Al Basrah - South Iraq
Finally the trip to Iraq has been and gone after waiting for a few months of suspence, now it is over.
Im home safely after one of the most amazing experiences of my life to date. I will try and keep this blog short.
We flew to Qatar from Brize Norton air base in Oxfordshire. We then flew with the british soldiers to Iraq in a Hercules which was WICKED! Was a little bit nervous but more excited whilst on the Herc. The scariest part was flying into Basrah and all the lights on the plane going off. It was pitch black and all I could hear was the muffled sounds of the propellors due to my ear plugs. The only available light source was shining in from the city lights of basrah through the one window and striking the soldiers scared faces, moving up and down, side to side as the Herc banked over the city. We were all wide eyed and sweating with our body armor and helmets on. We arrived, had a briefing and was shown to our tents. The soldiers said that we probably would'nt get mortared as they had'nt come under attack for ages. But..... 10 minutes later, whilst having a cool drink in the mess hall, the director and i heard the explosion. Then the sirens went off and we had to put on our helmet and body armor and run for cover. It was pretty scary the first night. It was my first real feeling of fear and i thought to myself "what have i got myself into!!!!". Luckily tho, that was the only fear I had the whole trip.
Me at the helicopter base.
Those things are so cool!
The first day we went out on patrol to visit the marsh arabs. Was very exciting to get out of the base and meet the local people. We met the local Sheik who was in charge of 30,000 people. Was an amazing experience.
I know what your thinking! Such a geek..... goes to Iraq and takes photo of dragonflys! But, i really dont care haha.
The temperature was pretty warm but it did'nt effect me as much as i thought it would. The heat really does suck the energy out of your body, so at each meal i was eating about 3 times as much as i usually would. Jon, my director probably thought i was a pig but i lost 3 kg's for the whole trip!! I think the temperature one day was about 52 degrees celcious, quite warm. There was one stage when i was literally lying in a pool of water on my stretcher. You have to keep drinking ALL the time or you get tired and dehydrate.
The wildlife there was pretty cool!! There were Turtles, Bats, Camel Spiders, Dragonflys, mosquitos, Camels and a lot more creatures. Only saw one camel spider which attacked the two soldiers we were talking to. But it was just a baby and got squashed by one of the soldiers boots. I could'nt believe how fast those half spider, half scorpion beasts were tho!!! and the soldiers were pretty scared of them haha. dont blame them!
There is soo much to write about but i just don't have much time. So, overall the experience in Iraq was amazing and has changed me in a lot of ways. At the end i really did'nt want to leave and if i get asked to go again i will probably say yes.
Since i have been back, my life in England has changed a little too. The day after i got back i took a train to the south coast of England to film the acceptance speech of the winner of the "Lucie Awards" which is the oscars for photography. What a beautiful old couple they were and such an inspiration! Its funny because most documentary photographers / cameramen all have the same personalitys. I got along really well with him (cant name him yet) and his wife and his work was just unbelievable. It really made me begin to itch because i wanted to travel and take photos again!!
When i got back to London i was stuck out of the house for a few hours and being so tired and such a nice day i decided to go and have a nap on the park bench. I fell into a deep sleep and when i awoke i got a pretty big fright! This cute little cat was streched out on my belly purring! I named him Hercules to remember the trip.
Yesturday i met THE funniest old man i had ever met! We started chatting at the bus stop and i just could'nt stop laughing. The stuff he told me about London life was just gold! I have to do a documentary about this guy. That is my main aim before i leave for NZ.
My next big adventure is in a couple of weeks. I am going to South Korea on the 10th Sep for 11 days which I cant wait!!!!
will update later
lance
Im home safely after one of the most amazing experiences of my life to date. I will try and keep this blog short.
We flew to Qatar from Brize Norton air base in Oxfordshire. We then flew with the british soldiers to Iraq in a Hercules which was WICKED! Was a little bit nervous but more excited whilst on the Herc. The scariest part was flying into Basrah and all the lights on the plane going off. It was pitch black and all I could hear was the muffled sounds of the propellors due to my ear plugs. The only available light source was shining in from the city lights of basrah through the one window and striking the soldiers scared faces, moving up and down, side to side as the Herc banked over the city. We were all wide eyed and sweating with our body armor and helmets on. We arrived, had a briefing and was shown to our tents. The soldiers said that we probably would'nt get mortared as they had'nt come under attack for ages. But..... 10 minutes later, whilst having a cool drink in the mess hall, the director and i heard the explosion. Then the sirens went off and we had to put on our helmet and body armor and run for cover. It was pretty scary the first night. It was my first real feeling of fear and i thought to myself "what have i got myself into!!!!". Luckily tho, that was the only fear I had the whole trip.
Me at the helicopter base.Those things are so cool!
The first day we went out on patrol to visit the marsh arabs. Was very exciting to get out of the base and meet the local people. We met the local Sheik who was in charge of 30,000 people. Was an amazing experience.
I know what your thinking! Such a geek..... goes to Iraq and takes photo of dragonflys! But, i really dont care haha.The temperature was pretty warm but it did'nt effect me as much as i thought it would. The heat really does suck the energy out of your body, so at each meal i was eating about 3 times as much as i usually would. Jon, my director probably thought i was a pig but i lost 3 kg's for the whole trip!! I think the temperature one day was about 52 degrees celcious, quite warm. There was one stage when i was literally lying in a pool of water on my stretcher. You have to keep drinking ALL the time or you get tired and dehydrate.
The wildlife there was pretty cool!! There were Turtles, Bats, Camel Spiders, Dragonflys, mosquitos, Camels and a lot more creatures. Only saw one camel spider which attacked the two soldiers we were talking to. But it was just a baby and got squashed by one of the soldiers boots. I could'nt believe how fast those half spider, half scorpion beasts were tho!!! and the soldiers were pretty scared of them haha. dont blame them!
There is soo much to write about but i just don't have much time. So, overall the experience in Iraq was amazing and has changed me in a lot of ways. At the end i really did'nt want to leave and if i get asked to go again i will probably say yes.
Since i have been back, my life in England has changed a little too. The day after i got back i took a train to the south coast of England to film the acceptance speech of the winner of the "Lucie Awards" which is the oscars for photography. What a beautiful old couple they were and such an inspiration! Its funny because most documentary photographers / cameramen all have the same personalitys. I got along really well with him (cant name him yet) and his wife and his work was just unbelievable. It really made me begin to itch because i wanted to travel and take photos again!!
When i got back to London i was stuck out of the house for a few hours and being so tired and such a nice day i decided to go and have a nap on the park bench. I fell into a deep sleep and when i awoke i got a pretty big fright! This cute little cat was streched out on my belly purring! I named him Hercules to remember the trip.Yesturday i met THE funniest old man i had ever met! We started chatting at the bus stop and i just could'nt stop laughing. The stuff he told me about London life was just gold! I have to do a documentary about this guy. That is my main aim before i leave for NZ.
My next big adventure is in a couple of weeks. I am going to South Korea on the 10th Sep for 11 days which I cant wait!!!!
will update later
lance
posted by Lance Wordsworth @ 6:30 AM
0 comments
And yes,,,,,,,,, it is out of focus on purpose! Looks like a water painting and when you see it as a bigger photo it has soothing qualities. HAHAHA "Soothing qualities!!" Im such a geek!
