Oct 26, 2009

Side Story




Years ago, a good family friend of ours was retiring after many years as Captain of the Trenton, N.J. Fire Department and I had offered to take a portrait of him at the station before he gave up his helmet and boots for the last time. This image was one of many that resulted from that time together.

The idea behind a portrait for me is more than just making a nice photo of the likeness of the subject, but more about the story of who they are within the context of the image. In this case, 
I wanted to honor Pete and his lifetime of public service but inside the shot, give just a little bit more. With the shadow projected here onto the engine cover, I wanted to represent the large shadow that he was in fact leaving behind for those that would follow after him and although this was a nice photo of Pete himself that he was very well pleased with, the real story for me lies off of the subject and to the right, within the truck, bell and image he left there.