It’s been 66 years now since Holland was liberated of nazi Germany. Less and less people are alive to tell firsthand stories of the horrific war. While we’ve all seen the heroic movies (although they’re rather black-and-white; they always portray German soldiers as the bad guys, while a lot of them were forced to fight), war is still really abstract for a lot of people. Especially kids.

That’s why I like the concept of Bussum Bridgehead, a gathering of WW2 related vehicles, weapons and clothing. Although it’s just as black-and-white as the films (no nazi costumes and vehicles are allowed), it does give a better and more tangible view of the 1940-1945 era.

About the last photograph. Yes, I know it does not really fit in. Or rather; it really does not fit in. But I think it’s too amusing to exclude :p

World War 2 re-enactment is a post from: Jeroen Berkenbosch - Blog

This is my fourth school assignment. The theme of this assignment is ‘fear’.

Rather than capturing facial expressions of fear, I chose a more poetic, more consequential approach. I decided to photograph our annual Remembrance Day.

Most wars are based on an underlying sense of fear. As a consequence of Hitlers fears about 70 years ago, we’re still honouring our fallen on the 4th of may.

I hope you like it. Any feedback is, as usual, much appreciated!

School assignment no. 4 – Remember the Fallen is a post from: Jeroen Berkenbosch - Blog

(c) AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti

In my short life, I’ve seen thousands of truly horrific photos. Lots of deaths, wounds, tears and blood. I’ve seen countless of suffering people and bodies ripped apart by explosives.

I don’t get shocked easily any more when watching photos or video footage of these horrors. Don’t think that I don’t care about these people, on the contrary, but most of the images just don’t send those cold shivers down my spine any more. Well, those shivers came back last night, after seeing one of the most shocking photo essays ever.

I just came home from babysitting my nephew when I saw a tweet by Israel based photographer Ilan Bresler. Ilan referred to a blogpost on Tampabay.com. I was really shocked when I saw them.

The essay consists of twelve portraits of young Pakistani women attacked by men throwing acid. Most of the women had several plastic surgeries, but their faces are still horribly mutilated. You can see the images for yourself over here. But be warned, the one I’ve posted above is probably the least horrific.

Thanks Ilan, for tweeting this link, and making the world a little bit better because of it. Even though it’s awful to see, people ought to know what’s happening in this world. And that is the power of (photo)journalism.

The less known side of terrorism is a post from: Jeroen Berkenbosch - Blog

The London-based photographer witnessed horrible moments in Afghanistan while being embedded for three weeks with the US Marines. He filmed several encounters with the Taliban. The quality of the footage is of an amazing quality, and a lot of scenes could easily be from another Hollywood blockbuster.

Unfortunately, this footage is real and happening right now.

Check this 24 minute lasting trailer (the documentary will be released on the 13th of october) and see for yourself. The resolution is fairly low though, too bad they don’t offer a full HD version.

To find out more about this documentary, check out FRONTLINE: Obama’s War.

First usage of the 5D Mark II in a warzone is a post from: Jeroen Berkenbosch - Blog