MalihMirzakhanian

Can you tell us about your journey into photography?

Ever since I can remember, I have been drawn to observing people, light, and quiet
details—the small moments that often go unnoticed but carry a kind of poetry within them.
Photography entered my life as a natural extension of this sensitivity
My name is Malih Mirzakhanian, I started photography when I was 18, working with an
analog camera and developing prints in the darkroom. At that time, I was studying Graphic
Design in art school, and those days marked the beginning of my deep connection with the
camera and the way it allowed me to see the world differently. Since then, photography has
become a constant part of my life—something that has stayed with me through every stage
of my personal and artistic journey.
In Iran, I ran my own photography studio for many years, studied photography
professionally, and taught both photography and darkroom printing in an art school. During
those years, I participated in several exhibitions and received awards from festivals in Iran,
Europe, and Asia.
I am currently completing my Master’s in Visual Anthropology in Germany. My coursework
is finished, and I am now working on my thesis, which explores visual storytelling and the
emotional relationship between people and materials. Although migration made it more
challenging to stay active in photography in recent years, I am deeply grateful that my work
was recognized by NIPA.
The awarded photo, “Girl on the Train, ” was taken during a family trip in Iran, on one of the
oldest railway lines in the country located in the city of Dorud. When I stepped off the train,
I noticed a young girl completely absorbed in watching the landscape in front of her—lost in
a quiet, tender moment. Her expression touched me, and I photographed her as she
mirrored a sense of stillness and wonder.
For me, photography is far more than an art form or a method of documentation—it is a way
of understanding the world and myself. It is an inward journey. Sometimes, when I look
through the lens, the world feels like a mirror, revealing something intimate and unsaid. I
believe that a photograph created with attention, emotion, and honesty becomes more
meaningful as time passes.
As some great photographers have expressed, photography is about recognizing the
precise moment when the external world meets something deeply internal. I feel this every
time I press the shutter—the sense that I am not just capturing a scene, but holding a
fragment of time that carries a quiet truth.
Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to share my story.