"Friends and family members wait for soldiers from the 549th Quartermaster Company and the 360th Transportation Company to be dismissed during their homecoming ceremony at Fort Carson Army Base in Colorado Springs, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008." JUSTIN EDMONDS, THE GAZETTE
When I heard the word "homecoming" come out of my editor's mouth this morning I immediately thought of football. I love shooting football so I was hoping that he would come around the corner and hand me the prep game of the week.
I obvously wasn't in the right mindset because the piece of paper he handed me said "Ft. Carson...12:30pm." High school is still in session at 12:30 so I was shooting homecoming but there weren't any footballs to be found. 170 soldiers were returning from Iraq and I got the opportunity to cover it. Seeing as though I didn't have a single assignment on the log for the day I was even more stoked to be doing something other than staring at a computer screen or cruising for features.
Like a total rookie I drove to the gate, provided my ID, insurance, registration and opened up the car so they could search it only to be told that I needed an escort to get onto the base and that he was waiting at the parking lot 100yds behind me. You would think they would have told me that before they searched my car like I was hiding Osama in there.
Myself and a few TV crews were escorted to the gym on the base where the troops would be meeting up with their families. As soon as I walked in I realized that I would be earning my money today. Translation: 1600ISO, f2.8, 1/50...further translation for all you non photo nerds: the gym was a dark CAVE. To be honest it didn't really phase me because it is what it is and I can't change that. The other thing that I noticed was the HUGE American flag hung along one end of the gym. After listening to the Army media guy explain what would make a good picture (like it was the first day I picked up a camera) go on and on and on, I headed to the opposite side of the gym to get ready for the ceremony.
I set up a body on the floor with a wide angle and a shutter release cord with home made extension to that I could fire it while standing up. I set that camera with a slow shutter speed (1/20) so that I could get a little movement from the soldiers while the flag remained still. I had a 70-200 in my hands shooting some tighter stuff at the same time (see above).
The ceremony itself is another experience. Although the soldiers have been away for 15 months they are forced to stand in formation all of 50 feet from their families. They have to wait for the National Anthem, some big names to say a few words, and the Army song before they are released. But boy when they are it's a real sight to see. The soldiers try to act professional and "hustle" to their families but the families beat them to it and practically sprint and fly into their arms. One lady literally jumped from about eight feet away into her husband's arms.
While I was firing my slow shutter body on the ground I made what I like to call a happy accident. A family member's flash went off when the shutter was open and created a nice flare underneath the American flag.
After the initial chaos I made a few nice frames of the soldiers and their families greeting each other before I left. It was a good experience considering the lighting conditions and was something that I'm glad that I can say I had the chance to cover.
In addition to The Gazette, the Rocky Mountain News wanted a few photos from the event so be on the look for those in their paper and online.
-JCE
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