Your 'best' shot.

Messages
3,287
Name
Kell
Edit My Images
Yes
A little while ago, we had a photography competition at work for world photography day.

Obviously they had to be photos you'd taken. We could only submit two photos and they could be of any subject and didn't have to be taken within a particular time frame.

With such an open brief, I was completely lost.

In the end, I submitted something which was nowhere near good enough to win, but was a photo that had a massive impact on me because of the back story.

We'd recently been to Normandy for the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landing and visited the sites where two of our party's relatives had fought (and died).

The photo was of a field of Poppies (hardly original and a bit twee). But it was taken near where Serjeant William White ultimately died. I was in tears listening to the story of the regiment's fight, it had a profound impact on me. So when I look at this shot it invokes feelings of sadness, but ultimately hope.

I post it here, without seeking validation. Instead I hope to kick this thread off and would be interested see your 'best' shots, but even more interested to read the back story.

There’s some corner of a foreign field…

There are times at work when we all get given what you might consider to be a bit of a s*** brief. We moan and complain to anyone that will listen. And then you find out what a s*** brief really is.

On a recent trip to the D-Day 75th Anniversary Commemorations, we discovered that one of our party had an uncle whose unit fought their way here over several days.

On the 10th of June, the division got its orders to join an attack (Operation Perch) towards Tilly sur Seulles (south east of Bayeux) with the 50th Division. Battle commenced on the 10th and went on through to the morning of the 12th (a total of around 36 hours) with fierce fighting and heavy casualties inflicted by both sides.

Opposing them was arguably the best Panzer Division in the German Army, Panzer Lehr. They were led by one of the most famous Panzer commanders in the German Army, Michael Wittermann.

Officially this was a training division but in actual fact it was a combat division made up of the best panzer men in the German Army. It was also the best equipped. In short it was a formidable opponent.

RIP to all those that fought, but in particular to 6087601 Serjeant William White.

His inscription reads:

To the world he was only one.
To us he was the world.

Mum, Dad and Nellie.

He was 24.

This is the shot I submitted:

IMG_6716 by Kell Lunam-Cowan, on Flickr

And this is his grave:
62367910_10156130034046021_6030129754256965632_o.jpg
 
In my opinion. The cornerstone of what makes a good photo is storytelling, and what makes it a good storytelling photo?

It needs to tell a story without an explanation. It transcends language and time. If you had to explain it, you have lost the viewer.
 
I'd struggle to decide on a 'best' photo. Especially if it was based on the back story.
I find myself regularly being lost in a scene when I'm shooting. By this I mean that I am so into taking the shots I miss the personal connection to the moment.
As example, when I'm shooting bands at live gigs, I can be shooting my all time favourite band that I know all the songs to and not hear a single song as I'm consentrating so much on light, composition, settings etc.
One that does pop to mind though is a close portrait of Daseep (the tigress at Dudley Zoo).
She was lying on the ground below my viewing angle and Joao (the male) kept on trying to 'give her a cuddle' and she really didn't seem interested.
After she let him know that it was a good idea to leave her alone, she looked up at me and we chuffed to each other. It was a really strong feeling of having a connection with one of the planets most beautiful creatures.

Anyway, here is the image...

IMG_20180402_190023_513.jpg
 
Back
Top