He served his country [69365 Catch All Man Made Things]
Uploaded: September 10, 2009 21:10:27
Exif: F Number: 4, Exposure Bias Value: 0.00, ExposureTime: 1/320 seconds, Flash: did not fire, compulsory flash mode, White balance: Auto white balance, FocalLength: 28.81 mm, Model: Canon PowerShot G3
Trudy L. Smuin September 10, 2009
Wow Eric - very dramatic! Great Job! #1179103A P September 10, 2009
Powerful capture, Eric #7933510Janice Mezzacappa September 10, 2009
Emotional and exceptional capture Eric! #7933514Tess L. Yee September 11, 2009
Wonderful capture, Eric... #7934099Amy M. Wilson October 23, 2009
Congratulations on an OUTSTANDING Finalist, Eric!!! #8063445Nancyj E. Hovey October 23, 2009
C O N G R A T U L A T I O N SEric Alper October 23, 2009
Thank you very much Amy and Nancy #8063805Tess L. Yee October 23, 2009
Congrats on this wonderful finalist, Eric! #8063841Mark Dodge October 23, 2009
Way to go Eric! Congratulations! Best of luck in the next round. #8065168Carla Metzler October 23, 2009
Congratulations on such a well presented image that brings tears to my eyes.Eva Pastor October 23, 2009
Beautiful and touching image!Eric Alper October 24, 2009
Thanks very much Mark, Eva, and Carla.Eva and Carla, when I submitted this to the Masterpiece membership group as a storytelling photo, I was a little surprised at just how much this image created an emotional response.
I think that the story behind this image belongs here as well.
As I noted in the Masterpiece forum, this was actually an older relative who served as a pilot during World War 2 who died a couple of years ago. It was very sad but a lovely, memorable, dignified funeral.
It felt a little strange taking photos during the funeral ceremony but tried to do this inconspicuously and tastefully. This was the result.
Not sure what you imagined the story would be for this image. I imagine that many of you conjured a story of a young person who gave their life fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan, someone who died before their time.
Many people in the masterpiece forum had a WWII soldier in mind; some had buried their fathers in a similar way, had received the flag that was covering the casket.
There were comments in that forum that I thought were particularly insightful that I wanted to include here:
Deri Doherty
We should never forget the sacrifices that any soldier has made to their country regardless which war or generation they come from. While the current generation is more on our mind and in the news it should not diminish the fact that others have served in our military before them.
Deri
9/12/2009 10:29:45 AM
Sharon C. Hinze
this image is nameless and faceless, and represents every soldier who had died for or served his country, with the risk that entails. The image tells the story of many not one. Sharon
9/12/2009 10:47:00 AM
#8068992
Jeff Robinson October 25, 2009
Congrats Eric on your Powerful and Well Deserved Finalist! Jeff #8071940Sign up for an interactive online photography course to get critiques on your photos.
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