ORANGE COUNTY, N.C. – Sia Yazdanfar remains focused on getting back home to Iran. The photographer had hoped to return most recently in March.

"It's not a question of whether I feel stuck here. I am stuck here now," he says.

Yazdanfar, 49, used to live in Orange County and returned last year to open up galleries, showcasing pictures of his motherland. He planned to go back to Iran in March to capture more photos to bring back to the U.S. and open more galleries. However, the pandemic and stay-at-home orders shuttered that dream and thousands of dollars in revenue.

"I have savings. Some. But, there's a terminus to that as well. This is not a situation for me personally that's sustainable in the long term," he says.

Even worse, the photographer says he can't go back home to tend to his family and business.

"If I returned to Iran right now, I'll be quarantined for a while so that defeats the purpose of sitting somewhere where I might not have access to international phone calls...or lapses in internet," he adds.

Yazdanfar hopes restrictions will ease so he can return home in the late summer.

To view his collection, click here.