Photographers Narrative

A long day of physical training and combatives awaited the cadets after waking up at 4 a.m. The cadets I observed were pushed to their limits in hot weather with 100 percent humidity and in black flag conditions. The intensity of the cadets clashing with each other was telling and was easy to capture because it’s what you would expect to see from that type of training. But as photojournalists, it’s our job to show what people miss, what they walk past and don’t realize. The shot of the cadets taking a break to catch their breath show just how exhausted they were from working hard all day in such extreme heat. When most people think of summer camp, they think of a good time. However, at this cadet summer camp, they are pushed to mental and physical exhaustion, revealing to every cadet what they can accomplish with confidence and hard work.