For over eight years I have been photographing the US Navy on land and at sea. I am with the Sailors as they stand midnight watch on the bridge, work in hot engine rooms and in the scorching heat and pouring rain on the flight deck. Always training and always ready.
As a Canadian my interest may have started as a fascination with this exotic brand of hyperbolic American patriotism but as I went from judgmental outsider full of prejudice to a friend, lover, and insider. The stereotype that lured me in became more complex and these sailors became my world.
This series of images focuses not only on the men and women who serve as they work day and night but the life long friendships they gain while serving in the Navy and the families that wait for the Sailors when they come home after months at sea.
The sacrifices are many including long deployments leaving behind family, friends and home. I am putting a face and a personality onto the generic uniformed military man that is perceived as a number in a fleet or army of anonymous troops sent off into battle. I am showing these dynamic characters that work hard and play even harder.