We always recognize water by its blue color, its natural hue. But here, the water is gray. I am exaggerating—the photograph is black and white, and there is no color. Yet, it seems that the haze of the gray scale leaves no room to think about color, especially blue. We have to settle for these grays and revolve within them. What has this gray expanse done in the picture? The elements of the photograph — the palm groves and the people — are scattered toward the edges and borders, although one figure remains in the center. The gray surface of the water is vast, and photography is the art of seeing edges; here, too, the photographer has skillfully pushed the subjects toward the edges.

Thus, a dynamic connection is created between the visible space of the photograph and the off-frame space. The wind seems to want to push the palm trees outside the frame. Two people on the left and right edges of the picture are facing outward as well. What is happening out there, beyond the frame, we do not know. We don’t even know what is going on inside the picture. Does the person in the center look out beyond? The photograph asks more questions than it wants to answer. The calmness of the picture is uneasy. The picture is quiet, but it feels like there is news outside; the calmness is restless. It is the year 1977 (1356 in the Iranian calendar). What is happening outside?