"I remember well taking this picture. I was traveling in the Hindukush mountains and saw this girl in the fields near a small village in Kalifitan, located in the border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan. It’s a small valley surrounded by the snow-covered mountains of the Hindukush. I asked my driver to stop and approached the girl, asking if I could take her picture. With a smile on her face, she said 'yes.' I was very excited and started setting up my backdrop and lights. Looking through the focusing glass of my 4x5 camera, I felt as if I had traveled many years back in time. It was beautiful, and after a while, my friend and travel companion became really nervous and interrupted my intense focus by whispering in my ear, 'She is a girl, Jan… we need to go!' I replied, 'No, I’m not finished… She’s amazing!' My friend asked me to look around, and I realized I was surrounded by a group of Taliban, all of them holding Kalashnikovs in their hands. When I take pictures and get really excited, I forget the world around me, and I hadn’t even noticed them there. So, I looked at them and asked, 'Do you want me to take a picture of you?' And yes, that was my next shot. I used Polaroids so I could give them one. I was invited into their village. It was an amazing experience. Photography builds bridges and relationships. I love that."