IMAGES FROM BAGHDAD

ABINGDON – David Patton walked into a war.

And he just started shooting.

Over and over.

With a camera.

In late 2004 to early 2005, this middle-aged man from Abingdon took a trip to Iraq, embedded with Troop F, 2nd Squadron, 278th ACR, Tennessee National Guard, as a representative of the now-defunct Abingdon Virginian newspaper.

"It was my wish to present a positive view of our soldiers in the Middle East, either through photographs or articles," Patton said.

So he packed cameras. And he grabbed notebooks.

He took film. Lots of it.

Actually, Patton prefers the old-fashioned nature of film instead of digital photography. He even likes what he calls "the mystery" of not knowing whether a particular shot came out or not.

And then?

Coming back from a couple of months in Iraq, Patton figured he had all the shots he needed. After all, Patton figured he had used 170 rolls of film in Iraq.

Now, nearly three years later, Patton found he had enough artistic frames leftover to showcase his own "Greetings In Baghdad" – a collection of photos now on display at the Swallowtail Restaurant lobby in Abingdon.

‘FIRST TIME’

Just after getting all 29 black-and-white photos on the wall in his display, Patton smiled and said, "This is the first time I’ve had an exhibit of anything from this trip."

It’s a varied collection – what Patton subtitles "A Tourist’s Guide to Iraq in Black and White."

One photo shows women in Baghdad with strikingly beautiful faces, including Israa, an Iraqi Muslim woman who worked for a contracting firm in Baghdad.

"Taken with her beauty," Patton said, "I spent almost an hour with Israa and her friends one afternoon taking photos and chatting about everyday life in Baghdad."

Another photo shows the destruction of the interior of one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces.

More pictures show street scenes of troops, landmarks and roads.

One frame, too, displays the smiling visage of Staff Sgt. Stephen R. Maddies, who was killed in action in 2007 while serving in Iraq.

"Sgt. Maddies was with the troop that I went with to Iraq," Patton said. "He was a very pleasant person and friendly to everyone, always smiling yet prepared to serve his country."

‘HOPING AND PRAYING’

A freelance photographer, Patton keeps busy with various assignments, including shooting pictures for Viking Hall Civic Center in Bristol Tennessee.

About 11 years ago, Patton also served a stint as a photographer for the Bristol Herald Courier.

So why did he go to war?

"I just wanted to go to Baghdad and see what’s going on," Patton said.

But, was he scared?

"Well, not really," he said. "I was too stupid to be scared. Gosh, I’m more scared coming down Cummings Street [in Abingdon] on a Friday afternoon."

Yet Patton’s mother, Peta Patton, who lives in Abingdon, well remembers the Christmas she spent without her son, she said. "I did a lot of hoping and praying that he’d come home safely."

The photographer did make it home – just fine.

While embedded with the troops, Patton’s lodging and meals were paid for by the U.S. Army, he said, but he had to pay for his own $1,500 plane trip back to the United States.

It will be no coincidence that Patton’s "Greetings From Baghdad" went on display in time for Veterans Day.

"This war is real, the soldiers are real, Baghdad was real," Patton said. "I wanted my photographs to be real."

Patton, too, wanted his photographs to be in black-and-white.

"It’s dramatic," he said. "What you see is what you get. It’s traditional. And, I just like the starkness of it."

| (276) 791-0704

YOU SHOULD KNOW

• What: "Greetings From Baghdad," a photography display by David Patton, with some photos available for purchase
• Where: Swallowtail Restaurant lobby, 309 Falls Plaza Drive, Abingdon, just off U.S. 19/58A
• When: On display through November
• Info: (276) 628-5541