Heroyam Slava

Heroyam Slava was the result of three weeks in Eastern Ukraine living with Ukrainian soldiers and nationalist militias in the summer of 2015. I was fascinated the events and energy of the Euromaidan revolution in Ukraine one and a half years prior and felt there was lack of information coming from the frontlines of the conflict with pro-Russian separatists in the east. I did not want to make the typical combat photographs one might expect. Most of these portraits were shot during long conversations with my subjects, mostly through a translator, attempting to understand how this conflict was effecting the Ukrainian people living amongst it. The fragile peace most of us are fortunate enough to enjoy comes at great a cost to others and that is a realization that has become integral to how I perceive the world to this day.