TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Vahid Salemi is based in Tehran and has been working for The Associated Press since 1999.
Here’s what he had to say about this extraordinary photo.
Why this photo?
This work captures elements of everyday life in Tehran that have been directly affected by the war.
I have previously documented the effects of war on civilian life, but this work also highlights its negative impact on the environment—particularly air pollution and contaminated rain, which caused the black spots visible on clips in the photo.
One important detail for the readers is that on the day this image was taken, it felt as though the sun rose later than usual. The heavy smoke from the explosions combined with thick rain clouds prevented sunlight from reaching homes until much later in the morning. I had photographed the explosion that caused this pollution the night before, and when I woke up, I was struck by how unusually dark it still was.
How I made this photo
I shot the photo with the 16mm using a 16–35mm lens with a Sony Alpha 1, at f/5.6 and an exposure time of 1/1600.
During both the 12-day war in June 2025 and the ongoing conflict, I regularly went to the rooftop to observe the explosions and rising smoke. This time around I was able to notice the black marks visible on the subjects in the photo.
—
For more extraordinary AP photography, click here.
