Shutter to Think: Jon Orlando Photographs Peace Warriors

As long as the Iraqistan wars rage on, there'll be no shortage of material or subjects for Jon Orlando. Jon photographs Iraq veterans and war resisters in his ongoing portrait series called "Courage to Resist." He started this series at the end of May 2007, when a friend suggested he do a portrait of Iraq vet Jared Hood, who went AWOL after his unit denied him bereavement leave for a family death, according to his IVAW member profile. Jon quotes Jared as saying: "I can no longer serve a government that can justify an occupation."

So, what motivates Jon to take still images of seemingly hardened men now hellbent on peace? Jon says he finds inspiration in "the possibilities of radical self-transformation," and in how these beings could make the transition "from soldier in an unjust war to soldier for peace" in a most restrictive setting - the military, the meat grinder. And why photography versus motion documentary or some other medium? He says in one artist bio: "It relentlessly challenges me to capture the truths of a lifetime in a single moment."

And it helps that Jon can relate to his subjects, given that he has experienced a major transformation of his own. He says he grew up "racist, extremely nationalistic, unquestioning of my government," and like many troops and pro-war folks today, "supportive of [the government's] efforts to kick other people's asses in my name." Over a decade, his viewpoints drastically changed and listening to Jared and other vets recount how and why they morphed keeps him visually documenting their stories.

So Jon's studio portrait of Jared saluting a peace flag in a sense was a watershed. He's captured other vets since, some he met through Jared and others he meets around the country (we know they be many!). He tries to explore their human nature and capture their inner realities with a unique theatrical approach to his form, a style he says is "very deliberate and is intended to match the feel of the stories and their placement in the context of the larger society."

It seems that as long as more and more vets speak out against the war, Jon will keep his "Courage to Resist" series open-ended. With the goal of only photographing what's socially and politically important, he's starting another series on Buddhism within the prison system. So shutterbugs unite: Click those cameras and bring it cuz Fox and CNN ain't!

(Photos courtesy of Jon Orlando. Matted and signed 8'x12'prints are available for $60. Paying it forward, Jon gives 10% of all sales proceeds to IVAW.)

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