Skip to main content

Week 1/ Ramin Zamani/ Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan


This is my first post for our blog together. This is a picture of me in May of this year in Mazar-e-Sharif which is a province in Afghanistan. Mazar-e-Sharif does not have mountains so it is a very dusty and dirty desert like city. The air quality is pretty rough and harsh on the lungs. The city is covered in a blanket of clouds and I chose this picture because of how that affects the lighting. Another thing that affects the lighting in this photo are the tiles that I'm standing on. Because of the blanket of clouds and bright tiles, everything in between the two are pretty bright. It was even hard to keep my eyes open for a lot of the time that we were there. The mosque in this photo is called the Blue Mosque and is famous in Mazar-e-Sharif and Afghanistan in general as a sight for tourists. Everything about this mosque is handmade and there are even doves outside and inside of it. It is very tricky for women to get entry into this masjid and once you do get in (and you visibly look like a tourist) you have to prove you are a Muslim to the men at the door. From there, you would recite Quran to the men or just say your salaams and eventually gain entry. I was very lucky to be able to experience as a woman, especially as an Afghan woman. 

Fun Fact: My Great grandfather Ghulam Rasool Khan Parmach Nooristani built the infrastructure of this city and this masjid (1950-1960). 





Comments

  1. KayleeOctober 12, 2025 at 4:08 PM

    Hi Ramin! Thank you for sharing this photo, as well as the background information surrounding the importance of this mosque. From this photo, I can tell it is overcast, and bringing a calming vibe to the photo. Something that I enjoy about this photo is that the tiles are different shades. They each bring their own personality. Maybe it is the lighting that is affecting the shade of each tile. Also it is very cool that you were able to visit this place knowing your Great Grandfather built it himself. What a rich personal history!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lonnie AlcarazOctober 13, 2025 at 9:42 AM

    Great image and back story - amazing about your great grandfather. This is a great example of how an LD should research light for a production and how different it can be from place to place in the world. Nice post!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lonnie AlcarazOctober 13, 2025 at 4:03 PM

    You put Week 1 in your post but it was the Week 2 post - next one will be Week 4

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dance 287 - Blog Instructions and Purpose

As artists, we see the world in unique ways, and we all draw inspiration from our surroundings. These blog posts are designed to help you see lighting differently—deepening your appreciation for light in daily life and broadening your artistic vision. They will help you develop an eye for light, not only in theatre, but also in the everyday moments around you. To better understand how light can influence an audience’s perception, we must first explore how it shapes our own perception day to day. Throughout the quarter, I hope this blog will encourage you to discover light in ways you may not have noticed before. You’ll begin to see colors you’ve overlooked, recognize the angle of a particular light, and learn to articulate how light makes you feel. To support this process, I’ve created a space for each of you to contribute a short entry every other week on an aspect of light you’ve observed during your experiences. This could be a striking sunset, the energy of a rock concert, the desi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Week 0 - Mac McDermott - Sample Post

  Hello! My name is Mac McDermott. I will be the TA for Dance 287 this quarter. For my post this week, I chose a photo that I took in the Guadalupe Mountains in Texas. I chose this image because of the shadow. Despite being overcast, plenty of light is visible, and the glow gave an ominous warning (which led to running two miles through hail) The layers of clouds cast these deep ever changing shadows across the mountain range. One of the defining traits of my lighting designs is my use of shadow to tell a story.
Post a Comment
Read more

Week 2, Kaylee Kollins, Tokyo Nights

 For week 1, I have chosen a photo I took this summer, in the streets of Tokyo in the night time. I spend most of my summers here, so looking back at this photo gives me a sense of nostalgia, happiness, and warmth. My favorite part of this photo is that although my iPhone camera quality is not great, it captures the light rays of the street light going in many different directions. The light splitting off in different directions yet remaining symmetrical to me is an art within itself. Another thing that sticks out to me is how the vending machine light glows in this photo. There is nothing more comforting than walking the streets of Tokyo at night and having a vending machine light glare at you in the distance. To me, this photo exudes peace and serenity, as I feel very comfortable walking these streets at night in the town I grew up in, but I cannot say the same about walking the streets at night in America. Another highlight of light in this photo is the entryway to some people's...
5 comments
Read more