Personal Work

Art often involves abstraction – taking something away. In the case of photography, this can be done by the photographer deliberately framing and composing in a way that simplifies what is seen. It can also be done in post-processing, rendering an original color image in black and white (b&w), or in toned b&w.

The effect creates distance between the viewer and the subject. The viewer sees the subject “in a different light.” It can be an ironic distance, in which the subject appears somehow reduced in significance, or comical. Of course, this distancing doesn’t have to be ironic. It can do the reverse: indicate respect, appreciation, even fondness.

Memorial Day is a day of respect. On the afternoon of May 25, 2026, I was working on these images (and many more), taken that morning in my neighborhood. Here’s what I wrote when I posted the image below on Facebook: “I was taken aback by American patriotism — warm, effusive, direct — as a former Canadian used to diffidence and a degree of cynicism. I am now an American. I am moved, moved by the service, even unto death, so many have given for the freedoms we enjoy. This republican experiment is unlike anything else in history. Over 1,400,000 servicemen have died for it. Were all the wars just and necessary? It is not the time to debate it. Today we thank God for it, and for them.”

Here are some of the images I took that morning and into the afternoon. My camera battery died before I could take more images at the Memorial Service (the first time that that has happened, without me having a replacement).

Click on the images to see larger versions.