©Ashley Gilbertson / VII
A US Marine slides down the marble handrail in Saddam's extravagant palace built in his hometown of Tikrit, Iraq, on April 14, 2003. The Palace is not only enormous but contains rugs worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and a river was re-routed to pass the palace as a show of the Hussein family's wealth. Tikrit was the last major city in Iraq to fall, and many people felt it symbolized the end of the fighting in Iraq. Ashley Gilbertson/VII
©Ashley Gilbertson / VII
©Ashley Gilbertson / VII
©Ashley Gilbertson / VII
Marines run for cover after white phosphorus was accidentally fired at them by another company when Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, was somehow mistaken for a band of insurgents in Falluja, Iraq on November 9, 2004. No one was hurt, but a 4000 degree briquette burnt right through Dexter Filkins' backpack. It was horrible taking cover on the ground lying face up-- face down meant I couldn't dodge the pieces falling from the sky. (Photo by Ashley Gilbertson / VII Network)
©Ashley Gilbertson / VII
©Ashley Gilbertson / VII
©Ashley Gilbertson / VII
©Ashley Gilbertson / VII
©Ashley Gilbertson / VII
Army Pfc. Richard P. Langenbrunner, 19, committed suicide on April 17, 2007 in Rustimayah, Iraq. He was from Fort Wayne, Indiana. His bedroom was photographed in February, 2009. (Photo by Ashley Gilbertson / VII Network)
Army Pfc. Karina S. Lau, 20, died when her helicopter was shot down by insurgents on Nov. 2, 2003, in Falluja, Iraq. She was from Livingston, California. Her bedroom was photographed in December, 2009. (Photo by Ashley Gilbertson / VII Network)
Men try to free a log raft of planks that was destroyed after a storm tore it to pieces after a three month journey in village of Bolobo on the Congo river, Democratic Republic of Congo on March 20, 2022. The storm took three of the crews shelters and 1000 of the 6000 plank load. Artisanal logging remains a problem here, as does industrial logging. Raw exports of timber from D.R.C. have officially been banned in a new moratorium imposed by the Environment Minister, as she attempts to get a handle on the logging industry. (Photo by Ashley Gilbertson for The New York Times)
©Ashley Gilbertson / VII
Dukure Ambele, 17, prepares a charcoal kiln on the Ruki River, Equator province in the Democratic Republic of Congo on March 16, 2022. Artisanal and industrial logging remain problematic here, The Minister of Environment has halted exports of timber from D.R.C. as she attempts to get a handle on problems in the logging industry. (Photo by Ashley Gilbertson for The New York Times)
Artisanal logging rafts, or ‘Radeaux’, on shore at Loaka Village on the Ruki River, east of Mbandaka in Equator province in the Democratic Republic of Congo on March 16, 2022. Artisanal logging remains a problem here, as does industrial logging. Raw exports of timber from D.R.C. have officially been banned in a new moratorium imposed by the Environment Minister, as she attempts to get a handle on the logging industry. (Photo by Ashley Gilbertson for The New York Times)
People walk through steam on Third avenue near Grand Central Terminal during morning rush hour in New York, New York, on September 30, 2020. Due to the pandemic, Subway, Metro North and Long Island Railroad ridership is at least 70% below normal numbers at this time last year. New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s CEO Patrick J. Foye says the largest transportation system in North America is losing $200 million per week and will face a $16 billion deficit by 2024. Since March, as COVID-19 overwhelmed New York City, the vast majority of New Yorkers and the cities 3,000,000 commuters are working from home. Office areas in Manhattan are virtually abandoned and will remain that way until the end of 2021. As economic fears grip New York and beyond, and budgets are cut, businesses and residents are becoming somewhat vocal. Recently, an open letter from 163 powerful business leaders was published criticizing Mayor de Blasio’s leadership and painting a bleak picture of a city in ruin. A week later, the justice department named the city as one of three ‘Anarchist Jurisdictions’, and threatened to cut federal funds. Unemployment is at 16%, double the rest of the country, the city has lost hundreds of thousands of jobs, and billions in tax revenue. Since March, New York City has been through various stages of coping with the Coronavirus pandemic, and in the past month, weak spots of society here have become exposed including homelessness, inequality and education. (Photo by Ashley Gilbertson / VII Photo)
©Ashley Gilbertson / VII
A woman breaks off from a large group of protesters and makes an impassioned plea for justice on Eighth avenue during marches that moved between key locations including Washington Square Park, Gracie Mansion and Union Square during another day of demonstrations rallying to end to police brutality and systemic racism after the death of George Floyd, New York on June 3, 2020. Protests in Manhattan on June 2 were largely peaceful with only a few reports of damage. On May 25, George Floyd, a black man, was killed by white police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis. In the days following, demonstrations have spread nationwide to at least 48 cities to protest the death of Mr. Floyd and other recent killings of black men and women. (Photo by Ashley Gilbertson / VII Photo)
People wait for food handouts on Allen Street, New York, N.Y. on August 11, 2020. This photograph was made on an iPhone as part of a series Gilbertson is working on looking at life in New York City during the global Pandemic. Photographs were made daily during runs through the five boroughs of the city. As economic fears grip New York and beyond, and budgets are cut, businesses and residents are becoming somewhat vocal. Recently, an open letter from 163 powerful business leaders was published criticizing Mayor de BlasioÕs leadership and painting a bleak picture of a city in ruin. A week later, the justice department named the city as one of three ÔAnarchist JurisdictionsÕ, and threatened to cut federal funds. Unemployment is at 16%, double the rest of the country, the city has lost hundreds of thousands of jobs, and billions in tax revenue. Since March, New York City has been through various stages of coping with the Coronavirus pandemic, and in the past month, weak spots of society here have become exposed including homelessness, inequality and education. (Photo by Ashley Gilbertson / VII Photo)
A homeless man in Times Square, New York, N.Y. on October 30, 2020. This photograph was made on an iPhone as part of a series Gilbertson is working on looking at life in New York City during the global Pandemic. Photographs were made daily during runs through the five boroughs of the city. As economic fears grip New York and beyond, and budgets are cut, businesses and residents are becoming somewhat vocal. Recently, an open letter from 163 powerful business leaders was published criticizing Mayor de BlasioÕs leadership and painting a bleak picture of a city in ruin. A week later, the justice department named the city as one of three ÔAnarchist JurisdictionsÕ, and threatened to cut federal funds. Unemployment is at 16%, double the rest of the country, the city has lost hundreds of thousands of jobs, and billions in tax revenue. Since March, New York City has been through various stages of coping with the Coronavirus pandemic, and in the past month, weak spots of society here have become exposed including homelessness, inequality and education. (Photo by Ashley Gilbertson / VII Photo)
Jewish people celebrate Purim in Borough Park, the largest Orthodox Jewish communities outside Israel, New York, on March 10, 2020. In New Rochelle, a suburb of the city, parts of the orthodox Jewish community have been locked into a Ôcontainment zoneÕ, in a bid by state officials to quell a cluster of coronavirus outbreaks around the Young Israel Synagogue there. Health officials are concerned by very high numbers of infections of Covid-19 in Hassidic neighborhoods including Borough Park. This week, Italy locked down the entire nation to prevent the outbreak, the largest ever restriction movement in a democratic country in history. A top health official in the United States also warned of potential regional lockdowns as New York officials shut down New Rochelle, N.Y. (Photo by Ashley Gilbertson / VII Photo)
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Ashley Gilbertson

Ashley Gilbertson (b. 1978) is an Australian photographer and writer living in New York City recognized for his critical eye and unique approach to social issues.

For over twenty years, Gilbertson’s work focused on refugees and conflict, an interest that in 2002, led him to Iraq. His work from that country was awarded the Robert Capa Gold Medal, and in 2007, Gilbertson’s first book, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, was released, going on to become a best seller.

Post Iraq, Gilbertson shifted his focus to veterans, drawing public attention to post traumatic stress disorder and suicide. Gilbertson’s second book, Bedrooms Of The Fallen, a collection of photographs depicting the intact bedrooms of service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, was released in 2014. That work received a prestigious Ellie award.

Today, Gilbertson documents global migration in Africa and Europe, and works on climate, social and health issues in the United States and Asia. He writes regular opinion and news stories for outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, ProPublica, and UNICEF. In 2014, a multimedia story on the militarization of the South China Sea earned him an Emmy nomination.

He has worked on commercial assignments for Apple Computer, Axa Insurance, and the Ad Council.

Gilbertson’s prints and books are included in permanent collections of numerous museums and art galleries around the world, and has been exhibited widely at institutions including The Smithsonian (Washington), Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris), National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne), Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas), The Museum of The City of New York, and The National September 11 Memorial Museum (New York).

Gilbertson lectures regularly at universities, schools, and museums.

Latest updates

How Demand for Twigs Is Bringing Down a Rainforest

July 14, 2022

How Logging Is Affecting the Democratic Republic of Congo

June 16, 2022

“A City Ruptured” —A special project by Ashley Gilbertson for The New York Times

March 11, 2021
Still from Anarchy in the USA Recording

Anarchy in the USA: Event Recording & Recap

January 19, 2021
ash gilbertson new york times covid

The Curfew Is Over. New York City’s Fight Is Not

June 1, 2020
This New York Pastor Says his Parish Lost 44 People to Coronavirus

This New York Pastor Says his Parish Lost 44 People to Coronavirus

May 15, 2020

Stories

Children On The Line

May 11, 2018
The bedroom of marine Cpl. Christopher G. Scherer, 21, in East Northport, N.Y. Scherer was killed by a sniper on July 21, 2007 in Karmah, Iraq.

Bedrooms of the Fallen

October 26, 2017
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