@paleyphoto

Help needed, see link in bio. On july 13th, during a heat wave in Portugal our land got hit by devastating forest fires. We are all safe. As many of you know, working on turning this land into an abundant forest has been my obsession for the last 2 1/2 years. It’s been a tough week, in the ashes mostly, little sleep, but green shoots will return. Any people in the area willing to help restore, please send me DM. We have set up a fund to recover some of our losses and to help our friends and neighbors who also lost a lot. Link in bio, thanks for the support! ❤️‍🩹🙏🏻

Call for HELP! Big part of our land has been devastated by fires 3 days ago, here in Portugal. Houses burned down, equipment lost, trees gone but we are safe and a good part of the core food forest (my work of 2 years) was saved!! The help has been phenomenal, we are speechless and are no one without others. Fires are now under control. We need help to reconstruct / replant / regrow. Link in bio for a GoFund link explaining everything 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻❤️

I am excited to share that the EMERGENCY NFT & Print sale with @ishkar.co and @emergency.ngo to raise money for hospitals in Afghanistan is now LIVE! Prints are signed & archival. Happy to make my entry in the NFT world, this is my genesis piece. NFT’s are one of one’s. Check out link in my profile. - 1st image (NFT): A young Kyrgyz nomad named Chinor walks out of camp at dusk in the Afghan Pamir mountains, looking for a stray yak. February 2011. - 2nd image (Print): In winter, a herd of yaks gaze below the mighty Pamir mountains. Afghanistan. February 2012. These images are part of a 12-year photo project (not sure yet if this is over…), published in National Geographic magazine.

The Exalted Lion - حیدر علی For my series “The Softness of Men” - All image titles are my poetic translation of the Urdu name(s) of the people appearing in the image. After the bath, we seat under a tree. He impresses me, I ask more questions. Haider explains me that the ultimate challenge is to kill off your desires, then you are a “Faqir", ready to die. “You must control your eyes, your mouth and your ego (“Nafs" in Urdu, learned a new word). There is nothing without sacrifice. Then, you can just wait for death, at ease with a smile”.

An impromptu malakhro tournament (traditional wrestling) popped out of nowhere during my pilgrimage walk in Pakistan’s Sindh and Balochistan provinces. Much drama, growling, physical performance, laughter and some vip access for the only foreigner around. Malakhro dates back some 5000 years! The match begins with both wrestlers tying a twisted cloth around the opponent's waist. Each one then holds onto the opponent's waist cloth and tries to throw him to the ground. #sindhisport

Ruler of Strength - ہارون خان For my series “The Softness of Men” - All image titles are my poetic translation of the Urdu name(s) of the people appearing in the image. Haroon Khan posing after his bath. Muscles may contract in front of the camera, the chest puffs up... is this the ego playing tricks? The attempt to look strong exposes something much deeper, a vulnerability, a beautiful strength. Looking closely, the men soften, answering to an earlier stage of innocence, of unconditional love, when they once sat on the lap of their mothers.

Sublime Desire and The Admired Highly Praised / مراد علی اور منظور احسن From my series "The Softness of Men”. Kind men trusting me, closing eyes, exploring shadows.

You might get strangled, tortured and bruised but you shall eventually return, craving the human touch. On the art of massage amongst pilgrims in Pakistan. #massage #massagepakistan

The Champion of Mercy and the Young Chosen One / رحمت علی اور شمیر علی From my personal project titled the Softness of Men. Swipe right to see the hair and make up artist. These are men that have danced regularly for most of their lives, look at the graceful language of the hands. On a side note, it’s always so challenging to show heat in images - was about 50c that day (122 F) and these kind souls walked away from the village with me, in their dancing garb, we were burning men.

Wait for it - dancing and getting hypnotized, a joy. All these little videos were taken while i recently photographed the images for “The Softness of Men”. Happy to collaborate with a sound engineer to improve these sound mix. DM if interested.

I bow to my brothers in spirit 🙇‍♂️ pilgrims of the soul.

Mystic Diamond / ہیرا ملنگ - The Softness of Men - Hira Malang came alone for the pilgrimage. The sun was setting, he took me aside and started swaying, his evening dance.