Mountains

I took this picture from the top of the ISAF HQ bldg at KAIA and cropped it down to look like a panoramic.  The entire city of Kabul is surrounded by mountains and when the sky is clear you can get some amazing views.

Sunset over the Flightline

I happened to be walking toward my truck tonight and I was absolutely taken aback by the sun.  I was also thankful for the promise I've made to myself to always have my camera with me.  My camera had a hard time focusing but it gives the picture the feel of a painting which I love.

Russian Aircraft Engines: Sense of Scale

I'm including this picture to give you a sense of how many engines were delivered.  If you can imagine, the pile is about 30 feet deep to my left and extends about 100 feet past me!  These engines were delivered to the airport because the US government was paying $30,000 a month to store them.  We asked the Afghans to turn them in for scrap metal since the engines are useless but they refused.  So, at least we found a place to store them for free.  This is probably one of the only pictures you'll ever see of me too, so enjoy :)

Russian Aircraft Engines

300 beat up Soviet-era aircraft engines were recently brought to the Air Corps compound to sit.  Most are from aircraft that no longer fly...  I was taking pictures of the whole group but decided I liked focusing on a few elements, in this case, the use of circles.

On a Forklift

I took this picture on Thanksgiving day, 2009.  My model here is a Captain from my Squadron.  I used a forklift to lift him up over the fence and give him a view of the mountains.  We had to take advantage of the opportunity that the sky was actually pretty clear... doesn't happen very often in Kabul.  You have to appreciate this kind of effort just to take a picture.

Rug Salesman

I caught a sleeping rug salesman at the weekly bazaar at the KAIA ISAF compound :)  This picture was taken on May 9, 2009.  Local Afghans would come to sell things like rugs, jewelry, bootleg CDs and DVDs, etc to NATO forces.

Itsi

This picture was taken April 22, 2009.  I named this cat Itsi after the name of the contractor that built the Afghan National Army Air Corps compound at Kabul International Airport.  She lived and always hung around my office.  It's sad to see such a sweet animal surrounded by garbage and filth like the cigarette butts in the picture.

Propane Bottles

Picture was taken on April 9, 2009.  These are the propane bottles that are used in the Afghan kitchen at Kabul International Airport (KAIA).