I’ve snapped over a thousand images in hostile environments over the past decade, some of which I’ve used as visuals in talks for my books. Many people who’ve attended those presentations have suggested afterward that I post my photographs online. Well, at long last, I’m acting on their advice and launching an online Photo Gallery.
I’m kicking off with a selection of images that have influenced my fiction books including my debut novel, The Infidel, a modern day military thriller inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s The Man Who Would Be King, and my forthcoming novel, The Good Jihadist, an action thriller set against the duplicitous landscape of modern-day Pakistan that follows ex-SAS Sergeant Matt Logan’s hunt for a Pakistani Taliban leader.
My subject matter is as diverse as the places I’ve operated in. This first batch of images includes an Apache helicopter, Russian attack helis, a US artillery gun, US army operating on the ground in Afghanistan, Afghan security forces training at the KMTC, children’s war art, Pakistani jihadists, riot police in Islamabad, a tank graveyard, landscapes, villages and a winding mountain pass just to name a few.
I’m not a professional photographer. All of my photographs were taken either on the move or during time outs whilst looking after clients in hostile environments (my camera allowed me to maintain a lower profile with media clients and not stick out as “the security man”. It also served as an ice breaker in tense situations).
I hope you enjoy the Photo Gallery. For those of you who have read The Infidel and who plan to read The Good Jihadist when it is released this August, I hope it enhances your enjoyment of both novels. If you like the gallery, please do check back, as I will be adding to it regularly. Next up is a selection of photographs from The Circuit, my non-fiction account of the private security industry.
Bob Shepherd 