When you read about wounded war veterans, the last thing you expect to see is a bold and exposing photo session that won’t leave anything to the imagination. In the course of their service, many combat veterans had sustained life-threatening wounds. Despite this, a fine arts photographer has managed to capture the underlying self-confidence and attractiveness that many of these guys still retain.

Michael Stokes, a photographer specializing in the fine arts who works out of California, is a true expert in his field. The sexiness and confidence of war veterans are boldly captured in these edgy images. Veterans in this new Veteran Portrait series are seen proudly exhibiting their prosthetics and missing body parts in photographs.

It was Alex Minsky, a US Marine and the driving force behind this extraordinary project, who started it all. In 2009, an explosion caused by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan resulted in the amputation of his leg. Next, Minsky came up with an innovative concept: instead of focusing on conventional veteran stories, the picture session would instead focus on building one’s own self-confidence. As a response to his efforts, many more war veterans jumped on board, leading to a book by Stokes called”Always Loyal.”

To others, he may seem to restore their sense of male power or increase their self-esteem, as Stokes admitted to MTV. Stokes then responded, saying these guys had come to him in a highly healed condition and were prepared to face the world.

“I’m not giving them back their confidence. They already have it”

Image courtesy & More info: michaelstokes.net | Facebook | Kickstarter

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