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Photos of Mosul 2017

petapixel.com

51–60 of 136 posts

Re: Photos of Mosul 2017

#51
post #4

I would love to donate to this person, and I couldn't find a way. Any suggestions?

From the last line of the article: > If you’d like to support my work, you can purchase prints of my photos. You can also learn about and support the world of the Free Burma Rangers here. http://www.kainoalittle.com/prints/

While I strongly support this journalist's work, I'm extremely hesitant to support the Free Burma Rangers. In Iraq they are an armed religious group, and while their goal of supporting refugees is admirable, their methods seem likely to make things worse.

To be clear, their methods involve actively seeking out firefights. See http://www.freeburmarangers.org/international/kurdistan/ for some idea of how they think about this.

Re: Photos of Mosul 2017

#53
post #51
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the last line of the article: > If you’d like to support my work, you can purchase prints of my photos. You can also learn about and support the world of the Free Burma Rangers here. http://www.kainoalittle.com/prints/

While I strongly support this journalist's work, I'm extremely hesitant to support the Free Burma Rangers. In Iraq they are an armed religious group, and while their goal of supporting refugees is admirable, their methods seem likely to make things worse. To be clear, their methods involve actively seeking out firefights. See http://www.freeburmarangers.org/international/kurdistan/ for some idea of how they think abo…

They are armed and they are religious, but they don't seem to be acting as combatants. The article you cite doesn't indicate that FBR members participated in any fighting. Yes, they actively seek out firefights because - rather obviously - that's where their services are likely to be needed. There are arguments for and against being armed in such an environment, but none of that suggests they're an "armed religious group" in the same sense as ISIS or the Badr Brigades. Perhaps you could explain why you think their methods are likely to make things worse, more than is true for any foreign group up to and including Red Cross/Crescent or MSF.

Re: Photos of Mosul 2017

#54
I'd never heard of the Free Burma Rangers before, and these photos helped me learn. I guess that means the author has succeeded in his admirable mission to tell others' stories.

Re: Photos of Mosul 2017

#55
post #8
post #5

I hope this thread doesn't get hijacked with political discussions. I'll spare my comments at least. Let the story be told through the images...

What else should we talk about in this thread? About how sad it is that nobody wanted to buy her photos, or about how great it is that she's giving them away?

FYI, Kainoa seems to be male. It's an easy mistake to make, since names ending in "a" strongly tend to be female in many (especially European) languages, but this one is Hawaiian.

Re: Photos of Mosul 2017

#56
post #47
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's just my personal opinion, but I think these photos are poor quality. Many of them were not in focus and post-processing was used to make them look better. And that's based on the really small versions available. So I don't think it's surprising they were not accepted by some newspapers (especially that we don't know the asking price). Still, it's great that the author decided to share them for free. They have gr…

Excuse the photographer for the fuzziness of a photo taken while BULLETS ARE FLYING AROUND.

I'm not saying the job isn't hard. I'm just saying that some people do it better (or have better hardware) - and having a choice, publishers choose the best option they can get.

Re: Photos of Mosul 2017

#57
post #44

These shots capture the harshness of human conflict and how we (human beings) change in the face of it. Thank you. I disagree with people saying these are good shots. In the collection another user posted ( http://www.kainoalittle.com/mosul ) there are better shots technically and artistically. Yet that the photographer chose these shots for the article speak tons. These aren't photographs to make you feel better, th…

I always found disturbing the way a mixing "art" with this kind of subject. It's giving a much more positive feedback, as in "it looks cool" or the feeling of emotions you get in a movie (because it doesn't look real). Let's not forget war is freaking horrible and there is nothing worth idealizing one way or another about it. That's my personal belief, but I don't think art has its place here. Any form of heroic spec…

"Art" obviously means different things to different people, but I know that in my case, and likely in the grandparent post's case, "good art" is a form of expression that effectively evokes emotion, feeling or idea, be they positive or negative.

We might respond positively to the efficacity and skill with which that feeling or emotion is conveyed, but still be disturbed by the message that it represents.

Re: Photos of Mosul 2017

#58

The recent drone footage from Mosul is some of the most mind blowing, surreal stuff imaginable. God help anyone trapped in that city. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW_F2ntQOcQ

I was there in 2010 and it was pretty peaceful. Now it's a total disaster, along with most of Iraq.

Re: Photos of Mosul 2017

#59

The recent drone footage from Mosul is some of the most mind blowing, surreal stuff imaginable. God help anyone trapped in that city. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW_F2ntQOcQ

I was there in 2010 and it was pretty peaceful. Now it's a total disaster, along with most of Iraq.

USA Military Indistrial Complex strikes again.

Re: Photos of Mosul 2017

#60
post #44

These shots capture the harshness of human conflict and how we (human beings) change in the face of it. Thank you. I disagree with people saying these are good shots. In the collection another user posted ( http://www.kainoalittle.com/mosul ) there are better shots technically and artistically. Yet that the photographer chose these shots for the article speak tons. These aren't photographs to make you feel better, th…

I always found disturbing the way a mixing "art" with this kind of subject. It's giving a much more positive feedback, as in "it looks cool" or the feeling of emotions you get in a movie (because it doesn't look real). Let's not forget war is freaking horrible and there is nothing worth idealizing one way or another about it. That's my personal belief, but I don't think art has its place here. Any form of heroic spec…

Does there exist any acceptable mixing of art + war in your view? What are your thoughts on Picasso's "Guernica" [1] ?

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guernica_(Picasso)

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