Winner of a Getty Images Grants for Editorial Photography, Simon Roberts recently completed his project entitled The Russian Army.

Photo courtesy of Simon Roberts

Roberts writes, “My study begins with an exploration of the military in Russian society, looking at how closely the two are tied. It then follows the lives of conscript soldiers, those young men who are forced to spend 2 years in military service and who still make up the backbone of the army.   It documents them saying goodbye to their loved ones and follows them through their basic training at barracks around Russia.  The Russian army is one of the most problematic and intriguing cornerstones of Russian society.  Every year some 40,000 troops desert, approximately 200 soldiers commit suicide and new conscripts are paid as little as £1 a month. Human Rights Watch (HRW) deputy chairman for Russia, Alexandra Petrov, recently said that, “there are two places in Russia that people die practically on a daily basis: Chechnya and the Army.”

See Simon’s finished essay at Getty Images Grants website.

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A note from Jonathan Klein

Majid Saeedi, a freelance photographer for Getty Images, is one of many dedicated photojournalists providing images from the current situation in Iran. In the course of completing this important work, Majid has been arrested. We at Getty Images are working toward his safe and quick release. We will continue to monitor the situation and will provide updates here as they are available.

Jonathan Klein

Co-founder and CEO

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Jonathan Torgovnik

For the past three years I have been working on a personal project Intended Consequences: Rwandan Children Born of Rape, collecting testimonies and photographing women that were brutally raped during the Rwandan Genocide and had a child as a result of those brutal encounters. I have photographed and interviewed forty families throughout Rwanda, learning first hand about the multiple levels of trauma these mothers are dealing with on a daily basis.

After my second trip to Rwanda, I knew that this would be a project I wanted to continue and would need substantial support in order to do so.  After applying  to the Getty Images Grant for Editorial Photography (for the second time) I was thrilled to learn I was awarded the $20,000 grant. It was instrumental in helping me to complete this undertaking and making sure I could work on the project with the freedom, depth and time necessary to do it the right way. I’m really grateful to Getty Images for creating this grant which enables documentary photographers to complete projects that often are hard to finance from mainstream media.

On March 5, 2009, the Intended Consequences exhibition launched at Aperture Gallery in New York , coinciding with the 15th year anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. Intended  Consequences will be in NY until May 5 and on April 29 a panel discussion will be held regarding my project at 6:30 PM.   I hope this exhibition will bring awareness to the forgotten consequences of sexual violence and genocide.

Aperture Gallery
547 West 27th Street, Fl.4
between 10th and 11th Avenue
New York, New York
(212)505-5555

I have also co-founded Foundation Rwanda which supports secondary school education of children born of rapes committed during the Rwandan genocide in 1994.

To see more of my imagery from my Sept 2007 grant project, please click here.

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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Sgt. Joe Flannagan of the Alhambra police department wipes his eyes he watches funeral services for four Oakland police officers March 27, 2009 in Oakland, California. Thousands of police officers from across the country along with members of the public came out to pay their respects to four Oakland police officers that were killed in the line of duty last Saturday following a traffic stop of a fugitive parolee. Over 15,000 people attended the memorial service.

It wasn’t the place to be if you had a warrant out for your arrest. Thousands of cops from all over North America were in Oakland to attend the funeral service for four slain Oakland police officers. I saw cops from Boston, Minneapolis, Nevada and even the Canadian Mounties. It was a remarkable turnout for the four killed officers.

By the time I arrived for my assignment at the Oracle Arena, the parking lots were about a third full and a line of police cars continued to stream in. A line of blue uniforms snaked from the parking lot the entrance of the arena. A sign above the door read “Forever Heroes.” The entire Oakland police force was in attendance, hundreds of them lined the back steps of the arena as the awaited the arrival of their fallen comrades. One by one, police escorted hearses carrying flag draped caskets passed under a giant American flag that hung from two Oakland fire department aerial trucks. In unison, police officers saluted as the casket was removed from the hearse and taken into the arena.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Pallbearers carry a casket holding the body of a slain Oakland police officer into the Oracle Arena during funeral services for four killed Oakland police officers March 27, 2009 in Oakland, California. Thousands of police officers from across the country along with members of the public came out to pay their respects to four Oakland police officers the were killed in the line of duty last Saturday following a traffic stop of a fugitive parolee.

Fifteen minutes prior to the 11am start of the service, a long line of officers and general public were still waiting to get in. The line would soon have to be diverted to the neighboring McAfee coliseum since the arena had reached capacity. Thousands would watch the service on the jumbotron in the stadium where the Oakland A’s play. In all, over 20,000 people had come out to pay their respects.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Police officers wait to enter the Oracle Arena for funeral services for four killed Oakland police officers March 27, 2009 in Oakland, California. Thousands of police officers from across the country along with members of the public came out to pay their respects to four Oakland police officers the were killed in the line of duty last Saturday following a traffic stop of a fugitive parolee.

Shortly after the service started, I went to file photos before continuing to cover what was expected to be a three hour event. After filing, I made my way over to the Coliseum to photograph the people watching the live feed. Right before I got the entrance I ran into a friend from the LA Times and she told me that she had been kicked out along with the rest of the press. She said that at the time of her ejection, she wasn’t even taking pictures. Apparently, someone in the Coliseum security team had decided to kick out all the press for no apparent reason. This was kind of bad news since there would certainly be some nice images from there.

I ran into Victor Blue and we were chatting with a TV crew for NBC. The TV was frustrated and left. Victor and I stuck around and chatted and out of nowhere a cop from Modesto came up to us and said we could go in now. This was great. Inside, about 5,000 people sat in the shade and stared at the big screens in right and left field. Everyone sat silent, some cried.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A police officer watches funeral services for four Oakland police officers March 27, 2009 in Oakland, California. Thousands of police officers from across the country along with members of the public came out to pay their respects to four Oakland police officers that were killed in the line of duty last Saturday following a traffic stop of a fugitive parolee. Over 15,000 people attended the memorial service.

At the conclusion of the service I went to try and find a vantage point to shoot the procession of hearses and police vehicles. I had envisioned four hearses in a row with hundreds of police motorcycles making their way down the freeway. I found a nice overpass and waited for them to roll down the highway. As I waited, I watched a never ending flow of police cars mixed in with the traffic. Everyone seemed to be going the speed limit as the cop cars outnumbered the civilian cars 5 to 1. After a half hour of waiting, the freeway cleared and the first wave of motorcycles crested horizon.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Police officers on motorcycle escort a hearse carrying the casket of a slain Oakland police officer following funeral services for four Oakland police officers March 27, 2009 in Oakland, California. Thousands of police officers from across the country turned out with other mourners to pay their respects to the four officer killed in the line of duty March 21 following a traffic stop of a fugitive parolee. An estimated 15,000 people attended the memorial service.

Unfortunately, the hearses weren’t all together so it was four mini processions followed by hundreds of police motorcycles and cars. In all of the police funerals that I have covered, I have never seen a turnout of this size. It was a site to see.

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Justin Sullivan (l) and Mark Wilson (r) along with Special Events Technology Manager, Bob Covington pose and posture in front of the US Capitol West Front, site of the 44th Inaugural, following successful tests of the fiber-based photo network.

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Mario Tama/Getty Images

Mario Tama details the stories behind his powerful images of 9/11, the US presidential election and pre- and post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans. Click here to watch and listen.

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Starting can be a challenge, especially when it’s a start to an end. Today was the last day of the workshop where we experienced yet another gift. Phil took us through an inspiring presentation of his work which showed the development of his talent and contributions to the world of humanitarian photography and portraiture.

He is very generous with his time and encouragement. I sensed that all of us mentors have been nurtured and developed as much as the kids by this workshop. I know I certainly have.

The presentation of the kids’ film was a success. We met our deadline and around 50 villagers turned up at the Salon Municipal to support the kids. Five comedrona’s who have been sent for in a Tuk tuk sat in the front row. I worked the sound system and handed out nuts.

After dinner that night in the restaurant with all the kids I said goodbye to Heremias.  I am the youngest of the mentors he is the youngest of the kids, so we bonded quickly. Always smiling he’s like a cheeky little monkey. “Tu bueno hombre.” You’re a good man I tell him in my basic broken Spanish. He tells me and Suzie, one of the other mentors that we are good women. We hug and he scampers home.

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