Here is a link to a precious few of his images of opium addiction in Afghanistan. There are many, many more, just where I can’t say.

http://www.spidersandflies.com/

Another Bright Light Passes

AK Kimoto
1977 – 2010

By James Whitlow Delano
It was somehow very natural, and it did not take time to be a friend of AK. Soon, he became like my real older brother. It was that easy, surprisingly . I think this is because of the very opened personality of AK.
I met AK in 2007 in Cambodia. Since then we shared a lot of things. We called each other even when he was in Afghanistan. When he called me from Kabul, Afghanistan, he was about to leave to get really deep into the mountains of Badakhshan for the opium story he wanted to follow. I had never seen pictures that deep inside a place. I was worried a lot. I remembered when we were talking about access. If access is more difficult, there tends to be more important a story to be told. After a month, he suddenly called me and showed his face on Skype with really slow connection. His face was tired but I saw from his face that he did an important story. I asked AK how he were going to present this story. Then he told me that he wanted to go to an N.G.O. or to the U.N. to show the story first and, while he was still there, ask them for support for those people whom he had just met in this remote area where no organization was working yet.

I cannot forget the little happy smile AK showed me. After he showed them the series, he said NGO’s were not doing much there yet, but at least they were going to start. I really respected his attitude and what he told me really motivated me. Still AK never stop talking about the people he photographed. He was still trying to bring more attention to them. He was truly a photographer who cared deeply about the people in the photographs and a person who never talked about recognition.

AK was always caring about others, and not much about himself. I felt his nature was to dedicate himself to others. He taught me so many important things both in life and in photography which will ever last in my mind. I miss you AK…

To see some of the work done by this lovely man, please visit Dispatches.