Travel

Street Barbers of Cambodia (PHOTOS)

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When photographer Robert Goetzfried traveled to Phnom Penh he noticed something he's never seen in his home country of Germany: street barbers. (Robert Goetzfried)

On a trip to visit his wife, Robert Gotzfried saw something he’d never seen in his home city of Munich, Germany: street barbers.

He was in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, when he noticed how barbers did their work outdoors. “These places were simply visually appealing to me, so I decided to make it a photo series,” Gotzfried told weather.com.

After years of oppression by the Khmer Rouge regime, the Cambodian Communist forces, the capital is gaining more business, repairing roads and inaugurating parks buildings. For years, Cambodians—especially educated citizens—were forced to work in rice farms in the countryside. Only after the Khmer Rouge were driven out by the Vietnamese did people return back to the city.

The street barber series shows the beauty of simplicity and a city’s revival. There isn’t a glitzy shop full of large mirrors and a long row of chairs. Most of these men set up their outdoor spaces with a worn seat placed in front of a table and a small vanity mirror. They’re the essential things a barber needs to get his job done.

Gotzfried wanted to portray Cambodians in a new light. “I made the experience that most of them are very proud of what they are doing” and “happy with their life,” he said. “It’s another culture and I tried to give some insight without any political aspects in mind.”

For more of Gotzfried’s work visit his Instagram and Facebook.