After World War One Attack On The U.S., Statue Of Liberty Torch Remains Closed.
- The arm hand and torch of the Statue Of Liberty as viewed from the underside. File Photo.
Close up of the arm, hand and torch of the Statue Of Liberty as viewed from the underside. File Photo.
Click on the photograph of the underside detail of the arm, hand and torch of the Statue Of Liberty to see more information and a larger version.
Earlier this month, the crown of The Statue Of Liberty was re-opened to visitors after being closed since the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center [1] but the torch, which has been closed since an attack on the US during World War One will remain closed.
The event that closed public access to the right arm and torch of the Statue of Liberty is mostly overlooked in history classes and at the monument also. [2]
On July 30, 1916, an attack by German saboteurs blew up Europe-bound munitions at a Jersey City, N.J., dock. The explosions were so strong that they popped rivets in the raised arm of the monument across the New York Harbor. [2]
According to the librarian of the Statue of Liberty National Monument, Barry Moreno, “The Army immediately closed the torch down. With the war on in Europe and the sabotage of the Lehigh Valley Railroad munitions dock, the war seemed to be getting closer and closer. The Army was more interested in security.” [2]
Story Related Links:
[1] http://aphotographersblog.net/2009/07/02/statue-of-liberty-crown-to-reopen-to-visitors-on-july-4-2009/
[2] http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-5liberty.6939715jul04,0,1112955.story
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Backyard Fireworks, Sewell NJ, July 2007.
A display of fireworks in daylight makes a vertical ascent outdoors in a backyard located in the suburb of Sewell, NJ.
Click on the photograph of Backyard Fireworks, Sewell NJ, July 2007.
to see more information and a larger version.
Background Information:
While attending a party in the NJ suburb of Sewell, NJ fireworks were bring ignited in the backyard at around 5:00pm. The view of the fireworks during daytime, in an empty suburban backyard, struck me as surreal. Although I did not think of this at the time I created the picture, as I look at the photograph now It reminds me of the burning bush from the Biblical narrative.
Compositional Information:
I framed horizontally to include as much as the backyard as possible. I placed the fireworks in the center, insuring their prominence , and set the shutter speed at 1/30th second, the slowest shutter speed I could get away with while hand holding the camera. I chose the slowest shutter speed that I could because I wanted the backyard to be sharp and defined, but I wanted light trails that would be created by any fast moving sparks.
I spot metered off of the edges of the fireworks to include some of the backyard area and the AV priority mode of the camera went to f-8. Considering that the scene was high contrast, metering off of the edges resulted in a compromise between the areas where I wanted to hold detail.
Technical Information:
Subfile Type:Full-resolution Image
Image Width:3072
Image Height:2304
Bits Per Sample:8 8 8
Compression:Uncompressed
Photometric Interpretation:RGB
Image Description:7/22/2007-A display of fireworks makes a vertical ascent in a backyard located in the suburb of Sewell, NJ.
Make:SONY
Camera Model Name:DSC-V3
Strip Offsets:33958
Samples Per Pixel:3
Rows Per Strip:2304
Strip Byte Counts:21233664
X Resolution:300
Y Resolution:300
Planar Configuration:Chunky
Resolution Unit:inches
Software:Adobe Photoshop CS2 Macintosh
Modify Date:2009-06-25 17:15:34 GMT
Artist:Sam D’Amico
Copyright:(C) Sam D’Amico
Exposure Time:30
F Number:8.0
Exposure Program:Shutter speed priority AE
ISO:100
Exif Version:0221
Date/Time Original:2007-07-22 20:50:23 GMT
Create Date:2007-07-22 20:50:23 GMT
Shutter Speed Value:30
Aperture Value: 8.0
Max Aperture Value:2.8
Metering Mode:Spot
Light Source:Daylight
Flash:Off
Focal Length:7.0mm
File Source:Digital Camera
Scene Type:Directly photographed
Custom Rendered:Normal
Exposure Mode:Auto
White Balance:Manual
Scene Capture Type:Standard
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