Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Memorial Day, II


Yesterday I spoke of following the woman in the wheelchair along the parade route. When the parade gathered at the ball field in town for the memorial ceremonies, the woman got out of the wheelchair and stood with the aid of these crutches for 30 minutes or more. So I spent a fair amount of time trying to decide what view and what composition would make the strongest photo. This is my choice. So my question for all of you is, which photo do you think is the more powerful?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Both pictures are very moving and patriotic. I am sure the service women and service men would appreciate the effort you go through to capture the true meaning of Memorial Day.
PS: I know this is a photo blog but i also love the stories behind the shots.

Amy said...

I love the stories too, and I agree, they are both moving. But if you're taking a tally, I guess I would vote for this new one. Something about the guy's back beside her strong and tall, and her holding herself up with the crutches. But I enjoyed them both.

Anonymous said...

OK I will agree with Asaga that this picture gets my vote.

Ken Spencer said...

Thanks for the votes and the comments. The blog is about posting a photograph a day, and my hope is that some of my descriptions of how or why I made a particular image, will be interesting as well. So thanks for your note of appreciation for my feeble writing... :-)

Anonymous said...

I am voting for the first photo - not because she is in a wheelchair, but because the woman on the porch has her hand over her heart paying respect to all of the servicemen & women in the parade. :-)
Joan

Debbie said...

I like them both, but vote for the new one. I also appreciate the stories with each picture.

Anonymous said...

The woman standing with the aid of crutches is really powerful. Perhaps because it's not a parade that we are used to seeing, but rather a person's commitment to showing respect by standing even though it's a difficult task. This picture definitely gets my vote.

Anonymous said...

The woman standing with the aid of crutches is really powerful. Perhaps because it's not a parade that we are used to seeing, but rather a person's commitment to showing respect by standing even though it's a difficult task. This picture definitely gets my vote.

Anonymous said...

I like the first post because it has a Norman Rockwell quality to it. Despite not being able to walk on her own, the Navy veteran gets to be part of a special hometown celebration, illustrated by the marchers around her and the woman on the porch who is so reverent in her patriotism.