'Soldier's Lens' photo exhibit opens in Ybor City

Four people—a woman and three men, two of whom are wearing military fatigues—smile and hug each other closely in a celebratory group portrait taken indoors in Vietnam, circa 1968-69. Battalion party after a firefight in Vietnam c. 1968-69. Credit: Tom Arthur / The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts (FMoPA)

The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts in Ybor is now showing ‘The Soldier’s Lens.’ It provides an intimate look at active-duty service members, veterans, and their families.

Tom Arthur kept a Kodak Brownie camera in his left breast pocket while he was serving in the Vietnam War.

“And I kept it there just in case a bullet might find me. Maybe the camera would slow down the bullet, but fortunately, that never happened,” Arthur told WMNF.

But what did happen is he captured photos that he now says helped him process the realities of war.

“It’s a great way to capture the people in these difficult environments, and what was going on then, and it is so much easier to see and understand than reading about it,” Arthur said.

Images include soldiers crossing rivers in sampans, combat near a Buddhist pagoda, and patrols through flooded terrain reminiscent of the Florida Everglades.

Arthur said the concept for a veterans’ photography showcase was born after a board member he had worked with on photo projects came to him with the idea.

“[It’s] a great thing to do for veterans and for the civilians that have never served in the military, to go down and see what all these men and women experienced at various times in various parts of the world,” Arthur said.

The exhibit features photos that span from World War II and the Korean War to Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Sudan.

The works of Arthur and others are on display at the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts in Ybor City until December 7th.

This post first appeared at WMNF news, which is part of the Tampa Bay Journalism Project (TBJP), a nascent Creative Loafing Tampa Bay effort supported by grants and a coalition of donors who make specific contributions via the Alternative Newsweekly Foundation. If you are a non-paywalled Bay area publication interested in TBJP, please email rroa@ctampa.com. Support WMNF News by visiting the community radio station’s station’s support page.

Credit: Tom Arthur / The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts (FMoPA)

Credit: Richard Lounders / The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts (FMoPA)

Credit: Kathleen Winter / The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts (FMoPA)

Credit: John H. Black / The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts (FMoPA)

Credit: Steve Collins / The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts (FMoPA)

Credit: Courtesy / The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts (FMoPA)

Credit: Robert Meier / The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts (FMoPA)

Two men on a small motorboat filled with freshly harvested oysters in Apalachicola Bay. One man stands and poles the boat while the other sits, with foggy, open water surrounding them. Fishermen oystering in Apalachicola Bay at Indian Pass on Feb. 21, 2006.
Credit: https://flic.kr/p/drjb82 / Flickr

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‘Soldier’s Lens’ photo exhibit opens in Ybor City

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