this is my visual story of what I went
through in Afghanistan
my job in the military wasn’t to be a
photographer it was the exact opposite I
came in the military enlisted as 19
Delta which is a Calvary Scout and you
know I had this passion for photography
for 10 years and I wasn’t about to quit
taking photos you know just because I
joined the military it was the first
snow of the year that I have ever
experienced in Afghanistan we stopped at
a village everybody was exhausted from
the weight that we had in her back and I
saw this Afghan army soldier sitting
against this wall we made eye contact
and I always had my camera on my best
and all I had to do was just like set
this composition and in a way you’re
kind of connecting with this person now
you’re both in harm’s way see and you’re
looking at each other are you doing the
exact same thing working as a team and
your experience in this moment well a
lot of these photographs came out of
five you know getting close to these
people the impression that I got from
the local it was just like this uh shy
curiosity they you know they were
wondering what you were doing there and
the photo of the mortar firing those
mortars are firing for about 20 minutes
you know and the barrel of the mortar
tube that’s so hot pouring water on
in bottles of water just to cool down
that barrel because they kept on firing
these rounds and eventually there was a
small puddle that formed around the base
the mortar – and started snapping these
photos and captured this blob of mud
water shooting up in the air it’s hard
to describe a lot of things in the
military and the comment it was just a
sound to him a sound and a smell and
these mortar – when it was dropping and
then the concussion I was one of the
last in my platoon that actually see
combat
and that day started with a mission to
do humanitarian aid and we started
seeing women and children running and I
was pointed pointed this out to my
gunner and told them we were gonna we’re
gonna get hit we’re gonna get hit you
know and probably ten less than ten
seconds after that front of my truck
exploded we finally came to a stop and
it came over the radio that uh Westbrook
was wounded you know I get out of my
vehicle to check into these okay so what
am i doing I’m all in security for him
while he’s being bandaged up you know
I’m still taking these photos we didn’t
see him for eight months and then once
we showed up you know I gave him a copy
the photos and you know he thanked me
for taking these photos of them was a
wounded at that moment
these photos that I took they’re not
just mine you know all the people you
know I served with they have a copy they
have two copies their parents have a
copy so these photos are gonna outlive
me in a way hopefully I think the best
thing that I did was not put down that
camera you know like going on this
deployment not forgetting about the
whole dream taking photos and you know
the enjoyment that came out of it you
know even as I was in the Army I was
still gonna keep that up and it really
paid off
through in Afghanistan
my job in the military wasn’t to be a
photographer it was the exact opposite I
came in the military enlisted as 19
Delta which is a Calvary Scout and you
know I had this passion for photography
for 10 years and I wasn’t about to quit
taking photos you know just because I
joined the military it was the first
snow of the year that I have ever
experienced in Afghanistan we stopped at
a village everybody was exhausted from
the weight that we had in her back and I
saw this Afghan army soldier sitting
against this wall we made eye contact
and I always had my camera on my best
and all I had to do was just like set
this composition and in a way you’re
kind of connecting with this person now
you’re both in harm’s way see and you’re
looking at each other are you doing the
exact same thing working as a team and
your experience in this moment well a
lot of these photographs came out of
five you know getting close to these
people the impression that I got from
the local it was just like this uh shy
curiosity they you know they were
wondering what you were doing there and
the photo of the mortar firing those
mortars are firing for about 20 minutes
you know and the barrel of the mortar
tube that’s so hot pouring water on
in bottles of water just to cool down
that barrel because they kept on firing
these rounds and eventually there was a
small puddle that formed around the base
the mortar – and started snapping these
photos and captured this blob of mud
water shooting up in the air it’s hard
to describe a lot of things in the
military and the comment it was just a
sound to him a sound and a smell and
these mortar – when it was dropping and
then the concussion I was one of the
last in my platoon that actually see
combat
and that day started with a mission to
do humanitarian aid and we started
seeing women and children running and I
was pointed pointed this out to my
gunner and told them we were gonna we’re
gonna get hit we’re gonna get hit you
know and probably ten less than ten
seconds after that front of my truck
exploded we finally came to a stop and
it came over the radio that uh Westbrook
was wounded you know I get out of my
vehicle to check into these okay so what
am i doing I’m all in security for him
while he’s being bandaged up you know
I’m still taking these photos we didn’t
see him for eight months and then once
we showed up you know I gave him a copy
the photos and you know he thanked me
for taking these photos of them was a
wounded at that moment
these photos that I took they’re not
just mine you know all the people you
know I served with they have a copy they
have two copies their parents have a
copy so these photos are gonna outlive
me in a way hopefully I think the best
thing that I did was not put down that
camera you know like going on this
deployment not forgetting about the
whole dream taking photos and you know
the enjoyment that came out of it you
know even as I was in the Army I was
still gonna keep that up and it really
paid off
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