Peter van Agtmael “I met Raymond Hubbard in the fall of 2007, in Washington D.C. At the time, he was recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, after having lost his left leg in Iraq the previous summer. I had b
(...) een covering Iraq and Afghanistan intensely for nearly two years and needed a break. I was attracted to Raymond’s intelligence and charisma, and we began hanging out. I was a bit shy of photographing him at first. After a while, he snorted, rolled his eyes at my transparent hesitation and invited me to photograph what I wanted, how I wanted. We began spending a lot of time together. A few months after we met, he was discharged from the hospital and moved back to his small hometown of Darien, Wisconsin. I joined him out there a few weeks later. We partied together, smoked too many cigarettes and talked intimately. One day he asked for a family portrait. He loved Star Wars and wanted to pose with his sons and lightsabers. We went to a nearby cornfield at dusk and took a few photos. I wish I had taken more. Sometimes I mark time through this photograph.”
– Peter van Agtmael © Peter van Agtmael | Magnum Photos
