#optelic

Saddam Hussain. My part in his downfall. . . . Twenty years ago - March 2003 and a six week long Boy’s Own Adventure began for me across the Middle East. This particular work of fiction authored by the comedian Mr A. Blair was a tale of conspiracy, intrigue, weapons of mass-distruction and oil, lots and lots of valuable, filthy oil. Saddam Hussain was certainly no angel, as very few angels carry gold plated sidearms but then, was Blair? One was hanged, the other was knighted. And still the world keeps turning. . I was planning on wheeling out the old cliché, the world’s a very different place now. But is it though? Ok we’ve had covid, but political scandal and unjustified invasions - plus ça change!? I’ve learned that the only thing we human’s seem to learn from history, is that we never learn from history🤦🏼‍♂️ . I myself received a medal from the queen (just for turning up), which was nice 🎖and visited the Garden of Eden (last pic), mildly underwhelming and no apples🍎anywhere. I had a ball and owe the good people of both 1 and 4 Para a debt of gratitude for taking such good care of me and returning me home on one piece - multiple bruising, but totally intact. . . . #operationtelic #optelic #SecondGulfWar #1Para #photojournalist #photojournalism #4Para #photographer #photography #reportage #documentary #photostory #editorialphotographer #editorialphotography #canonukandie #iraq2003 #liveforthestory #visualstorytelling #visualnarrative https://www.instagram.com/p/CqSHUL4s7vK/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

I is for Iraq 🇮🇶. . . . 2003, and a second war in the Middle East was imminent. Bush was going to make it happen and Blair was going to back him up all the way. If it was going to happen, I wanted to actually be there. I’d had brief experiences post Kosovo and more recently in Afghanistan; this assignment had a gravitational pull that I didn’t intend to resist. I spoke to my picture editor (in a pub) and got on the MoD list to be embedded. I was given The 1st Battalion the Parachute Regiment - 1 Para, airborne - this was going to be exciting! After a lot of shopping at Snow and Rock and training in how to survive nuclear, biological and chemical warfare, I was issued a gas mask and body armour then put on a bus, and then a plane, with about 100 other journalists, headed to Kuwait. Once there, we dispersed to our various embeds. As we prepared to go over the breach, the tension and excitement within the camp grew. There was a full dress rehearsal of a parachute drop into Baghdad to secure all the bridges, which I wasn’t allowed to shoot. It became apparent fairly quickly that my minders were either not going to let me shoot the best pictures, or they were going to censor what I did shoot. I had heated debates with the adjutant regarding the validity of the images I wanted to send back to London. Cautious doesn’t begin to describe his attitude. The war began on the 20th March. There was no parachute drop. The boys drove into Iraq in a convoy of seven ton trucks - not exactly airborne… For the first couple of weeks my guys were so frustrated at the lack of action they spent more time fighting each other than any enemy. It was kind of like lockdown, but in the desert and with 800 testosterone fuelled toms. We progressed onward, gradually and I witnessed some memorable moments, even visiting the Garden of Eden (pic x, not what I’d expected). We met persecuted marsh arabs and were hailed as conquering heroes but as you may know, it was only some weeks later when the war was over that the fighting began. . . . #storiesfromtheroad #onassignment #OperationTelic #OpTelic #Iraq #GulfWarII #photographer #photography #reportage #photojournalism #photojournalist (at Iraq) https://www.instagram.com/p/B_mAHQmlOEn/?igshid=14kgjdcr8rzbg

From my Conveyor project; images shot while being conveyed that convey the viewer back to the original scene. Military escort, Kuwait. Framed in the windscreen as seen from the front seat of a bus. . . . #conveyor #kuwait #middleeast #usarmy #optelic #bus #fineart #fineartphotography #fineartphotographer #photographer #photography #christographer #christographeruk #lookingatlifedifferently #personalproject #artphotography #art #artist #artphoto #contemporaryart #photo #artwork #artistsoninstagram #contemporaryphotography #photoart #canonuk #alternativetravel #travellingthroughtheworld #travelling https://www.instagram.com/p/B733dhOh0ZR/?igshid=4jigkeotpm3p

Photos from COB Basrah, Iraq.