Flying High

• Prize
  Gold in Editorial/Photo Essay, 1st Place winner in Editorial
• Photographer
  Dr. Fouzieh Melanie Alamir
• Technical Info
  Camera: Sony Alpha 99, Lens: 2.8/70-200
• Photo Date
  June 2018

Once a year in June thousands of people gather in Shandur, more than 4500 m above sea level, amidst the rugged mountain range of the Karakoram in Northern Pakistan, to attend the world's highest polo festival. Fascinating not only as a sportive event given the high altitude and what it requires from both horses, riders and the audience, but also as a spectacle to observe and dive into the colorful diversity of Pakistan's tribes and cultures of its Northern Areas. It mirrors the intricacies of a "hard country", its wilderness, beauty and its strong pulse of life, flying high, trajectory unknown