Would You Spend 15, 27, 30 Years to Develop a Body of Photographic Work?

Photo of Oleg by Lori Grinker

“In my dreams I still have hands. When I wake up, I can even feel my fingers and tighten my fist …” says Oleg, above, a Russian soldier who took part in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979-89.

This is just one of documentary photographer Lori Grinker’s photos of the many wars she covered in 30 countries. She has published her magnum opus, Afterwar: Veterans from a World in Conflict, a 248-page collection of intimate color portraits and searing first-person accounts of postwar existence.

Lori, who has spent 15 years documenting war, is one of three photographers featured in PopPhoto’s March issue, with an online version that’s freely available for reading.

The other featured photographers are Marc Asnin who spent 27 years with his Uncle Charlie and documented the man’s struggle with mental illness, poverty, drug addiction, and profound isolation; and Camilo Jose Vergara who spent 30 years documenting the American ghetto.

All three photographers show how it pays to stick with the story to develop a body of work that’s truly remarkable.

[Via: PopPhoto.com]
Photo: Lori Grinker

Published by Chris Malinao

Chris teaches Lightroom as workflow software to photography students at the FPPF, Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation. He also teaches smartphone photography.