A Marine’s Disposable War
Iraq, 2003 / A photographic record
Open the camera, or go straight to the photographs.
West of Eden
Photograph by Kenny Bass.
Experience settings
The opening, mechanism and residue are an artistic interpretation of a period camera. The original photographs remain unaltered. Collection order is not a claimed original exposure order.
Fifteen photographs.
One disposable camera.
Help bring these photographs and their accessible companion to more audiences.
Support this projectThe story behind the record
Carried home. Seen again.
In 2003, Kenny Bass carried one disposable camera as a young Marine infantryman in Iraq. The photographs recorded work sites, improvised vehicles, resting Marines, industrial structures, damaged machinery and material before and after use.
He returned to the photographs more than two decades later. Their color, softness, flare and uneven exposures remain part of the record. The project does not try to summarize the war. It asks what these moments can hold, and what a photograph cannot tell us on its own.
A Marine’s Disposable War is a 15-photograph body featuring Spent, 2026 Analog Sparks International Film Photography Awards Bronze Winner, Photojournalism / Conflict.
Description, historical context, personal recollection and authorship accompany every work. The accessible companion is part of how the photographs meet their audience.
The photographs / 01—15
Now see what the camera held.
Fifteen original photographs, presented in full with their credits, descriptions and context.
View all fifteen photographs
More than a way to look.
Visual descriptions, historical context, first-person recollections and authorship accompany every photograph.
Kenny Bass · Selected CV
Artist CV & selected recognition
Marine Corps veteran, photographer, author and Co-Founder / Executive Director of The Battle Buddy Foundation. Bass’s work connects documentary photographs, personal history and accessible ways of encountering art.
2026 · Award
Analog Sparks International Film Photography Awards
Bronze Winner, Photojournalism / Conflict, for Spent.
Official award listing2026 · Juried virtual exhibition
Chasing Ghosts 10: Piercing the Veil Through Remembrance, Legacy, and Beyond
Spent selected for the juried virtual group exhibition at Verum Ultimum Art Gallery, Portland, Oregon.
View the exhibitionPast exhibition · October 29, 2026
Dayton Society of Artists · Pop-Up Exhibition
Spent and West of Eden were exhibited at the Annual Members Meeting & Pop-Up Exhibition in Dayton, Ohio.
View the host’s event listing2015 / 2017 · Documentary participation
Searching for Home: Coming Back from War · From War to Wisdom
Featured documentary participant, appearing as himself in both films.
Documentary and media creditsSelected public engagement
Speaking, film conversations and veteran advocacy
Stanford University film preview and Q&A (2015); W.K. Kellogg Foundation Veterans Day keynote (2016); Wiregrass Memorial Day keynote (2022); Kettering Rotary presentation (October 21, 2026).
Speaking and public engagement
A Marine’s Disposable War brings together fifteen photographs from the disposable camera Bass carried in Iraq in 2003. Individual photograph credits and context accompany the work. The digital photobook is complete; a physical hardcover is in preparation.
Exhibitions and public talksContinue beyond the photographs.
Support this project
Help prepare the photographs and accessible interpretation for more audiences.
Support this project