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The Stars and Stripes - one of the most iconic symbols in the world today, evoking powerful emotions in almost everyone who see it.
The American flag has featured in many classic photographs, such as Raising the flag on Iwo Jima, and while my photo shown here wasn't taken under such dramatic circumstances I still wanted to produce an image of the flag that had some emotion in it, rather than just a snapshot.
This particular flag was flying outside the visitor centre at the Grand Canyon on the day my wife Liz and I visited during our vacation in Arizona, and I was inspired to photograph it because it was slightly tattered rather than pristine, and thus had some character and history built in, so to speak. Also it was quite a blustery day, and the flag was furling and unfurling in the breeze, adding dynamism to the composition.
Using a very fast shutter speed I took several photos of the flag against a clear blue sky so that nothing else was in the frame to draw attention away from the subject. This was the best of the shots, with the flag having just the right amount of furl and curl to show off the stars and stripes while still looking dynamic and exciting.
Filename - flag usa 01.jpg
Camera - Canon 5D
Lens - 24-105mm zoom @ 100mm
Exposure - 1/1000sec @ f5.6, ISO400
Location - Arizona, U.S.A.
This image - 800x640px JPEG
Conversion - ACR & PS-CS2
Comments - Fast shutter speed used to freeze movement.
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