I have built my career mixing artistic photography with bits of fun science. It’s a career path that I am incredibly lucky to have available to me, and one that only exists in a time of peace. The freedom I enjoy was fought for by previous generations; the nearly impossible fight was won by many heroes losing their lives so that their children, grandchildren and future generations could live happy and free.

I see heroes being made in Ukraine right now. Brave men and women defending the freedom of their families and their entire country is no small task, and the spirit of the Ukrainian people appears impossible to break. Strong leadership is an understatement, and the civilian populations are showing the world what it means to stare pure evil directly in the eyes. It’s all very intense, very tragic, and impossible to know what tomorrow will bring.

Never in my life would I have thought the events of the past two weeks to be remotely possible. I weep for everyone that is being terrorized, traumatized and worse. Even if the war was won tomorrow, the humanitarian crisis will persist for years. Sometimes I feel like the only thing I can is watch it unfold, but there’s always something we can do to help.

The global support for Ukraine is vast. Symbols of blue and yellow are everywhere, and they should be. Not only does this show the Ukrainian people that the world stands with them, it’s also seen my politicians all over the world. The public support is shaping government policy to lend more aid to Ukraine, and the more of these symbols of support, the better. This image is part of my contribution, and I encourage everyone with creative skills to add their own. The more our world leaders see our desire to stop a tyrannical madman, the more action will be taken.

This image was created simply: I borrowed yellow and blue construction paper from my six-year-old daughter’s room and glued them together. An LED light bank illuminates it, and a dandelion seed is placed in front – careful to not let the light directly hit the seed, but only the background. A water droplet is then placed in the center of the dandelion seed with a hypodermic needle. The more spherical a droplet, the better it acts as a lens. In this case, it’s refracting the yellow and blue paper placed in the background. Remember that when things refract, they flip; the colours are opposite in the background so that they can flip to be proper inside the droplet, feeling like a jewel on a pedestal.

Try something yourself. The message is already strong in support of newly-minted heroes in Ukraine but it can certainly be stronger. Use your creativity, developed on the foundation of a peaceful society. We can all strengthen the message.

Women and children are arriving in the nearby city, many hundreds a day. Yesterday, my wife and I purchased a car-load of food and delivered it to the refugee center here in Varna, Bulgaria. We will continue to do this. We are trying to find more ways to help. Expect to see more blue and yellow artwork from me in the future.

And I’ve had a few people in previous posts tell me to “stay in my lane” and stick to photography and avoid politics. I generally have solid and defined political opinions and work very hard not to discuss politics much in my professional life. This war in Ukraine isn’t about politics. We are watching a genocidal dictator destroy the lives of 45 million people with a growing list of war crimes. I’ll use any tool I have to help – including my photography.