Well for starters, I don’t write many journals, so bare with me and thanks for taking the time to actually read this. I promise you won’t regret it.
My good friend from college and I both joined the military almost right out of school. Whether or not for the patriotic spin or the fact that neither of us could find jobs in our respective fields, or the realization that now we had to begin making student loan payments, we joined nonetheless.
He took a round about route to becoming an Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) technician, which in civilian terms basically means he diffused bombs. He has taken over 23, 000 images during his three odd deployments that spanned 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. He is an amazing photographer and has captured both the mundane day-to-day aspects of a war and the awesomeness of what war is capable of. If you are the least bit interested in what the media and our news outlets don’t show on the news or have ever even captured in still images, then you have to check out his work. It is a must see.
Here is a taste. If you want to see more, check out his Flickr account. If you are as captivated by his work as I am, please forward this along to others, to showcase what really took place in Iraq for hundreds of thousands of soldiers.
In his own words, “I think what separates this from most of what you’ll see from war, especially Iraq, is that I am one with my subject. There is absolutely no disconnection. There may be a certain detachment within the soldier and the war he is fighting but not in the case of providing an honest portrait of the experience. Couldn’t you say the same about putting the life you live into images that communicate to others?”
H M Bascom
He is a good photographer! I am looking at his collection on Flickr now. Thanks for this!
Christopher Ba...:
Thanks for taking the time to read the journal Helen. It’s nice to know that others are interested in seeing the powerful work that doesn’t make it into the media, but is just as relevant.
Jan Timmons
Helen’s endorsement is good to see for me. I’d like to see what gets filtered from our news agencies here, sadly. Thanks, Christopher.
Jan Timmons
Rather, I think I should see what gets filtered here and know what’s actually happening.
Christopher Ba...:
Thanks for reading Jan. I have looked at a lot of photographic work from this war and I think his images stand alone and are some of the most amazing moments in war you will come across.
Scott d' Almeida
great,
John Robb
Thanks for the information Christopher – harrowing stuff.
Christopher Ba...:
No problem John. Good to get the info out.
Rosemary Scott
Your mate’s a great photographer indeed Christopher. Thanks for sharing. I’ve noticed that what we see from those who live the wars is often quite different from what we see from those who are sent to report them.
Christopher Ba...:
Exactly my point indeed Rosemary. Being an embedded journalist and being shoulder to shoulder with the troops still won’t make up for the fact that you aren’t living it day-to-day. Some reporters have been there for years but there is just something about knowing the area you are in, guessing about what might happen in a given situation and reacting to it.
Brunoboy
Excellent shot. The media only show the things they want us to see. It is so crazy that so many lives are being lost and maimed and what cause? American, British, Australian and many other nations. Also Irages and Afghans. After we are all human beings.