Assignment 1 - " Remembrance" By Lorraine Bailey

I took this picture at the WWII American cemetery in Normandy, France when I went back home to visit a few months ago. I selected this picture because it represents one of the powerful moments in my life. As I walked around the cemetery, surrounded by all the crosses, I remembered all the war stories my grandparents used to tell me. I thought about the courage all those soldiers must have had to fight in such a war. I find this picture interesting because it shows headstones of different religions, reminding us how those young soldiers who all fought for freedom, regardless of their beliefs and social background. A notion that people seem to have forgotten when we see what is happening in France lately with all the religious contentions.

The main emotion I tried to convey through this picture is remembrance.  Remembrance of all the sacrifices made and all the lives lost during the war. This cemetery reminds me that kids, even younger than me, fought to free my country, a country most of them knew little about.

I toned down the color of the picture to give it a fainted color to express the notion of time that has passed. I blurred the edges of the picture to evoke the blurriness and vagueness of a distant memory or dream. I also tried to give a blue tint to the picture like we see in war movies (band of brothers…).

The perspective and the alignment of the crosses show the numerous number of soldiers who died, which reinforces that feeling of gratefulness and remembrance.  The crosses are also emphasized by their shadows casting on the ground, which almost gives a third dimension to the picture.

With the different headstones in the shot, you can see the principles of continuation, similarity…

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