The war photographer Sebastian Backhaus was in Syria, in Afghanistan and now also in the Ukraine. A conversation about moments of fear of death, professional myths and the important stories behind the front.
Interviewed by
Anna Ernest
During a holiday trip to Cairo, Egypt, in 2011, Sebastian Backhaus got caught between the fronts of Islamists and democracy activists. In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, the social worker gets a camera – and coincidentally starts with something that he makes his main job a few years later: photography in crisis regions. Then the 42-year-old Berliner was on the ground in all the major conflicts of the past few years: in Syria, Libya, Iraq, Nagorno-Karabakh, Afghanistan and most recently in Ukraine. A conversation about dangers and fears, professional myths and chocolate bars.