What's Wrong With This Picture?

I was photographing a high school football game and at halftime a group of young girls went on the field to do a routine that they had learned at a cheer leading camp.  Some of the girls looked as young as three or four years of age.  As they did their routine on the field I moved to several different vantage points to see if I could get something interesting that might be usable for the paper or parents.

That's how this story begins.

First let's see how well you can answer the blog title.  What is wrong with this picture?

If you look at this image, you can find all kinds of things wrong.  I'll even point out the two obvious technical ones to get you started.

1) A really slow shutter speed that didn't stop the motion of the young girls dancing on the field.

2) There is significant flare from the lens being pointed directly at a light source at night.

What more do you see that could be wrong or improved upon?  Composition maybe?  Color balance?  You are probably missing something significant, but you wouldn't know that until I finish the rest of the story.

As the girls finished and I was walking off of the field, a woman came up to me and asked if I had any images of a particular little girl.  I told her that I may have some, but that I would have to check as I didn't recall the exact person she was asking about.  I handed her a card and told her she could look online and see for herself.  She then explained why she was asking and that is what is wrong with this image.

One of the girls in this image is in foster care and it was her foster mother that approached me.  She explained that she couldn't let any images get out of the six year old for fear that her parents could track her down.  She went on to explain that the girl had been in 12 different foster care settings in her six years of life.  She also explained that the girls brother had been in 15.

How can any agency that is charged with protecting children allow 12 different foster care placements by the time a child is six years of age? 

That is the not so obvious "What is wrong with this picture?".

Just think that as you look at the image, one of those girls has been taken from her biological parents, placed in 12 different foster care settings and is only six years old.  It begs the question as to why the agency charged with her care hasn't terminated the parental rights long ago and let the child grow and thrive in a stable loving family.

Twelve placements in the lifetime of a six year old and 15 for her not much older brother. 

That is what is wrong with this picture.

Why is it tolerated?

Wreaths on the Missisippi in Honor of Veterans

(Grafton, IL)  A view up the river from the boat that laid memorial wreaths on the water to honor veterans.  The wreath laying was one of the many activities associated with Grafton's 175 year anniversary.

(Grafton, IL)  Grafton celebrated it's 175th anniversary with activities that included a wreath laying ceremony at the confluence of the Missisippi and Illinois rivers.  The wreaths were laid as part of the boat parade.  Wreaths for WW2, Korea, Vietnam and MIA's were placed on the water by veterans.  The WW2/Korea wreath was laid by Herb Jilek, a 91 year old veteran of the Normandy invasion.

(Grafton, IL)  Herbert Jilek, a 91 year old WW2 veteran that participated in the D-Day Normandy invasion is tossing a wreath into the water at the confluence of the Missisippi and Illinois rivers as part of Grafton's aniiversary celebration.  While underway on the boat, the veteran recalled how he believed he was only alive because "good Germans" had decided to surrender rather than continue to fight.  He said that at that time there were so few of his unit left that had the Germans known, their position likely would have been overrun and he would have been killed along with the remainder of his unit.

Friday Night Lights

(Hardin, IL)  Here are some high school Friday night lights from the varsity football game between the Calhoun Warriors and Greenfield Tigers.  Officials stand in line along with spectators and players as the national anthem is played.

It had been raining and the air was cool along the Illinois river which is just across the road from the field.  On a warmer night the mosquitos would have been fierce, but the cooler air kept them away.

Both teams are from rural southern Illinois and this image is typical of what happens on Friday nights across the state.

Volleyball

Nothing like going back to the high school you attended and capturing images of students doing their thing.  This time it was girls volleyball.  The lighting is better in the gym than it used to be so photography is somewhat easier.  I saw my class picture hanging on the wall as I walked in and passed the band room that I spent six school years going to. 

I got really close with a 14mm Nikkor lens as they were warming up and captured this image.

Click on the link below to see all of the Jersey vs Southwestern images:

http://michaelweaver.zenfolio.com/p363590142

You know He's Right

Author and commentator George Will shows his iPhone screensaver.  The screensaver is an image of the Barry Goldwater 1964 presidential campaign button which reads, "In Your Heart You Know He's Right".

(Elsah, IL) Pulitzer prize winner George Will spoke at Principia College on the evening of September 9th, 2011.  He made a reference to his screensaver during his lecture and after the event was over I asked him if he minded if I shot him and his phone.  He pulled out his phone and here it is.

See all the images by clicking on the link below:

http://michaelweaver.zenfolio.com/p552044502