With a web address of warandweddings.com, one is not quite sure what to expect. And at first glance of the home page, it becomes readily apparent that Mark Brecke is no wedding photographer. Amidst the soothing green background and the innocent script font is a black and white photo that tells the story of millions, a story of despair – complete and utter loss. Gazes are lowered, heads rest in hands as mothers wonder what to do, where to go, what is happening. Your eyes move to the children in the picture. You want to help, hug, tell them all it will be ok.

 “Children are the hardest to see – the face of war in a child reads so different…” Mark softly says of the complex crisis in Darfur. From October to December 2004 Brecke lived in refugee camps on the eastern border of Chad, and for five of those weeks traveled the broken country of Sudan with members of the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA), one of two rebel groups fighting the government-backed militia known as the Janjaweed. Armed only with a messenger bag containing a change of clothes, camera, first aid kit, bubbles, and a few pieces of paper quite resembling US twenty dollar bills, Mark lived, breathed and documented yet another war.

A veteran of hostile situations, Mark and his 35mm have traveled to over 70 countries and captured five wars. In 2003 he began working on a book called Letters to America, and ended up an imbedded photographer in Iraq. He was in the West Bank at such a delicate time even the chef at the hotel where he was staying couldn’t get there. He doesn’t have a passport stamp to prove it, but he’s been to Kosovo. And of his days spent in Rwanda: “it’s the worst I’ve ever seen.”

A lot of research, some good street sense, and a few counterfeit bills to get past some of the world’s trickier checkpoints are essentially all Mark needs to be in "press only” places without actually being a member of the press. That and the remnants of a teenage skill of forging concert tickets – a helpful trade when things like press passes are sometimes required. He doesn’t condone this sort of behavior, but notes, “a lot of things can go wrong; you have to be prepared for the unexpected. You have to be emotionally committed to going down this road, the rest is just logistics.”

Mark always travels with something for the kids. In the past he’d take small toys such as yo-yo’s or balloons, but being surrounded by 100 children who barely have the clothes on their backs, there simply wasn’t enough to go around. Enter bubbles – seemingly endless fun, always bringing on smiles and everyone can have one you – can’t own or steal a bubble.  Read More...