The Cadence of our world: December 2008

A couple of days after the Cape Cod assignment, I hopped on my least favorite airline and headed down to Washington DC to shoot a fairly unusual assignment....A full honors memorial service at Arlington National Cemetery. I was asked to do this by a family friend whose father was a decorated WWII veteran and passed away in March. Having recently been the photo editor on a book that my company put together, I felt I was up to the challenge despite having never photographed a full honors service. While editing the book, I had pored through thousands of photographs of services over the past few years and felt I had a pretty good idea of what went on. Despite this, there were a few things that made this one of the more difficult assignments I have ever shot.

1) The humidity/rain...Dear Lord, I don't know how anyone can live in DC in the summertime. It's Horrible!!! I mean honestly, anyone who looks you straight in the eye and tells you that they 'just get used to the humidity' is flat out lying. I mean come on, I don't care who you are...nobody ENJOYS going outside and having their clothes stick to them within seconds.

Thankfully, the service took place on a relatively 'cool' day and it only felt like it was 95 degrees or so. It was smooth sailin' until I had to start RUNNING LIKE A MANIAC to catch up to the procession once the service left the staging area to head to the gravesite. I was sprinting all over the cemetery (like a gazelle, of course) in a jacket and lofers and before I knew it, I was soaking which leads me to my next point...

2) The reason I was running is that the cemetery cranks out 25+ funerals a day! So, they have it down and when they do a full honors service, it's done with serious precision. As you can imagine, this is a photographer's worst nightmare since it all happens very quickly. If you haven't photographed a service at Arlington before, you're in for an adventure that starts pretty easy, then changes pace quickly and by the end of it you want to ask them if they can just run through it again so you can get a few more snaps in.

3)Lastly, it rained at the end of the service. In all seriousness, I was pretty psyched it did because it created an opportunity to make some different photos and all of a sudden, I wasn't the only one soaking wet!

It was a great trip though and I hope you enjoy the photos. And as always, say a prayer for those who are serving to protect our country. It's the least you can do.

TSB2

On the shuttle to the service...

In the family waiting room, checking out the monitor of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier...

They handle the remains with the upmost care...

The guys I had to chase...

One of my favorite images from the shoot...

When you're part of a procession like this, it's quite moving, especially at Arlington. You truly feel that everyone who is buried there is paying their respects as the caisson passes.