The Year in Pictures 2009
In the Air
An unmanned surveillance blimp at FOB Summerall in central Iraq monitors the base and its periphery for incoming fire. "This is a tethered airship used by the military as a cheap form of surveillance," explains photographer Richard Mosse. "They mount an enormous camera on the bottom and raise the ship into the air, and it's able to peer over the periphery of the base. I became drawn to this weird airship. I shot it a lot. Because of the wind, the airship bangs against the trailer it's tethered to. It has a beautiful, ambient echoing. There were lots and lots of soldiers, but they were garrisoned in other parts of the base. So this was the loneliest part. It was way out. There was a fellow in the shed who got spooked when he saw me there. This is the face of modern warfare — totally impersonal."