#13 CAMERA Book Review: Tim Hetherington - Infidel

A look through the late Tim Hetherington's book Infidel.

Tim Hetherington's Infidel documents a platoon of United States soldiers stationed at the Restrepo outpost in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley, one of the most heavily contested areas of the war during 2007 and 2008. Working alongside journalist Sebastian Junger, Hetherington spent almost a year embedded with Second Platoon, Battle Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. Published by Chris Boot in 2010, the book grew from this extended period of observation, examining the daily lives of soldiers living and fighting in an isolated mountain outpost rather than attempting to document the wider political conflict.

Rather than concentrating solely on combat, Infidel explores the psychological and emotional experience of military service through photographs of routine, exhaustion, friendship and vulnerability. Hetherington's images of soldiers resting, waiting and interacting with one another challenge conventional representations of war photography by shifting attention from action to the human experience of conflict. The title derives from a tattoo adopted by members of the platoon, while the book also incorporates interviews and visual material that place the photographs within the culture and identity of the unit. Infidel remains one of the most significant contemporary photobooks on the war in Afghanistan, reflecting Hetherington's sustained interest in masculinity, violence and the relationships formed within conflict rather than the spectacle of war itself.

Tim Hetherington
Chris Boot
Sebastian Junger

#photography #photobook #afghanistan

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