Photos

vapours (7913) 2005-10-05 21:41

Interesting point of view, one that not a lot of people would be used of.

I've never been behind a gun myself, but it would be bit mindblowing know that you can end somebodys life just by pulling the trigger.

sotirios (1685) 2005-10-06 6:50

Hallo Philip, PLEASE READ ALL MY CRITIQUE
i will be honest to you,i love weapons, any kind from pistols to air fighters, i've nothing personal with you, you went there to do your job, (dirty job).
But what is done over there by your country is a shame, it is not right to occupy a country in the name of freedom, or the reason of biological weapons, which you did not find couse they did not exist, when everybody (including many American cityzens) know that what you want is oil.
I can't say that people there lived hapily, but they were in no need of assistance from you, there are many other countries which need your help as a superpower but just because they have nothing good for you, you don't help.
You surely risked your life there, but only for the money.
I' sorry if this opinion is not liked, but there are many many people who beleive the same.
I wonder how life of a patriot would look like!!
Your photo made me express what i've writen above
Yours sincerely
Sotirios
ps Two or a thousand points are not enough to reward the rush you feel, not knowing where the bullet is going to come from, being in war is being in hell.

ps Another last thing, in my opinion (not that i care so much, but that i consider to be noble) you should stop uploading photos of soldiers in Iraq. I know that this is a very important part of your life and many other troopers', but for some people at trek community it must be as offensive as it would be for you to see a burning flag of the USA. That would also be a picture full of emotions as yours are, but you would critisize it very negative as some do to your photos.
DON'T DO TO OTHERS WHAT YOU DON'T WANT TO BE DONE TO YOU.

rosiegirl (2042) 2005-10-06 14:29

As long as we're all expressing our oppinions- I must say I agree with you, Philip. There are many good reasons for going to war- and I think there were some in this case. But we're not here to talk politics, we're here to talk pictures. I like how the gun and bullets are silhouetted- it gives an ominous feeling to it. The background looks great from the high position you took this from. Nice capture.
Rosie
Ps- Keep posting them- like you said, people have a choice to look at them or not.

royh (577) 2005-10-13 2:22

Hi Philip,

I looked thru your photos and I think this is another good documentary of an important event in our times. It looks almost like a street scene out of los angeles, but with a machine gun out the window.

I think that some people fail to realize that survival is hardwired more than anything else into our system (not by our big govts) as the primary reason to expand our energies. For westerners, the fabrications of being "noble" and "spreading democracy" are far behind in that list.

9/11 was an attack on western civilization by an enemy that is as brainwashed to destroy it as nazis were. I dont know if bush planned to invade iraq before then but it is the LEAST he could have done since then.

For the enemy survival of the arab homeland in iraq also outranks spreading fundamentalist type of islam by the sword in our homelands. People need to read between the lines and see that if we aren't fighting them in baghdad or kabul we would be fighting them in los angeles, paris, rome, etc.

Keep up the good work, Philip.

     fireflyz (2079) 2005-10-20 20:29

Terrorism [from U.S. Codes and Army manuals]
"the calculated use of violence or the threat of violence to attain goals that are political, religious or ideological in nature...through intimidation, coercion or instilling fear."


That is exactly what US did to acheive its political goal!

Hypocrites: are those who apply to others the standards that they refuse to accept for themselves.

kckuddes (273) 2005-12-19 18:22

Philip,

Excellent shot. Please keep posting photos of a soldiers life. It's good for people to see items from a soldiers point of view since most people do not serve these days.

First Team!

gemini (40) 2006-03-10 9:19

Hi mate,

great picture of a crap place to be for anyone. I'm in the British Army, and if the bleating Liberals and do-gooders who have never been in a similar situation stopped their anti-military preachings for enough time for their cappucinos and mung-bean salads to congeal, then they would realise that all soldiers of all nationalities in Iraq(including the Iraqi peacekeepers) are doing a fantastic job in the face of horrendous conditions. Yes bad things happen in wars- they are nasty things, but to criticise those people trying to do the best they can in the face of political incompetence is plain cowardly. If people want to make a difference then lobby the Governments- that's what democracy is for- a thing the Iraqi people were lacking before.

Great work and an invaluable personal record of a decisive period of history,

Mark

Ioan (49) 2006-11-25 8:46

Hi, Philip! This is a good photo no matter of what one think about the war in Iraq. An inspired POV and a good choice for B&W. I like the dark sillouete of the machinegun in the foreground. I don't agree with the ones that are saying that the photo is offensive and should not be posted. This is censorship! The war in Iraq is a fact of life, weather we like it or not. And TE tries to show us the world through photography which is exactly what you did. Regards!
Ioan

ls_photography (8) 2006-12-13 21:14

I myself really like this picture, it has good contrast, good lighting, and is just a good picture over all. Looking at it, I feel like I'm there, and that is what makes it such a good picture. I also think it is crazy how much stuff gets started when pictures from Iraq are posted....

Liekje (574) 2007-05-27 14:12

Interesting shot, of daily life in a warzone. Most of the time I'm used to seeing pictures of journalists or people who live there, but there's off course also the stories and pictures of soldiers. Off course war is a terrible thing, but it's still a reality to many people all over the world. War is a reality to more people than white sandy beaches). And being send out to fight in a war is just as real as your pictures show. So many young men (and women) are being send out to fight wars far away from home. I bet it's a f*cked up job, but somebody's gotta go it and I admire you and the others for standing strong in that situation.

I just don't like to see this picture showing a man walking at the end of this gun pointed.

Please keep posting pictures of your life in situations like this, people too often forget soldiers are just people too who were sent out to do a job. We see so many things in the media, also with photos (but there a whole crew decided what photos (not) to show to the people). I'd like to see the reality from an actual person in situations like this.
It's all a part of learning more about the world through photography.

Thanks for sharing.