Kites over Kabul

One of the lighter stories I’ve covered in past weeks features Afghanistan’s national pastime – kite flying.  Highlighted in the best-selling book and recent motion picture, “The Kite Runner,” the sport is enjoyed by men and boys across Afghanistan.  On any Friday (Afghanistan’s non-business day of the week) enthusiasts can be found atop hills like those those surrounding the country’s capital, Kabul, vying with each other for “supremacy” of the skies.  Much more than a leisure pastime, kite-flying is a competitive endeavor. Kite string is treated with a mixture of glass dust and glue.  The aerial objective of this, is to sever the string of others, sending their kite to the ground.  Young boys (“Kite Runners”) then race to claim the fallen construction of paper and wood. 

Photographing an event like this requires a bit of observation to begin with.  Seeing just what will happen next is key to capturing full coverage of it all.  Once you’ve seen and understand the “whole,” it’s much easier to identify the chief components of the situation and to anticipate – camera and appropriate lens at ready – just what, when (to a reasonable degree) and where (somewhat so) the next photo opportunity will present itself.  It’s all great fun and an extremely colorful photographic adventure to cover – particularly in the warm sunlight of later afternoon.  Such is the kind of practical coverage – from wherever you might live and travel – that we emphasize throughout our range of digital photography courses at The Compelling Image - "hands-on" with each and every informative weekly lesson.