Michelle LevesqueCombat Camera recently released their 2014 Year in Review Montage on social media. The collection of photos, taken by Canadian Armed Forces imagery technicians is a spectacle of the photographic talents and skills of military personnel.
Throughout the year image techs are deployed on operations throughout the world. Wherever the CAF is sent consideration is given to how photographers and videographers will fit into the mission.
“Nothing is staged in the photos taken in the field. Anything can happen. It is the job of the image tech to capture the moment. They can go out on five patrols and there is little to shoot with their camera, then on the sixth patrol everything is happening around them,” said Captain Gabrielle Rousseau, deputy head section – Canadian Forces Combat Camera.
The Year in Review Montage was compiled from all of the images catalogued by image technicians throughout 2014. In total the CAF has over 30,000 images on file.
“The work these men and women do is an art, but because we live in a digital age it is very technical as well. They have to upgrade their skills constantly and train regularly,” explained Rousseau, whose job is to act as producer of whatever story the photographer is trying to tell. “I decide what our objective is and make sure the photographer understands what we need. Then they go to work.”
Taking a photo while contending with desert sand, blowing snow, or huge ocean swells requires not only bravery, but talent. Image technicians can be found in combat situations as well. They carry not only cameras but their weapon and other standard kit.
Image techs take hundreds of shots, then choose approximately the best twelve of the lot. Those twelve are then submitted to a photo editor. In the case of the Year in Review the editor reviews all submitted photographs selects the photos that best represent the year, then a tech compiles them.
“Every year we put together the montage and sometimes a video as well. It depends on the time we have. Combat Camera section is involved in many operations and travels all over the world taking photos. It is not easy choosing the photos for the year in review.” said Rousseau. “We just can’t put everything in. We try to capture the essence of main operations.”
For the CAF the year 2014 was marked by moments of tremendous celebration and tremendous sadness, many caught on film by Combat Camera, including the 100th Anniversary of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, and the deaths of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent and Corporal Nathan Cirillo. It is to those two fallen soldiers the Combat Camera 2014 Year in Review Montage is dedicated.
To view the 2014 Year in Review Montage please visit Combat Camera’s Facebook page.
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