Victor J. Blue, ASU Future Security Fellow, is a photojournalist and writer focused on the legacy of armed conflict, and unequal outcomes driven by policy and politics. His documentary photo projects accompany the conflict in Afghanistan and post-conflict Guatemala, and his photographs appear regularly in the New York Times, as well as the New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, the New York Times Magazine, Bloomberg News, and the Wall Street Journal. His work has been supported by grants from the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), and Ohio University. His work has earned 7 Pictures of the Year International awards, 5 NPPA Best of Photojournalism awards, and recognition from the Overseas Press Club.
Blue will spend his fellowship year working on a photo book on the conflict in Afghanistan that traces the arc of the war from the counterinsurgency surge in 2009 to its conclusion in the dramatic Taliban takeover and its aftermath, and obliging a reckoning with the fantasies and miscalculations that underpinned the 20 year U.S. project there.
Selected Work
- Afghanistan, One Year After the Fall: A photo essay for the New York Times reflecting on the first year of Taliban rule in Afghanistan.
- On Patrol: 12 Days With a Taliban Police Unit in Kabul: An article for the New York Times profiling one Taliban unit tasked with guarding an important Shia shrine.
- The Healers: An article for NBC News profiling a trauma hospital in Kabul as the war intensified during the U.S. combat draw down.
- When War Is More Dangerous for Civilians Than Soldiers: An op-ed for the New York Times about unexploded ordinance and the danger it poses to Afghan civilians.
- Holding Tight to a Racing Tradition: An article for the New York Times exploring the traditional Native American horse racing known as Indian Relay and its role as a vital link to the horse culture that shapes and sustains Indigenous communities today.