Know War

On June 3, 2006, I participated in an historic photographic event, Know War. http://www.knowwar.com

It was a project by NYC photographer Zach Gold http://www.zachgold.com

From the Know War website, "Imagine a photograph of more than 2,400 Americans strewn across a vast, desiccated expanse of desert. Know War is an ambitious non-profit project that aims to depict the human cost of the Iraq War by transforming the casualty number into a visible reality. This undertaking by renowned photographer, Zach Gold, will create an image that makes death come to life. Know War intends to raise continued public awareness by enabling people to visually understand the American death toll."

It was an awesome event and I'm glad I got to participate in it. The photo should be on the Know War site in about 10 days.
Tell everyone you can about it. Spread the word. Help stop the WAR!

Here are a couple of my photos from the event.

Pic 1. - laying down to strike our "dead" poses. Zach is in the crane on the right. Because only 50 people showed up, not 2500, we moved from place to place in the field and Zach shot the scene 50 different times. We changed positions and clothes as much as possible. He will photoshop it together to make it look like 2500 dead bodies, or approximately the number of American lives lost so far in Iraq. It didn't have the same impact that being there with 2500 people would have had, but the idea is there, and I think it will make a spectacular photo.

Pic. 2 - Taking a break from shooting. There were about 50 participants. The mountains made a spectacular back drop. The location is called Mystic Mesa, outside of Santa Clarita, CA., about 40 miles NW of my apt. LA. It is private property that is rented out as a filming location.

Pic. 3 - That's me with the photographer, Zach Gold, after the shoot. We were having a very nice conversation as someone was taking our picture.

It was a really fun way to spend an afternoon. Met some really cool people, and felt like I contributed something to the betterment of the universe.

Oh, you who scoff, I laugh in your general direction!