Florida's fallen military members were honored during a memorial ceremony at Healing Field in Crestview Saturday morning. About 239 flags were placed throughout the field, one for each soldier killed in the Iraq war, and will remain up for the entire week. I studied the crowd throughout the ceremony to locate family members and friends of those who knew someone who had fallen so I could capture a photo of them by the individual flag that represented the person they knew. Not many people walked over to the flags after the ceremony, so I worked with who was there. After taking a few unexciting photos, I caught this girl leaning against a pole and gazing out onto the street. The look on her face, the position of her legs and feet, and the flags blowing in the background inspired me to capture the moment (top picture).
The girl was with her mom and dad, who came to remember a long-time friend of theirs. The soldier was killed only two weeks after he arrived in Iraq. As she told me the story, I held back tears as she struggled to do the same. My heart really went out to her and I expressed my condolences sincerely. She thanked me for coming out to take pictures and made me feel like my presence was of some importance to her. After I finished taking pictures, my heart was so moved that I retreated back to my car and played a song by Phil Stacey called "Old Glory". I've listened to it a few times today and feel as if this assignment was a bold way to remind me of those who died in the war. I truly respect those who put themselves on the line for our country and commend their boldness, for I know I would not have the strength to do what they do. May God bless these families and friends as they deal with one of the hardest tragedies in life.
Below is a photo of the rows of flags:
Friday night fooseball...well I like the sound of that. Once again I hit the road for a game and after being sidetracked for a bit, I finally made it to South Walton High School for a rivalry game. Walton (in blue) made some amazing plays and really pulled through the game with a 43-7 win. Normally I would submit a photo that shows the dominating team scoring, but I used my best photo instead:
VIDEO:
This photo shows and obvious face mask penalty, but the flag was withdrawn and dismissed after review. Well, I have the proof...but who listens to a photographer? Ha.
Here is a fumble caused by Walton and recovered by them as well:
Touchdown!
Feat of the week for football was a few kids just playing the game behind the endzone. I took this photo between plays so I was unable to get much closer and capture more action, but I liked how this one turned out:
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