John Boal Photography

This week (actually Feb. 19) is the 65th Anniversary of the Battle for Iwo Jima. 5 days later, on Feb. 24, Joe Rosenthal made his famous photograph. Possibly the most famous photograph ever made. The National Museum of the Marine Corps, in Quantico, VA, hosted a Commemoration event, and Medal of Honor recipients and retired generals spoke. Even the current National Security Advisor to the President of the United States, General James L. Jones Jr., USMC (Ret), made an appearance and closed the event with some remarks. All in all it appeared to be a successful event. Most importantly, though, was the gathering of the 500 or so Iwo Jima veterans. This is probably the last time these men will gather, so I thought it was a nice opportunity to take some portraits and collect some audio. Of course, I’d have loved to get all 500 in pictures, but that seemed to be a complete impossibility. So I settled for about 10. I made an audio slideshow but the paper is unwilling or unable to publish it (l

Thank goodness for the local news. Because if you weren't sure by looking out the window, it is snowing. A lot. Empty Commuter lot in Woodbridge Snowzilla, Snowpocalypse, Snowmageddon, Snowpalooza. The News & Messenger newsroom adopted Snowzilla . Here are some photos from today before it became serious. Tomorrow should bring even more interesting pics. Some of these are inspired by Hiroshi Sugimoto landscapes . There is something different about being in the snow. Particularly the kind of heavy, foreboding, this-will-go-on-for-a-long-time snow. There isn't anyone outside, and it's incredibly quiet. I was able to find a few parks in the area that weren't gated shut, and I wandered. I think these pictures are the best representations of how it felt to be on a beach, a fishing pier, or a wildlife refuge with nothing around but the echo of an occasional bird and the lapping of water on the frozen sand. Leesylvania State Park Belmont Bay