“One thing that I found is that there were three elements that really defined what it meant to transition from the service to out of the service. It’s really about diversity, adversity and triumph,” said photographer Devin Mitchell of his project.
Yesterday, we featured a heart-rending animation on a marine recounting the story of how he became the sole survivor of his 12-man team. Today, we expand the scope of military individuals adjusting to civilian life with Mitchell’s photo project.
Titled ‘The Veteran Art Project’, Mitchell uses deft Photoshop techniques juxtaposing individuals in their military uniform staring at their civilian selves through a mirror. All subjects were sourced through Facebook, and he hopes to capture 10,000 of such images.
Mitchell told Fox10 Phoenix that he wishes to showcase the story of military individuals as an entire person.
He said, “…It’s all the same person. It’s usually their story, it’s all their message, they kind of direct the shoot and I bring it to life.”
Check out some photos below and head on over to his website, @veteranartproject or Flickr for more visually arresting photos.
Photo by @devinography Soldier: Don Irwin
Photo by @devinography Soldier: Taralin Goldman, Army @taralin_gold
Photo by @devinography Soldier: @welcometoboz #abc7eyewitness
Photo by @devinography Soldier: Aubrey Eubanks
Photo by @devinography Soldier: @mackenzieclaude
[via Laughing Squid, images via Devin Mitchell]