Looking Back | Summer 2005 in Iraq

by Matthew Parker on October 6, 2009

This semester at school has brought with it some unexpected challenges. In a writing course I was tasked with writing a letter to a family member about a very specific experience. I decided to really challenge myself to dig deep and find something that to write about that would be helpful to me (yes I can sometimes be selfish). I decided to write a letter to my Grandfather about a difficult day for me in Iraq. I knew he had experienced many such days during WWII and had hoped to talk with him when I returned from my first tour. Unfortunately he passed away while I was in Iraq and I never had the opportunity to speak to him. Working on this letter reminded me of a series of videos I created while I was deployed…

I made this video during an especially difficult period during my deployment. We had suffered a lot of casualties during a short period of time and morale was low across the base. Shortly after I completed this video I lost a friend to an IED attack and whenever I come across this video I think of him.
SSG Mitchell this is for you..

Tagged as: Baghdad, IED, Iraq, PSYOP

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Matthew Parker's photography is captivated by the challenge of catching the beauty of creation, undestroyed by humans. Whether in distant National Parks, urban parks or in his hometown of San Diego, Matt enjoys using the camera lens to frame the incredible beauty around him. He seeks to capture both the easily-overlooked beauty of subtle patterns in rocks and water reflections, as well as the magnificent grandeur of mountain peaks and grand vistas.

Matthew has been fascinated by photography since he got his first Nikon camera, a N6006, in 1996. Although his backpacking companions thought he was crazy for lugging all that camera gear along on their adventures, he could not resist its allure, and continues to capture pieces of the experience of being immersed in nature's beauty, as a reminder for himself and an invitation to others. (He admits to having no memories of hiking without a camera--whether it was an early point-and-shoot camera or his current equipment.) He is almost always planning the next opportunity when he can get out into the "wild" with his photo equipment.

Now, Matthew shoots primarily with a Nikon D300, but still uses film on occasion too, both with a variety of lenses. He enjoys the control over color that digital printing allows him, and continues to explore the possibilities new technology offers to the classic photographic medium. His years of experience running a computer design business have given him a keen eye for design and experience in digital media.

Matthew's art seeks to honor the beauty of particular places. His photos are identified by their setting, in appreciation for the particular and wonderful beauty of the world. Through photography, he seeks to increase people's attention to the natural beauty around us, in parks, reserves, forests and our backyards.