A Veteran AP Photographer Died Bringing Us Stunning Images Like These

Amanda Macias

Apr 5, 2014, 02:06 IST

Peter Dejong/AP

AP photographer Anja Niedringhaus was killed while reporting in Afghanistan.

Veteran AP photographer Anja Niedringhaus, 48, was killed when an Afghan policeman opened fire on her car on Friday, while she traveled in a convoy of election workers delivering ballots in Khost city.

The shooter, who also injured AP reporter Kathy Gannon, later surrendered to police and was arrested.

Niedringhaus began her photojournalist career at the age of 16 and joined AP as a traveling photographer in 2002. She was the only woman on a team of 11 AP photographers awarded the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news photography.

Chief AP photographer Muhammed Muheisen described a conversation with her two days before her death: "I was so concerned about her safety. And she was like, 'Momo, this is what I'm meant to do. I'm happy to go."

"Anja was a very caring person, so committed to photography and documenting stories, she was full of fun and life, today we lost a great photographer but her photography is her legacy," Muheisen, who is based in Pakistan and worked with Niedringhaus for over a decade, wrote by email.

Here are some highlights of her work and her legacy:

Anja Niedringhaus/AP

A US Marine of the 1st Division carries a mascot for good luck in his backpack as his unit pushed further into the western part of Fallujah.

Anja Niedringhaus/AP

An Afghan boy flies his kite on a hill overlooking Kabul, Afghanistan, May 13, 2013. Banned during the Taliban regime, kite flying is once again the main recreational escape for Afghan boys and some men.

Anja Niedringhaus/AP

A Canadian soldier with the 1st RCR Battle Group, The Royal Canadian Regiment, chases a chicken seconds before he and his unit were attacked by grenades shot over the wall during a patrol in Salavat, southwest of Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Anja Niedringhaus/AP

A young girl reaches out to greet a Pakistani policeman securing the road outside Kainat Riaz's home in Mingora, Swat Valley, Pakistan.

Anja Niedringhaus/AP

An Afghan boy on a donkey reacts as Canadian soldiers with the 1st RCR Battle Group, The Royal Canadian Regiment, patrol in Salavat, southwest of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Minutes later the soldiers were attacked by grenades while leaving the village.

afghan national police officer mans checkpoint

Anja Niedringhaus/AP

An Afghan National Police officer mans a checkpoint in the outskirts of Maidan Shahr, Wardak province, Afghanistan.

Anja Niedringhaus/AP

US Marine cries during the memorial service for 31 killed U.S. servicemen at Camp Korean Village, near Rutbah, western Iraq.

Anja Niedringhaus/AP

Afghan National Army soldier Mohammed Zaman lines up with other soldiers prior to a patrol in Logar province, eastern Afghanistan. A small love poem to his country is scratched on the surface of his helmet.

Anja Niedringhaus/AP

An Afghan man on his donkey follows a convoy of German ISAF soldiers patrolling Yaftal E Sofla, in the mountainous region of Feyzabad, east of Kunduz, Afghanistan.