Afghanistan Photographers

Nancy Mackensen

Nancy Mackensen, a writer, has recently begun exploring the world of photography. “As a child I always enjoyed taking pictures with my first camera, a gray Brownie. But, other earlier interests took me in a different direction.” She majored in Kinesiology from the University of Long Beach and then taught tennis, physical education, and health. For the past 19 years, Nancy’s primary focus has been her two children she and her husband have home-schooled. She is also active in Christian ministry through writing, music and missions. “My involvement in various countries where people have so little but give so much has opened my eyes to the things that truly matter.”

Her self-education, hands-on learning approach to photography was all she had to rely on while in Afghanistan. Point and shoot were the rules of the game; something she found to be challenging and exciting.

“ I have always taken to pen and paper to communicate what I have gleaned from my experiences. My growing interest in photography now provides another means of channeling knowledge and perspective to others----one where images convey their own words.”

Nancy desires to use her images from Afghanistan to generate further work in photojournalism.

Russell Mackensen

Russell Mackensen is an architect in private practice in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. His photographic experience started in grade school with a Polaroid, taking innocent candid shots of his older sister and her friends----“a photography venture which usually resulted in my being in big trouble with my sister.” In high school Russell became the yearbook sports editor and photographer; with a borrowed Nikon he learned how to shoot action in a variety of situations. He also began the process of learning darkroom techniques. While at the University of Kansas he was the lab assistant for the photography class teaching darkroom technique. Taking several independent study courses Russell worked on developing graphic uses of the camera and film in image printing and silkscreen fine art. For a brief period of time he sold some of his photographic artwork through various means. Russell continues to use his photography skills in his architectural work and photo presentations.

In 1990 Russell became involved in a non-profit organization called eMi (Engineering Ministries International). eMi is a Christian organization consisting of design professionals that donate their time to provide technical assistance to help the poor in the Third World by creating a better way of life. “It had been my desire for many years to discover a way of using my God-given talents to serve others in a meaningful way.”
“ eMi is establishing a presence in Afghanistan; to be a part of that is truly a privilege.”
In addition to Afghanistan, Russell has traveled with eMi to five other countries on four continents. He always packs his camera to endeavor to capture the people, their unique environment, and their needs.

Larry C. Price

Currently the assistant managing editor for photography at The Denver Post, Price is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner; first for his coverage of the 1980 coup in Liberia, and again in 1985 for his coverage of the civil wars in El Salvador and Angola. Price has worked as a staff photojournalist for The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Baltimore Sun and was a contract photographer for National Geographic. He is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin where he majored in journalism and minored in art and Middle East studies. Price traveled to Afghanistan in 1988 on assignment for The Philadelphia Inquirer Sunday magazine to explore power vacuum created with the withdrawal of the Soviet Military.

Beth Wald

Beth’s work is distinguished by its rich, evocative expression of landscape, and by its intimate portrayal of her human subjects.   Her visual exploration of environment and culture has taken her around the globe, from the Arctic to the tip of South America, from Afghanistan to Cuba, and from the icy slopes of the world’s highest peaks in the Himalayas to the stifling heat of the Great Rift Valley in East Africa.
Her many editorial clients include National Geographic, Smithsonian,   Life, Outside, National Geographic Adventure, Sports Illustrated, National Geographic Traveler, Travel & Leisure, The New York Times, Men’s Journal and Islands magazines.   She has collaborated on numerous books, the most recent being “Adventure America”, for National Geographic Books.   She is currently at work on a book documenting the unique lives and culture of the last of the Gauchos in Argentina.   Constantly expanding the possibilities of communication, she has worked on several new media projects, combining photos with sound, video and graphics, including a piece documenting music and musicians in Havana.

Her work has been exhibited in several galleries in the USA, in museums in Canada, Japan, France and Italy, and is part of several permanent collections.   Awards and recognition for her photography include Picture of the Year and features in American Photo.  

 
Beth Wald is based in Boulder Colorado, and is represented by Aurora, a highly regarded agency specializing in photojournalism and unique stock. www.auroraphotos.com

Craig F. Walker

Craig Walker has been a staff photojournalist for The Denver Post since 1998. He travels widely on assignment for the paper, both nationally and internationally. Walker spent months overseas in the wake of the September 11 tragedy, covering events in the Middle East. He was in Afghanistan in late 2001 and covered the bombing campaign at Tora Bora. Walker’s photographs have been exhibited at the Panopticon Gallery in Boston, the Image Gallery in Stockbridge, Massachusetts and at Chance Operations Gallery in Denver. Walker graduated from the Rhode Island School of Photography in 1986 and began his photojournalism career at the Berkshire Eagle in Berkshire, New Hampshire.