It’s a little difficult for me to believe -- though the year 1972 is clearly written on my negative filing sheet -- that it was 40 years ago now that I shot the photograph you see above.
I was a freshman at the Ohio State University, already wildly passionate about taking pictures, and certain that photography was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I was taking all the photo and journalism courses the school offered, shooting for the OSU student newspaper, and working part-time for the Columbus bureau of the Associated Press. But, more importantly (I know now with the benefit of hindsight,) I was also giving myself personal assignments, like coverage of a Memorial Day parade in my small Ohio home town.
That practice -- to see and document everyday life around me -- was the best photographic education I could have gotten...and it has become a lifelong habit.
I was in Ohio last week visiting my mother. I planted flowers in her yard and did other odd jobs around my childhood home. Since Mom no longer drives, I also took her places she wanted to go.
It happened that my week back home coincided with the Memorial Day holiday, and, though I always want Mom to set the agenda for what we do when I visit, I hoped that one of the things I’d be able to do would be to revisit the Memorial Day parade.
For my post today, I decided I’d share a photo diary of my trip, with short captions.
Thanks for coming along.
My mom is of a generation that sometimes refers to the Memorial Day holiday as "Decoration Day." She had me take her on a two-day road trip to the part of Ohio where she grew up so she could visit the cemetery where my grandparents are buried, and place flowers on their graves.
There was a Civil War reenactment going on in one of the small towns Mom and I visited, and this fellow was one of the participants.
I took Mom to the Sunday morning service at the church she and my grandparents attended for many years, and, just before the service began, I quietly made this photograph of a sweet-faced child in the congregation.
My mom gets a good-natured kick out of my photo habit, and when she and I travel together, Mom has become accustomed to me suddenly pulling the car off to the side of the road and jumping out, camera in hand, when I see the elements of a photograph....which is exactly what I did when I saw this sunset.
Monday morning, Memorial Day, I was up early and out on quiet, deserted streets for an exercise walk when I came upon this scene near the old post office in my home town. Several hours later the high school marching band, veterans groups, and other participants in the Memorial Day parade would pass this same spot, bringing noise and human energy to the place I had first experienced in silence.
I loved the wonderful light on the face of this somber gentleman at the Memorial Day ceremony.
Lots of the folks who attended the parade were dressed in star-spangled costumes, and that included four-legged, furry types.
