Soldiers of Zerok

Challenge

I embedded with the soldiers of Apache Company, 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 4th Brigade Combat Team (ABN), 25th Infantry Division—a unit operating in one of the most remote and dangerous areas of eastern Afghanistan, just miles from the Pakistan border.

Zerok wasn’t on the map for most Americans. Yet for these soldiers, it was the center of the world. My task: create a portrait of war that stripped away the bravado and captured the psychological tension of a deployment lived in isolation, exposure, and ambiguity.

Solution

I constructed a series of studio-like portraits, photographed in the combat outpost against the pure black sky. 

Each soldier was captured as they were: tired, proud, vulnerable, bored, alert.

I used directional lighting and deep shadows to evoke the visual weight of Baroque painting, while grounding the composition in the raw authenticity of field portraiture.

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Key elements:

• Void-black backdrop: Represents the erasure of context, the timelessness of occupation
• Uniform as identity armor: Each fold and patch becomes a language of belonging and burden
• Stillness as narrative: Rejects spectacle, choosing introspection
• One frame per soldier: Everyone equal, no hierarchy, no heroism—just presence

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Impact

• Exhibited internationally and published in photo essays and long-form visual journalism
• Cited in academic work on the ethics of conflict photography
• Used in veteran storytelling projects and trauma-informed narrative studies

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“Hi Dima, You had taken this photo of my husband Shea in Afghanistan back in 2009. He passed away last year and I was wondering if i could have
a copy of the photo ?? I love it !”
—Carly

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Role

Embedded photojournalist and conceptual artist. I directed every aspect of the series: lighting, technical setup, portrait interaction, editing, and final curation. I didn’t ask these men to act tough—or soft. I asked them to sit. And in that moment, something true surfaced.