Title: The World In Their Hands ‘Naturally, I was prepared to launch. That was our purpose…’ Colonel Alexander Tarasenko The current crisis in Ukraine has brought the political tensions of the Cold War into the light once again as both East and West seek to influence events outside of their borders in a proxy psychological battle. This series examines those who once prepared diligently to end the world for the sake of peace. This series of portraits are a series of soldiers and airmen who were once part of nuclear missile support crews on both sides of the ideological fence both in the USA and Ukraine. From those who maintained and refueled Nuclear ICBMs, the combat crew who would make the final decisions to launch, to those higher up the chain of command responsible of the readiness of scores of missiles able to launch within seconds and end civilization in minutes. With both countries having changed circumstances and politics in the intervening years they re-examine views of those who are veterans of this kind of psychological warfare and explore the parallel lives of soldiers whose life holding the ultimate responsibility was spent in secrecy. Captions: 1. Colonel Alexander Tarasenko Division Commander/ICBM Missile Crew Commander ‘Naturally, I was prepared to launch. That was our purpose…’ 2. Captain Bob Rice Ret. Missile Combat Crew Commander ‘We would never have struck first back then… which was why I was so upset when we went into Iraq.’ 3. Captain Les Walker Ret. Missile Combat Crew Commander ‘An actual launch feels pretty disappointing. You just can’t see, hear or feel anything in the launch control centre. You want to be outside watching it go.’ 4. Major Viktor Ksenzov Ret. Missile Guidance Analyst/ICBM Missile Combat Crew Member ‘The SS-18 ICBM has so many decoys the actual warheads are impossible to spot… we called it ‘Guess the tune’. 5. Lieutenant Colonel Sergi Bublik Ret. Engineer/ICBM Missile Crew Commander ‘I’d say the espionage must have been excellent… We had to spend more time learning about their systems than our own’. 6. Mark Fulton Ret. Missile Facilities Technician ‘The keys were just vending machine keys that you could find at any store. They were there just to keep an already honest man honest’. 7. Mark Nelson Ret. Missile Facilities Technician ‘Yes it is true that one man could have launched… we were trained for every eventuality’ 8. Warrant Officer Vladimir Ishenko Missile Facilities Technician/ICBM Combat Crew Member ‘…For 25 years my wife had no idea where I was going, when I left the house in the morningâ€.
My work focuses primarily on identity and heritage. Seeking a deeper understanding of history I examine objects and people in detail and use the reflection of today to glean unusual perspectives on the past. I use both still life and portrait genres for personal documentary work. This series was shot on Wista 8x10in - Kodak 160nc film. My influences include Simon Norfolk, Edmund Clarke, Charlie Crane, Roger Fenton and other large format film documentary photographers.
