings changed in iran, if you think back 8 or 9 years ago, you would have never seen pictures like that. and in my opinion the biggest thing was that in a time, where a lot of dissatisfaction was amongst a lot of people only the iranian peoples where the ones to stand up! they stood up although everyone knew what was going to happen, they had enough and showed the word that they have some dignity and free will left. really a wonderful achievement.

a lot of people called me crazy for flying in a time like that. really everyone i talked to discouraged me… but well, when i feel like doing something because of certain reasons i am just going to do it. i thought of seeing there something waiting to get solved and cleared up but well… without any success. the funny thing is that sometimes you are aware of something bad happening and feel prepared but when it finally happens it still feels like a really bad kick into your guts…

actually there’s nothing you can really do… you are going to feel bad but at the end even you understand that some things are just not meant to be!

but anyway, life goes on and there would be nothing bad without something good i finished my first year on the way to the future i am seeing for myself in a couple of years. i learned a lot and were lucky enough to share some small successes.

And after a little bit over two years i made the decision to buy a new camera. my beloved d80 is going to get some rest. it made over 56.500 pictures for me, freezing a lot of memories. so many faces, so many situations, so many special moments and so many experiences, good and bad… everything got captured.

my new camera is ready to go for the new year called 2010, and i think it is going to capture a lot of new faces, situations, moments and experiences and most importantly a lot of new yash-pics

and of course some shout outs to the people around me.

• a big word up to canada for having so many fun talks with me. we still did not see each other at all but we ride the same wave i guess!
• a big shout out to great britain! having an open ear for me although you were stuck in your own stuff… same shit different day kind of way… you remember?
• a special thanks go to someone special i got to know this year. let’s call her narges just thank you
• big up to my sister in usa, keep posting your facebook videos… damn i love them! looking forward to visit you soon
• and of course the biggest thanks to my friends here in good old germany!!! you are true friends that make life so fun and relaxed to live. thanks for everything boys, for every time listening to my problems, for every time making me laugh about you, myself and all of us, for every moment spent together!

well, i wish you all the best and all the success and luck you need to go your desired way of life! we don’t have to hope because 2010 will definitely be a good year when we achieve our goals.

keep it up and going and thanks for visiting my little page every now and then

peace out

yash