A California-based fine arts photographer has created a series of images portraying injured war veterans in a powerful and sexually charged avatar. The 52-year-old photographer, Michael Stokes, has been raising money in Kickstarter to include these images into a coffee-table book.
The project features stunning photos of war veterans who have lost one or more limbs but posing confident and of course - nude.
The project began with Alex Minsky, a US Marine whose leg was amputated after suffering a roadside bomb in Afghanistan in 2009. After Minsky set the tone for a confident and proud photo-shoot as opposed to a sombre one, other veterans began to sign up, leading to a book by Stokes called “Always Loyal”.
“Some people will say to me ‘Oh, this is really helpful to their self-esteem,’ or, ‘You’re making them feel like men again,’” Stokes told MTV. “These guys have come to me very healed and ready to take the world on. I’m not giving them back their confidence. They already have it.”
This hardcover photo book with dust jacket will be approximately 128 pages and will measure 13.5 X 10.4 inches, consisting of both colour and black & white images printed on heavy stock, high quality, photo paper. The full retail price will be $99.99.
Scroll down for some more of Stokes’ photos below and check out his Kickstarter and Facebook pages.
(All captions taken from official Facebook page of Michael Stokes Photography, Boredpanda and Kickstarter)
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