Portrait of Lt. Colonel Ricardo Roig for GX Magazine

Straight out of the gate, my shoot for GX Magazine presented a interesting challenge; while the shoot would  take place in South Florida, the images needed to look as if they could have been taken in Iraq.  (Hummm!?)   Thankfully Lieutenant Colonel Ricardo Roig, the main subject I would be photographing, was on it.  He proposed that the shoot take place at the West Palm Beach Armory, where he oversees the weaponry and equipment.  With its gravel parking lot, tree-less mulch-covered field, and armored storage pods, the Armory turned out to be an ideal spot.  LTC Roig even arranged for an M1114 Hummer, with a weapon system mounted, to be positioned in the background (yikes!).

During the shoot, LTC Roig and Major Jimmy Arias shared their compelling (and quite serious) story outlined in the GX article and even showed my crew and I a map of the city in Iraq, in which they were stationed.  At that moment, I realized how fortunate I was- as an American- to be standing in the South Florida sun, shooting a camera and not a gun.