David Gilkey

David Gilkey, an award-winning American photojournalist for NPR, died June 5 along with his Afghan translator after the Taliban ambushed them in southern Afghanistan, according to multiple news sources, including NPR. He was 50.

“We lost our friend and colleague David Gilkey, along with NPR’s Afghan interpreter and fellow journalist Zabihullah Tamanna, in Afghanistan on Sunday,” NPR wrote Monday in a post on Facebook. “David’s moving images went beyond the news to capture the struggles and perseverance of the people who lived it.”

In a news statement, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry offered his condolences.

Gilkey “was more than a gifted photographer,” Kerry said. “He was a gifted storyteller, who understood the power of imagery to enhancing the power of understanding. He will be sorely missed.”

Gilkey, of Portland, Oregon, studied journalism at Oregon State University. He began his career working for newspapers, including overseas assignments for Knight Ridder, according to his NPR biography. He also worked for the Detroit Free Press until 2007, the year he joined NPR as a staff photographer and video editor. He covered national as well as international news for the organization.

He received a number of awards throughout his journalism career. In 2004, he was named Michigan Photographer of the Year by the Michigan Press Photographers Association. Three years later, he won a national Emmy for the video series “Band of Brothers,” which focused on a group of Marines from Michigan in Iraq. And he worked on NPR’s investigation titled “Brain Wars: How the Military is Failing the Wounded,” which received a George Polk Award in 2010.