russell lee klika

Profile

http://www.russellklika.com/
http://blog.15X100.com/

The jobs of the military photographers were not only to document the war, but also to capture images for the historical record. One photographer, Chuck Cook, describes it as follows: “What the photographers did was worth doing—maybe not for the reasons the military said. They just felt that what the soldiers were going through was worth saving.” In his book Vietnam: Images from Combat Photographers, author C. Douglas Elliott describes the images that came in from the combat operation as ones “that did not show winners and losers. They showed soldiers—often teenagers—coping as best they could with unrelenting heat and humidity, heavy packs, heavy guns, and an invisible enemy whose mines, booby traps, and snipers could cut life short without a moment’s warning.” In order to capture these images, photographers took many risks and suffered many of the same hardships as the soldiers and personnel they were covering.

From The War in Vietnam – A Story in Photographs

U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Russell Lee Klika is a self-taught photojournalist. After graduating high school at 17, Klika joined the Marine Corps and trained to be a machine gunner. While on his first of four Western Pacific cruises, Klika purchased a 35mm film camera on a whim. Before long, Klika was documenting what he knew best, fellow Marines as they conducted beach assaults around the world.

Soon the strength of his photos earned him the distinction of being the first military photographer to attend the Eddie Adams Experience in Photojournalism Workshop. In 1990, Klika transitioned from the Marines to the civilian world. He worked for several large newspapers across the county. As a civilian photojournalist, he covered a myriad of events including migrant work camps and the 100-year floods in California. He also spent seven days covering the emotionally charged L.A. riots with true-crime writer, Cathy Scott.
In 2003, Klika returned to the military and volunteered for two tours in Iraq, both with the Tennessee Army National Guard. He served as the Non Commissioned Officer in Charge of Public Affairs, 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment and later as a Team Leader, for the 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment. He credits his bond with his fellow Soldiers as what allowed him to return from Iraq with a wealth of powerful and compelling images from the frontlines.

Upon his return from Iraq, Klika was assigned as a photography trainer to First Army Operation Warrior Trainer program for Public Affairs. In this role he mentored other military photographers. In 2008, he was assigned as the lead photographer to the Army National Guard Bureau’s Strength Readiness Support Center in Smyrna, Tennessee.
His work has been featured in over 35 magazines, newspapers and web-based galleries worldwide, and has received over 50 First Place honors and Best of Show designations. He is also a frequent contributor to the Guard Experience magazine. In addition he has served as production photographer for film and video. He is currently deployed to Afghanistan with the 2nd Bn 19th Special Forces Group Airborne of the W.va, National Guard.

Klika hails from Appleton, Wisconsin and has three sons.

PRODUCTION PHOTOGRAPHER

The Messenger – 2008, release date 2009

National Guard Theater Spot with Kid Rock
and Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 2008

SOLO EXHIBITS and LECTURES-2008

Slippery Rock University
Point Park University
Morningside University

GROUP EXHIBITS -2008

“Eye of the Storm: War through the Lens of American Combat Photographers”