New Zealand photographer Amos Chapple has made three reporting trips to Iran since 2011. He visited areas that he described as "stupendously photogenic" but was more interested in uncovering unfamiliar facets of Iranian society. He said that every foreigner he met was taken aback to find that the real Iran differs greatly from the way it is depicted in the Western media. One of the greatest surprises for Chapple was that although the government continues to incite anti-Western sentiment, he felt nothing but goodwill from ordinary Iranians. (21 PHOTOS)
'Stupendously Photogenic' Iran
- By Amos Chapple
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Women in the hills above Tehran at dusk
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A crowd of young men attack two soldiers on the Tehran Metro in the midst of an argument. Both soldiers were forced to leave the metro at the next station.
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The Mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran. Work on the unfinished building has lasted for more than 23 years. With a growing economic crisis in the country, its completion is still nowhere in sight.
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The village of Palangan near the Iraqi border. The village has benefited handsomely from government support. Many villagers are employed in a nearby fish farm, or are paid members of the Basij militia, whose remit includes preserving the values of the 1979 revolution and preventing what officials have labeled "westoxification."
