KEVIN FRAYER / HELMAND FROM ABOVE

© Kevin Frayer / AP

The Sacramental Bee has posted a series called Helmand Province From Above, by AP photographer Kevin Frayer. The black and white work is striking, in the way that aerial photography often is, due to the scale, and the less common perspective. Since these aerials are taken over one of the most dangerous places on the planet however, they also have the appeal of offering a different perspective on a story we have seen many times.

This series is in contrast to images from photographers in close to the violence, showing us the effects of the war on soldiers and civilians. Frayer's lens is an impartial look that examines all of the land and not just that hosting the current attack.

As violent as Helmand province is, it is also a province with farms and rivers and acres of emptiness. It is a province of workers, and camels and empty roads or of convoys. Frayer's images add context to the typical images we see from Helmand, through a more broad sense-of-place.

As these images show, it is important for 'war photographers' to photograph more than just war in order to be able to begin to tell the story of the conflict. This series is a nice beginning.