2011 Infinity Award: Young Photographer

Born in 1981 in Washington, DC, Peter van Agtmael has been covering the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—and their consequences in the United States—since the beginning of 2006. He has also covered stories throughout Asia, Africa and South America, and is a nominee at Magnum Photos. A monograph, 2nd Tour Hope I Don't Die, was published in 2009 and named a PDN Book of the Year. It was also the subject of op-eds inThe New York Times by Bob Herbert and on Truthdig by Chris Hedges, and received additional coverage in Time, The International Herald Tribune, Mother Jones, GOOD, The Fader, and on National Public Radio. His work has been published in Time, Newsweek, The New York Times,Vanity Fair, The New York Times Magazine, Fortune, and on ABC and CNN. Van Agtmael won a 2007 World Press Photo award for a series depicting night raids in Iraq. He has also been honored with the Joop Swart Masterclass, PDN 30, a Pulitzer Center Grant and the Critical Mass Book Award. In 2008 he helped organize the book and exhibitionBattlespace, a collection of largely unseen images from Iraq and Afghanistan taken by 22 different photographers. This work has since been featured in exhibitions by World Press Photo, Nooderlicht, Visa Pour L'Image, and numerous gallery shows. He earned a B.A. in History from Yale University.