In Flanders Fields Photo

Photographer’s Note

In Flanders Fields

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

The poem was written on 5 May 1915 when McCrea, heading a field hospital near Ypres, was deeply touched by the death of a friend.

Over 900 000 soldiers lost their lives in the battles and trenches war around Ypres between 1914 and 1917 where the advance of German troops towards France was brought to a halt when Belgians flooded the plains of the river Yser.

Photo taken at Coxyde Commonwealth Cemetery where are buried the remains of 1517 soldiers from World War I (1453 from the UK, 18 from Australia, 15 from Canada, 19 from New Zealand, 2 from South Africa, 10 from Germany) and of 154 soldiers from World War II.

When you visit the cemeteries dotted all over the Ypres country side many thoughts cross your mind but mainly : no more of this...

serp2000, gentedilivello, lebjohnson, bukitgolfb301, AiresSantos, sacimar, Atousa, adramad, mikolaj_kawa, jhm, besnard, Vasa, maloutim has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

serp2000 (9775) 2009-05-31 1:07

Hello, Paul,
An interesting information about our history.
Have a nice day!
Serghei

gentedilivello (2113) 2009-05-31 2:03

Ho Paul,
wonderful and touching picture. The use of vertical format is perfect and you chose a perfect POV.
The red flowers a simply nice!
Regards.
Gabriele.

lebjohnson (509) 2009-05-31 8:04

Thank you for this timely, well composed tribute to those who died in WWI, the war to end all wars (not). It is timely because the US has just celebrated Memorial Day, a day of remembrance for all those who have died defending their country.

Best regards,
Lois

bukitgolfb301 (5136) 2009-05-31 16:23

Hello my dear Paul

Your own world again! Perfect angle color and compsition. deep exposure fron f/20, pure red rose has much impact.
Congratulation on your good job !

Thanks for sharing and best regards,

Takero

Greg1949 (8539) 2009-06-01 4:17

Paul, fine sentiment in this shot, I could not agree more. I don't know that I love the symmetry of the frame, but since I wasn't there I can't know what drove this composition. Great color and details crispness.

Greg

AiresSantos (43250) 2009-06-01 6:07

Hi Paul
Well chosen the vertical format, well framed with these red flowers in foreground.
Fine point of view, colours and light management
TFS and have a nice week
Aires

sacimar (7818) 2009-06-01 10:03

Hi Paul,

good picture and good note, I like the composition with the flowers in the foreground, excellent perspective and good details, nice job!

Best regards

Sergio

UlfE (9250) 2009-06-01 10:57

Hi Paul,

Eye catching poppies and really nice composition. Excellent sharpness and DOF. Stong lighting but your light management is excellent. TFS and have a fine week!

Cheers,

Ulf

luighi (4308) 2009-06-01 12:33

Hi Paul , bbrrrrr , esta imagen me hace rechinar los dientes . Yo no me atreveria de momento a sacar fotos de tumbas .
Preciosa composicion con la nota de color en forma de flores . Buen trabajo.
Un saludo.
Luis

lousat (16420) 2009-06-01 15:54

Hi Paulo,no better marriage between the pic and the words.....just my best compliments for the great idea and the perfect realisation.Have a nice day,Luciano

Atousa (3514) 2009-06-01 22:07

Salam Paul,

A nice shot of this clean cemetery..it can be considered a combination of death n life ..very well seen n composed..thanks for the nice poem too.
Best regards, Atousa

anokutan (7987) 2009-06-02 7:06

Hello Paul,
İ like the composition a lot.What lovely colours and fine details!Regards.

adramad (4150) 2009-06-03 8:00

Hello Paul.
Splendid and very emotive this composition, beautiful the poppies in the first plane, the perfect alignment of the tombs and the cross to the bottom in a perfect center. Very elegant, I congratulate you.
Regards.
Luis.

mikolaj_kawa (31819) 2009-06-03 14:10

Hello Paul! Wonderful take. Original composition. Nice light and colours. Great shot. Well done!

danyy (69903) 2009-06-03 23:06

Bonjour Paul,
Hommage à tous ceux qui sont tombés durant cette horrible guerre. Une photo un pêu surexposée dans les lumières haures. Un choix de format vertical qui accompagne la profondeur de la scène et la touche colorée de l'avant plan.
Pas facile de commenter techniquement une photo forte en émotion.
Bien amicalement.
Daniel.

jhm (83742) 2009-06-04 4:33

Dag Paul,

Ik wil dit beeld van de grote oorlog niet overslaan, want ik ben een geregeld bezoeker aan de kerkhoven uit de eerste wereld oorlog.
Ik vind dit wel ùmooi met de rode papavers in de voorgrond.
Over sherpte en kwaliteit vallt niet te discuteren.
Mooi gedaan, bedankt.

Groeten uit Oost-Vlaanderen,
John

Waylim (11321) 2009-06-05 0:14

Hello Paul,
Beautiful Poem to go with this very beautiful image, there is a sense of sadness and yet peaceful. Pristine environment, the poppy flowers are just so beautiful in colors and perfectly placed, and good DoF. Simply beautiful and serene image. Thanks for the peom and the sentiments.
Way

besnard (31316) 2009-06-07 8:41

Bonjour Paul
Merci pour ta visite, l'occasion pour moi d'aller faire un tour dans ta galerie et mon choix s'arrete sur ce cliché avec toutes ces tombes alignées. Tu rends un bel hommage à tous ces connus et inconnus qui ont perdu la vie.
Je te souhaite une bonne fin de journée.
Nicole

Vasa (6589) 2009-06-11 8:27

Bonjour Paul,

une tres belle image avec le poids d'importance de son sujet que j'ai manque de decorer a temps. Mais, il n'est jamais trop tard. J'aime bien. C'est une belle image thematique.

Branko

mafegan (4619) 2009-06-13 22:49

Hello Paul
A very worthwhile photo and message. The low pov with the poppies in the foreground make a good composition. We must not forget. Tfs, Marlene

cdmonson (2783) 2009-07-29 10:23

Flanders Fields. Not a very well-known poem in the U.S., but I've never met a Canadian that didn't know of it. How nice that you were able to find poppies here. The lighting is harsh, but the shot is very nice otherwise, and quite poignant.

Crazy to believe that Britain's last WWI veteran died recently and that there's only one more in the U.S., with none left in Germany or France. Pretty soon we'll have forgotten about this war. I think we already have, and that's a bad thing. I can't think of a more senseless or wasteful war in the long history of the world's senseless and wasteful wars. It's the kind of thing we shouldn't forget, so we don't let it happen again.

Clark

pajaran (4282) 2009-08-06 16:06

Poucan tekst iz istorije. Crvemo cvece za prosutu krv i vecnost, pravo mesto na fotografiji, dobre boje prednjeg plana i pozadine. Prava stvar. Pozdrav.

macjake (2725) 2009-08-11 14:14

Beautiful scene you have set for us.
Very well composed, with great contrasting colours.
well done