PHOTO OF THE WEEK

-- Greg Fry

As I arrived groggy and tired at my 8:30 a.m. assignment, I was

immediately brought to life by the cool, bright morning, crisp wind, and

the sight of the surf crashing on the beach. Newport Elementary would

have been my dream school as a kid, its playground extending right out to

the ocean’s edge.

Lining the path to the stage that had been set up for the school’s

Proud to be an American Day celebration was a string of glossy American

flags, waving in the breeze. I took a seat, scanning the faces of all the

kids, looking for someplace to start taking pictures when I noticed six

Marines on the other side of the string of flags. They were the color

guard who had come from their base in Seal Beach to present the flag for

the event.

As school and community officials’ speeches echoed over the amplifiers

behind me, I noticed that the plastic flags were somewhat transparent,

and I positioned myself so that one of the Marines could be seen through

the stripes. I probably shot 20 frames or so, as the wind kept the flag

moving. Luckily, I was able to get one shot where the Marine was

perfectly framed between the stripes. Knowing I had something a little

different and visually interesting, I was free to move on and focus on

the kids and teachers who had adorned themselves in red, white and blue

for their special celebration of America.