TITLE: Into Darkness

Nadeem Ahmad’s mother wipes a tear from his eye as family members gather outside his home in Pathan Village of Pulwama, Kashmir. Ahmad was shot in the eye with a pellet gun by an Indian officer during a local protest. Ahmad subsequently lost his vision. After popular Hizbul Mujahideen leader Burhan Wani was killed by Indian security forces in July 2016, Kashmir experienced months of violent protests against Indian occupation during which Indian officers used pellet guns - a form of a shotgun that indiscriminately shoot up to 500 small, round iron pellets - to subdue protestors.

AUTHOR: Lauren Stewart Tan (United States)

Lauren Tan is an international freelance photographer based out of the United States. She has lived and worked in China, Nepal, and India and has traveled independently throughout Thailand. Her work focuses on documenting people’s daily lives to make global cross-cultural connections between the viewer and the subject. When it comes to finding a subject to photograph, her philosophy lies in the Chinese concept of yuanfen, the predetermined principle that dictates the people and relationships that come into your life. Because of this, she chooses to allow her instincts to guide the way.