The Rock and the Palm Tree brings together photographs made during three reporting assignments to Afghanistan and Iraq between 2002 and 2009, while I was working as a photojournalist for Agence France-Presse (AFP). Published in 2021, the book revisits these journeys through photographs and reflections written years later.

Structured around the three journeys, personal reflections follow each assignment chronologically, while the photographs are organized according to a different logic. Edited into visual sequences rather than strict chronology, the images enter into new relationships that extend beyond the immediate context of news reporting.

The title is drawn from two recurring features of the landscapes, the rocks of Afghanistan and the palm trees of Iraq.