On his 18th birthday, Muzaffar Salman received his first camera. Growing up in the ancient city of Homs, Syria, Salman was inspired by his father’s photographs of Europe and took up photography as a hobby. This interest stayed with him through college and a two-year military service. Eventually, Salman refined his craft and began his career working for Al-Watan, a daily Arabic newspaper aligned with the Assad regime. Despite years of photographing political subjects, Salman says his first real assignment…