Hyphen magazine - Asian American arts, culture, and politics

He describes the daily challenges of shooting in these turmoiled environments as "mostly ... about getting from point A to point B without getting your head cut off, then finding a signal and an outlet."

His efforts are not in vain. You'll find his images are impactful and haunting, particularly the ones captured with his $20 Holga.


A few facts about him:

height: 5'6"
weight: 140 lbs
age: 38
based in New York
favorite country: "Afghanistan hands-down"

Kuwayama has worked as an embedded reporter with US, NATO, Afghan, and Pakistani armed forces and has won multiple accolades for his work on the Tibetan refugee diaspora. Since 2002, he has been documenting “The Coldest War” fought between India and Pakistan along 21,000 foot mountain peaks along the Siachen Glacier. He has returned almost every year, recording "the human cost and environmental fallout of a brutal military conflict in one of the last great swaths of unexplored terrain on the planet."

He is also the co-founder (along with his brother) of the popular photo resource and networking site Lightstalkers.org. You can read his practical article on How to Shoot (and Not Get Shot) in a War Zone on Gizmodo. All images by Teru Kuwayama.