Bruce Haley

5. The editors of the major magazines really don’t give a rat’s ass about the latest war and famine in the hinterlands of East BurkinaTimorLanka... you’ll never get an assignment to cover this unless Leonardo DiCaprio becomes a rebel commander and Tommy Hilfiger designs his battle fatigues....

I was reading Utne Reader at the library when I came across an article with a list citing Bruce Haley's words of wisdom concerning life and war photography- mostly how the latter can affect the former. As I've mentioned before- how does anyone come anywhere near taking even a technically proficient photo with bullets, shrapnel and body parts flying all about, let alone create the occasional "art" photo? All I know is that if I had ever tried to play war photographer, I'd have been the guy who gets the first round to the head as soon as he stepped outside the bar, the foxhole, the...

But as absorbing as his war imagery may be (and it is), the work that most fascinates me is his other worldly Disfigured Landscapes (even more so if I ever get to see the actual prints rather than these measly two inch facsimiles). What a testament to man's legacy- an in your face photographic record of how man has tortured, maimed and single handedly executed not only his fellow man, but the very planet that fed, nurtured and gave birth to him...