James Francis “Frank” Hurley was 30 years old when he joined the Australian Imperial Force as an honorary captain and official photographer.

Before arriving on the Western Front in August 1917 to document the Third Battle of Ypres, Hurley had been no stranger to photographing under risky conditions. Less than one year earlier, he had returned to civilization after two years stranded on the pack ice of Antarctica with Ernest Shackleton and the crew of the Endurance, a desperate struggle for survival during which he managed to produce a stunning set of images.

Hurley went straight to work upon his arrival at the front lines south and east of the ruined West Flanders city of Ypres, risking life and limb in his efforts to document the conflict.

This album of photos from the State Library of New South Wales is accompanied by excerpts from Hurley’s diary, in which he describes his experiences in detail, including the horrors he witnesses, the pity he feels for the German soldiers (the “Boche”), his disgust with the war, frustration over his photos and arguments with superiors over the ethics of compositing or posing photos to better represent the war.