Gauntlet: Hunting for Al-Qaeda

Hunting for Al-Qaeda
Photographer: Sherrlyn Borkgren

Figure 1- U.S. Assault Team of 91st Combat Engineers prepares a surprise entrance into a Al-Qaeda suspect house in Baghdad.

War and wedding photographer, Sherrlyn Borkgren has a unique perspective about life…she’s not afraid of dying. She spent six months embedded with the U.S. Assault Team of the 91st Combat Engineers, covering the early years of Iraq war in Baghdad.

War coverage is much more than “move when they move, stop when they stop, and duck when they duck." Covering a war is being aware of the tempo, understanding a parallel vantage point, avoiding moments that may agitate the conflict, and of course…personal preservation.

At this level of professionalism, the fundamentals of composition and exposure are all second nature. One no longer concentrates on the basics, rather than the nuances of the story. The fingers fly over the camera body making incremental focus/exposure adjustments, as historical moments cascade through the viewfinder. Exposures are made individually and deliberately, not like a machinegun, frame after frame after frame.

(Note: From a distance, a strobe flash may be interpreted as a weapon flash. It’s probably best NOT to use a flash on soldiers deployed under the cover of darkness, (Figure 1). Invisible soldiers have no sense of humor about photographers being stupid.)

Now, for the nit picking. I’m always intrigued by images I haven’t seen before (or should I say, similar moments that I haven’t seen a hundred times before). A U.S. assault team is rarely seen, let alone photographed in the dead of night chasing Al-Qaeda. With only dim streetlights to illuminate the clandestine movements of the soldiers, slow shutter speeds, fast lenses, and high ISOs are mandatory for a night mission. At 1/13 of second, handheld, I’m surprised the image is sharp at all, let alone visually powerful and illuminating.

My eyes react to the tension of anticipation of the next moment. Is there going to be a firefight around the next corner? Are the emotions of the situation going to spill over into a decision of life or death? Will the enemy be surprised by the midnight incursion or are they waiting in ambush?

This is not the movies…there is no Photoshop manipulation…what you see in the photo is raw coverage of a war no one wants. But it’s coverage that Americans need to know about and understand what’s going on, in the name of freedom.

Borkgren’s did a fine job of coverage, bringing the tension, emotions, and terror of war to readers. During her time with the 91st, she reveals strength and compassion by U.S. soldier, without the usual sanitized editing.

For some photographers, their faith upholds them through conflict coverage. For others, foolhardiness dominates. A message to young aspiring war photographers wishing to make a name for themselves, “No coverage is worth your life.” If you’re dead, what good are you to the editor or the publication that sent you?

But let’s come back down to earth and what it might mean for those of use who aren’t drawn to international conflicts… If you get nerves about covering weddings, don’t even think about covering a war.