Life in Baghdad Between Wars - www.betweenwars.com
Born in Sweden in 1961 with a degree in civil engineering, a profession which served me well as a platform for future endeavors, I started to explore photography using a SLR in 1980 and got hooked after completing a photography course at the University of Stockholm.
I thought of ways to incorporate photography into my life as I was questioning the story behind the 30-second sound bite the news pumped out about the conflicts in the Middle East. I joined the UN Peace keeping forces (UNIFIL) in Southern Lebanon in 1988 to get a close-up. This was also the year the Nobel Peace prize was awarded to the ?blue helmets? and I used my portfolio of images taken there to apply to the International Center of Photography (ICP) Photojournalism program in New York. From 1989-90, I honed my skills under the tutelage of Gilles Peress (who lent me his flak jacket for a workshop), Mary Ellen Mark, Charles Harbut, Chris Morris and the inspirational guidance of Cornell Capa and James Nachtway, while an internship at Magnum exposed me to the world?s best photojournalism. Also during that time, a picture shot from my bedroom window of a murdered taxi driver made the cover of Daily News.
I approached the United Nations Department of Public Information and eventually landed a career-shaping assignment to work with the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) to document the dismantling of the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) program in Iraq. I arrived in Baghdad in July 1991 for a week-long inspection assignment. A week became a month and a month years in Baghdad. My images of these inspections formed part of the official record and were published in Time, Newsweek, New York Times, CNN, Stern, Der Spiegel and other international media.
Whenever possible, I walked the streets of Baghdad and photographed shop keepers, carpet washers and daily life in and around the lively souks. I traveled throughout Iraq and visited ancient sites such as Babylon, Ninevah (Mosul) and Ur. My ?office? onboard a helicopter used for aerial surveillance gave me a birds-eye view of the country.
