A snapshot of a day in the life of a military photographer

by Joe Tarr

I’m in the office to do a little work, when Sgt. Justin Harris blips me on instant message from Iraq: “WOOOHOOOO!!!” he writes, three times. At first I think he must have been discharged from the Army, where he’s a combat photographer.

But it’s a simpler, more sublime event he’s taking pleasure in today. It’s snowing in Iraq. And not just a little.

“I feel like a kid,” he writes.

Better known as Jay (or Tattoo Jay) to his friends in Knoxville, Harris played in a number of bands in the early ’90s, including the Vagabonds, Sally Can’t Dance, and the Dingos. He also keeps a blog of his experience, posting some of his pictures, at www.xanga.com/tat2jay. The 31-year-old joined the Army in 1998 and has been in Iraq since last September.

We talk a few times over instant message, a surreal experience when you think about it. When I tell him we want to write a story about him, he’s suspicious and wonders if we’ll use it as leftist propaganda to criticize the president or the war.

I tell him I have my own political views, but as a reporter I’m mostly just interested in experience. His is certainly interesting.

What is it exactly that you do there?

My primary job is to document what the army does and send it to the Pentagon for review and archive. The stuff I take that can be released to the public gets released and put on the web available to news services or just whoever wants it. Actually I got published in Soldier of Fortune last month, ha, ha.

On this deployment I have done a ton of public affairs work just because most of the battlefield stuff is over. So I do a lot of ceremonies, burials, school openings, civil affairs and public health documentation of the rebuilding of Iraq. But the fun stuff is the mass air assault missions, the raids, and border patrols—basically when we get embedded with the front line guys and follow them around and document their daily life and missions.

How did you get into photography? Do you work as one as a civilian?

Well my dad—he started photography when I was born, just a hobby a father does ‘cause he has a new baby—from that he got into weddings and portraits. I used to help him out at weddings a bit or in the studio from time to time, but by the time I was 15 I decided that I would always just do it as a hobby. That’s when I started concentrating on music, even had my dad take pictures of our bands as I was growing up, then as time went on it kept creeping back up on me till finally I decided that it was something that must be partially in the blood and when I went to join the Army they said “Hey ya know you can have any job in the Army you want.” I said what about that whole combat documentation thing, what is that? When they told me it was photography and videography my jaw dropped. I was amazed that the armed forces would pay me to take pictures and edit movies—of course I jumped at it.

What do you look for when you’re shooting? Do you think about the audience, or are you looking for cool shots, or a little of both?

Well I guess I have to think of both, my audience being the military primarily—so I try to shoot what is going to benefit the Army, such as anything that can be used for training, anything that can be used to motivate soldiers. But I am always looking for the cool shot, something that will stand out, something that will make it worth my while, so I feel good about what I do—doesn’t hurt to pad the portfolio a bit, ya know. I gotta think about getting a job when I get back and a portfolio of cool photos from Iraq can’t hurt any.

What’s it like shooting in combat situations? Is it hard to think or compose shots?

Oh hell no, that’s when I feel most at home—you can feel the movement of the unit, you know where they are going to go, and how they are going to react to a situation, knowing that you know exactly where to go to get the best shot without getting shot—the adrenaline of being there drives you to push for the best shot, the shot that you know no one else in the world will have when its over. The hardest shots to compose are grip and grin shots. I mean how the hell do you keep those from looking boring? I don’t think it can be done.

Have you ever been shot at?

Yeah, not as many times as you would expect I guess, but it’s happened a few times. It happens to everyone over here though, so you get used to it real quick. The biggest fear is just driving down the street and getting hit by an IED [Improvised Explosive Device]—luckily I haven’t had that pleasure yet.

Where are you located now?

Mosul, Iraq. The cool thing is this: Where exactly am I right now? I am sitting in one of Saddam’s old palaces that the Army has taken over as its northern headquarters. There was an indoor pool but for some reason the army decided we didn’t need it, so it was drained.

Do you get around the town much?

Yeah we get out a lot, not as much as we did a month or so ago, but we have to get around town for our missions, either by driving the humvee, going on one of the new Stryker vehicles or by Blackhawk.

Is it scary going off the base? How do the Iraqis treat you?

You get a lil hyped up of course, but it’s not scary, it’s kinda like the feeling you would get before going on stage. Most of the Iraqis are fantastic. They want to give you stuff or just talk to you. Most of them are really happy we are here. Not all of course, but most. Especially the children. Somedays it’s like we are in a parade, we have to wave at a thousand children but at the same time keep our weapons pointed to the ground and ready, just in case.

Do you get a lot of cool pictures around town?

Oh yeah, ya know the thing for me is kids. I have two kids at home, and I miss them like crazy. So I take thousands of photos of children just doing kids’ stuff and the weirdest shit sometimes, like one day I took a shot of a cow just standing in the middle of downtown Mosul. There are herds of sheep eating the grass at interstate intersections everyday.

Do you like it there? I mean, I imagine you have somewhat of a mixed reaction. But are things about the culture you find fascinating?

Oh God yeah. I was one of the first people to volunteer to extend my tour over here, but ya know after a few months I decided that I was ready to come home, to see my family and my friends. But I must say the area is fascinating, the opportunity is amazing. I went to a monastery that was built into the side of a mountain 1,300 years ago. I have seen the ruins of Babylon, I have learned a lil bit of Arabic and gained an amazing respect for the culture. I am ready to come home, but I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything.

Have you had to shoot many dead bodies?

I really can’t answer that. There are a lot of things that I have to shoot that I wish I didn’t, but it’s part of the job, it needs to be documented so you just kinda hold your breath and push the button.
 

March 4, 2004 • Vol. 14, No. 10
© 2004 Metro Pulse