[Tom S.]

As always, your pictures are fantastic. It has to be humbling and awe inspiring seeing things like the Citadel. I especially liked the golf shot - and I don't even like golf! I read recently that one of the service branches was doing away with plastic mags - I hope you didn't get your C.O. in trouble taking a picture of him with a P-mag in his AR!

[jac]

Very inspiring, Heie, from both the viewpoint of your work with your partner Afghans and your work with your photojournalism. Truly appreciated.
John

[Frank B]

Thank You!

Best wishes to all of you over there.

[Fries]

That golf picture is a real quality shot. If you accompany it with some written material about the story behind it I'am sure publications for people that like golf would publicize it. And although like you already noted the horizon is a bit tilted on the mountain photo; it does bring home the desolate beauty of that landscape. During my very short stay in Kabul about 8 years ago the white topped mountains surrounding the big plain made me wonder how it would be to travel trough that area.

Take care and best wishes for 2013!

Remco

[Rondec]

Wonderful shots and journalism, as usual, Alex. Golf shot is pretty special, as is the shot of barbed wire and tank, and number 23 with vehicle and mountains. Looks like you are making good use of your DA *55.

[SteveM]

Another interesting series Heie. I'm no sure when the British would have breached the gate of the citadel using black powder?

All great shots.....especially #23 and #27.

[Tom S.]

Another interesting series Heie. I'm no sure when the British would have breached the gate of the citadel using black powder?

All great shots.....especially #23 and #27.

I believe it happened when the Brits invaded Afghanistan in 1830. Brits in Afghanistan

Don't hold me to it though, as I've not studied that part of history much.

[bigted]

Incredible series as usual. I enjoyed it all including the homework. Please thank your colleague for sharing it with us. As always please stay safe and I look forward to the next installment.

bigted

[arnold]

A remarkable photo record by someone actually involved. The golf shot is a terrific action shot I should mention.
Reading your comments on the limited focusing points of the K5, leaves me puzzled. Frankly, I never use any but one, so am I missing something? I set my focus to centre point. Then the same for my exposure. My technique is to lock the focus on the main subject, choosing the mid brightness part for the exposure setting. This has worked for me, so I am genuinely curious about what eleven focus points does for one. After all, the camera can only focus on one point. I can see that multiple exposure points can be averaged in a complex scene without a clear main subject to set exposure by, but I just don't get multiple focus points when I can just tell the camera 'you focus here, at this point'. So, what am I missing if I find that the K5 has ten more focus points than I need?

[Alliecat]

Anyone can study the history of an event during class,...nothing substitutes for getting a "boots on the ground" perspective,...

And anybody can read newspaper articles & watch news blurbs about events there, but your boots on the ground have provided many interesting insights.
I think #6 is a great portrait.
#23... neat landscape; I like the cool bluuuuee... such a contrast with the dusty-browns of much of the backdrops of your activities. I can see why you'd want to go explore.
#26, hard at work, LOL
And #27, just a very cool shot, no matter where it was taken.
Thanks for another interesting report. Happy -- & safe -- New Year!
(& thanks for letting us know where to find your updates now)

[sbc]

Your composition is top grade!

[RichardS]

Another interesting series Heie. I'm no sure when the British would have breached the gate of the citadel using black powder?

All great shots.....especially #23 and #27.

There's a link to a briefing summary in the original post. 1830s.

Richard.

[MRRiley]

More superb images!

[paulh]

Another super installment, Heie - stay safe, and all the best in 2013!

[Heie]

Wow, I am completely overwhelmed. I told myself that I would address your comments when I had the time, but my lack thereof just allowed for more and more of your accolades to pile up Apparently I did such a comprehensive job on my last 15-6 Investigation as the Investigating Officer that I was hand selected to do another one. Speaking to my battalion command sergeant major, he told me that "You're a victim of your own success, and I needed someone aggressive on this one, so I pushed to the commander to appoint you and no one else." I know it's a tremendous compliment, but...dammit lol. Anyway, I had to fly to a specific location to conduct the initial part of my investigation, and now I am just waiting for my flight to get me back so I can continue and I figured it was a perfect time to say thank you to each and everyone of you.

Wow this is impressive. Took a quick look, but I do like your social pictures the most (like the golf).

Thanks Ron. It seems to be a trend that the golf shot was extremely popular

What a comprehensive and excellent account of your deployment, both in the journalism and the photography. Blending in your own review of the D7000 is a refreshing bonus I must add. Bravo, Heie.

Ash, thank you! I was considering making another post entirely that discussed the D7000, but I figured it would answer a lot of initial questions since everyone knows that I am a Pentax user and I label the gear used for each shot. It would have been very abrupt, especially for outsiders who aren't member here and would not have seen the other thread, so I just added it to this one.

Very impressive, great shots and a fascinating read too. It takes me back to my own days as an engineer - different arena but same issues with ied's etc.

Thanks, Mike! Being a Sapper has really opened my eyes to the potential of explosives, and every 4th of July to follow will be forever safer (and more awesome ).

First time I have seen this thread. Great stories and pics, thanx for sharing..

Dane, thank you for stopping by! If it's the first time stopping by and you've only encountered this one update, then I highly recommend starting at Update Number One (link is above) and going through the series in order. There's close to 250 images for your viewing and reading pleasure

Awesome!!! I loved every minute!
As for the Golf shot at the end? Classic!
When you come to Orlando, golf is on me!

Thanks, Lauren! I took that shot and couldn't wait to share it

Oh, and I don't golf. I will (sometimes drunkenly) mini golf all day, however golf golf? The game is too slow for me and my restlessness doesn't know how to cope lol. That and gold always brings up the memory of when I was in middle school. During golf week in gym class there was one exercise we had to do - inside the gym, there was a "grass" mat and a training wiffle ball golf ball. All we had to do was hit it (literally just touch the ball with the club during a swing), and we got a point for our team. Because I was too badass for some amateur-ness, I tried to go for distance. I swung as hard as I could, and instead of the ball being projected to the opposite side of the gym, I heard a crash in the rafters in the ceiling. My hands felt extremely light, and when I brought them back down, I realized why I had instantly gotten so much stronger - the crash was due to me letting go of the golf club! Needless to say, I failed golf, was banned from it during school events, and never felt the desire to revisit it

So umm....thanks...but no thanks

Fantastic shots as again! You have some great single and group portraits there!
#23 Looks like something out of Antarctica lol..
Your experiences with the D7000 are similar to mine - the Nikon menu system, while pretty and flashy, is not enjoyable to parse through. The body just didn't feel right to me, and its AF system has some complaints lodged against it by Nikon users as well.
#25 - You need 3 arms, sir
#26 - You must do a lot of work in the dark, as evidenced by the headlamp you are wearing
#27 - This shot needs to be submitted to so many different places. It's just a fantastic shot!

Thanks, Jin! Yea #23 was just such an ethereal atmosphere - has a very glazed look to it that I'd never see in the States or Germany before. I would have loved to stay out there until the sun was setting to see what would happen during the Golden Hour, but alas it was not to be. And 3 arms would have been incredibly helpful juggling the cameras and keeping a hand on my rifle at all times lol. I don't remember why the headlamp at the time - I may have not taken it off after coming from the bathroom (our bases are completely blacked out at night so walking outside requires flashlights). And I actually did just that! I didn't realize there was going to be such an overwhelmingly positive response from that golf shot, but I listened to the crowd and contacted the editor at Golf Digest. Still waiting to hear back

Excellent article Heie. I enjoyed the homework, it was very interesting. I appreciate your efforts in photographing and documenting your work (and play.)
Wishing you continued success and safety.

crewl1, Thank you for the kind words, and taking the time to read the homework! Judging by the viewcount (hovering over the link reveals 62 views as of writing this), it seems the majority of those that came here didn't bother, or worse, didn't even realize it was a link to a document. I thought it was pretty clear, but apparently not so much...

Just an excellent post. You show us a very different view from what we see on the news. Thank you for going to so much trouble to enlighten us. Stay safe!

Thanks gp! I take an incredible amount of pride in these updates and comments like yours validate my efforts.

wonderful photo journalism, I felt privileged to view your thread. Thank you for serving, God be with you.

Thank you, Bob, for your very kind words.

Heie,....G'day from Australia.
Mate, BRILLIANT as usual....Good to see what is REALLY going on there.
Thanks for what you're doing, and....keep safe.
Regards, Pickles.

Pickles - always a pleasure! Thank you!

Another awesome set of photo's, thanks for keeping us up on the real war.

Thank you, Gulfer

Thank you, great to see these. I wasn't able to view the older posts, in Firefox or Safari, but what i can see is really great! The stories are so good to follow. Great field journalism.
David

Jacquot, that's too bad. If I have the time (either before or after I leave Afghanistan), I've considered redoing the images so they aren't linked from DPR (which is what I used originally since I didn't know about the attachment/album system here at PF). Try Internet Explorer, and if you have a pop-up that asks to "VIEW/DISPLAY UNSECURED CONTENT," click that and that should do the trick. Otherwise let me know and I'll see what I can do. Having traveled so much lately, I can confirm that it is very computer dependent, so possibly try another computer if you have access to another. Thanks for your feedback.

Great stuff, as usual. A personal interest for me in the staff ride briefing having lived in Quetta and traveled up and down the Bolan Pass a few times in the 1950s.
BTW, I'm using Firefox and I never have any problems viewing your images.
Richard.

Richard, thank you. I remember your story (I think it was your story) of taking home a mine/mortar that you found as a child and your father nearly having a heart attack as you dropped it at his feet. I'd love to travel these same areas in 20-30 years as a civilian - I think it would be a surreal experience (assuming the security situation has been somewhat resolved).

Once again, a fantastic series of photos showing what life is like over there.
Thanks again for sharing them with us. I can't imagine wearing all that kit in the sun and the weight of it.
So many of your photos show smiling people. When I see photos of your folks interacting with the regular Afghans I always feel that there is hope for humanity after all.

mtansley, thank you very much. That kit is pretty miserable, I'll be the first to admit. And you have to wear it everyday to really stop noticing it. I've been removed from the "combat" side of things since moving to staff, and I've noticed the very few times I've had to wear it my shoulders and back are not as resilient as they were only a few months ago. I told my buddies that they needed to get me out on patrols with them because I was getting soft

And I agree completely - there is hope here, and I refuse to believe otherwise. I've met too many Afghans -- soldiers, civilians, and interpreters -- that work too hard for a safe and prosperous country. Harder than anything Americans have had to work for in recent memory I'm afraid.

As always, your pictures are fantastic. It has to be humbling and awe inspiring seeing things like the Citadel. I especially liked the golf shot - and I don't even like golf! I read recently that one of the service branches was doing away with plastic mags - I hope you didn't get your C.O. in trouble taking a picture of him with a P-mag in his AR!

Hey Tom, always a pleasure to see you stop by The Citadel was truly awe-inspiring. I really enjoyed being there, and wishing we could actually explore the inside of it. I can't confirm this, but judging by all the uniformed personnel that I saw while there, I believe they made it into an outpost/headquarters of sorts. Which would just be very fitting

And there was that rumor several months ago (and I think I even saw an order if I remember correctly) that banned non-issue magazines. I haven't seen a single person enforce it, and they still sell them at the PX and you can still have them shipped in via online ordering. Honestly I am not worried at all, and I would be absolutely shocked to hear that someone actually got in trouble about it.

Very inspiring, Heie, from both the viewpoint of your work with your partner Afghans and your work with your photojournalism. Truly appreciated.
John

Jac, thank you very much. I appreciate your praise

Thank You!
Best wishes to all of you over there.

Frank, thanks! We're almost done

That golf picture is a real quality shot. If you accompany it with some written material about the story behind it I'am sure publications for people that like golf would publicize it. And although like you already noted the horizon is a bit tilted on the mountain photo; it does bring home the desolate beauty of that landscape. During my very short stay in Kabul about 8 years ago the white topped mountains surrounding the big plain made me wonder how it would be to travel trough that area.
Take care and best wishes for 2013!
Remco

Remco, like I said above, I contacted Golf Digest and am still awaiting their response. It was actually your comment above that was the tipping point, catalyzing the urgency to contact the editor, and for that I appreciate it.

And yes, "desolate beauty" is a term that would be fitting for much of the country here. My interpreter, whom has become a great friend, has invited me back when the war is over and to go hiking in the Hindu Kush with him....I completely intend to take him up on that offer

Wonderful shots and journalism, as usual, Alex. Golf shot is pretty special, as is the shot of barbed wire and tank, and number 23 with vehicle and mountains. Looks like you are making good use of your DA *55.

Rondec, thanks for your kind words - really appreciate whenever you take the time to comment. Honestly I've been using the DA* 55 a lot lately because I didn't have my DA* 16-50 with me. It was good to force myself to use a prime, which I admit I am not very used to doing (and thus not keen on doing).

Another interesting series Heie. I'm no sure when the British would have breached the gate of the citadel using black powder?
All great shots.....especially #23 and #27.

Steve, thank you very much. 1839 - not sure if you saw it, but if you go up and click on READ AHEAD - Battle of Ghazni 1839 Staff Ride.pdf a .pdf document will open and should give you the historical context you missed out on

Incredible series as usual. I enjoyed it all including the homework. Please thank your colleague for sharing it with us. As always please stay safe and I look forward to the next installment.
bigted

Ted, thank you very much. I appreciate you taking the time to read it.

A remarkable photo record by someone actually involved. The golf shot is a terrific action shot I should mention.
Reading your comments on the limited focusing points of the K5, leaves me puzzled. Frankly, I never use any but one, so am I missing something? I set my focus to centre point. Then the same for my exposure. My technique is to lock the focus on the main subject, choosing the mid brightness part for the exposure setting. This has worked for me, so I am genuinely curious about what eleven focus points does for one. After all, the camera can only focus on one point. I can see that multiple exposure points can be averaged in a complex scene without a clear main subject to set exposure by, but I just don't get multiple focus points when I can just tell the camera 'you focus here, at this point'. So, what am I missing if I find that the K5 has ten more focus points than I need?

Arnold, thank you very much for your kind words.

Regarding the focus points - I always (ok...usually) select my AF point and use that to AF. What that does is mitigates the need to focus and recompose (since I try to compose in the viewfinder as opposed to centering everything and then cropping later - I try as best I can to "get it right" during the shot as much as possible). Also, and more critical from an IQ standpoint, is that you run the risk of having your subject in focus during the AF sequence, and then if you recompose using the same focus, the subject may be no longer in focus, especially when using fast lenses. Also, I edited it once I read your comment - if you go back and reread my AF Point bullet during the D7000 mini-review, it explains a bit better as to why the AF points to the extremes of the frame can be useful. Also, more AF points allows for more precise focusing because you can narrow in on exactly where to focus, as opposed to the K-5's very large points, which has a lot of AF accuracy issues (i.e. you mean to focus on the closest eye on a side profile, but instead the nose or the ear is what catches the AF's attention, all of which may be within the same "point"). Lastly, for tracking it it critical because it allows the predicting of movement thanks without much lag because the AF points can follow where a subject in motion is in relation to the other points - the K-5's are too spaced out to allow for really accurate tracking of very quickly moving subjects. Not an issue for me since I haven't required tracking AF as of late, but I can understand why others would find it to be subpar compared to the competition. Let me know if I'm not being too clear about that - kind of in a rush lol.

And anybody can read newspaper articles & watch news blurbs about events there, but your boots on the ground have provided many interesting insights.
I think #6 is a great portrait.
#23... neat landscape; I like the cool bluuuuee... such a contrast with the dusty-browns of much of the backdrops of your activities. I can see why you'd want to go explore.
#26, hard at work, LOL
And #27, just a very cool shot, no matter where it was taken.
Thanks for another interesting report. Happy -- & safe -- New Year!
(& thanks for letting us know where to find your updates now)

Allie, thank you very much. Like I've said previously, it's been my goal to use my unique experience to share that unfiltered perspective as I've experienced it.

#23, it really was an incredible contrast from the norm. And the lack of dust was most welcome

#26...........no comment

I'm really glad that the golf shot has been taken so warmly. I loved that shot, and when that soldier made it his profile picture, it was immensely popular

And no worries - I figured the initial post be stay hidden since the last 15 have been elsewhere...glad it helped

Your composition is top grade!

Thank you sbc!

There's a link to a briefing summary in the original post. 1830s.
Richard.

Yep, and for anyone that still doesn't know what he's referring to, it's the blue link that reads READ AHEAD - Battle of Ghazni 1839 Staff Ride.pdf. It's a quick, albeit informative read that will provide a synopsis of the battle from a historical standpoint.

More superb images!

Thanks, Mike! Absolutely appreciate your continued support. And thanks again for posting on the Update 15 for the link here.

Another super installment, Heie - stay safe, and all the best in 2013!

Paul, as with the above, always appreciate your unending support during this project.


Man, you guys really buried me with praise on this one I am humbled by the community response here at PF, and I truly appreciate your continued support. Unfortunately the updates will come to an end soon since the deployment is coming to a close (however I can completely understand how that could be argued as a positive ). Hopefully I can find enough project to squeeze in another update or two

Thanks again - I sincerely appreciate it.

Hope everyone rang in the New Year well!

-Heie