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Documentary / U.S. Navy

Combat Camera

Documentary photography from Erika Barker’s U.S. Navy Combat Camera service, including work from Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay.

A helmeted person suspended beside a helicopter above water and a boat.
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A person secured on an orange stretcher being lifted beside a helicopter over water.
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A helmeted person and equipment suspended beside an aircraft doorway above water.
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Children playing on a swing set with a helicopter in the background.
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Two helicopter silhouettes above clouds in bright backlight.
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A black-and-white view of a watchtower framed by coils of barbed wire.
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Two people in protective vests, one wearing a helmet and the other sunglasses, against a dark backdrop.
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A large naval ship offshore beyond rocks and breaking waves.
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An overhead view of a boat beneath an aircraft wheel above churning water.
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People unloading supplies from a landing craft onto a rocky shore.
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People carrying boxes away from a landing craft on a rocky beach.
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A black-and-white view of people reclining among bags inside a landing craft.
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Two people in shallow water assisting another person down a landing craft ramp.
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People carrying bags through shallow water toward a beach, with a landing craft behind them.
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A person lying on a bed while two people lean over them beside an open window.
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A close portrait of a person wearing a hard hat, with another figure blurred behind.
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A motorcyclist passing a parked flatbed truck on a palm-lined street.
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Five people sitting together in work clothes inside a large industrial interior.
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A black-and-white close portrait of a person in a hard hat.
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People carrying bags through shallow water near a landing craft and sandy shore.
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People helping someone down a landing craft ramp into shallow water.
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Five people posing beside a concrete block wall, with one seated on the ground.
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A person sitting on a blue bicycle beside a concrete block wall.
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About the project

These photographs come from my service with U.S. Navy Combat Camera, including deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. The work combined still photography and video documentation across military operations and humanitarian missions.

My mentor, Petty Officer 1st Class Robert R. McRill, taught me to look beyond the composition and connect with the person in front of the camera. His death in Baghdad remains part of how I remember those years.

Observation, preparation and responsibility to the people in the frame remain central to my work. That foundation carried with me into fashion, beauty and documentary.

Project notes & credits

Photography
Erika Barker
Collection
U.S. Navy Combat Camera

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