Sainte-Mere-Eglise Paratroopers
Sainte-Mere-Eglise Paratrooper Tribute
Stained Glass Window
Created by Daly Photography
This photograph holds a special place in my heart.
It was taken during the trip of a lifetime as a gift to my father from his sons.
My wife and I accompanied my father and his girlfriend on an amazing trip to visit the hallowed ground of Normandy and the battlefields/cemetery associated with D-Day.
We rented a farm house on the Cotentin Peninsula where the paratrooper operations took place. This was to be our home as we made daily trips to each of the Beaches- Utah, Omaha, Juno, Gold and Sword as well as historically significant locations in between.
One of our trips beyond the beaches took us to the town of St Mere Eglise which was the first town liberated by the 82nd Airborne division.
As I stepped inside this mostly-vacant church, the only light came from rays pouring through the open front door and the illumination from the stained-glass windows.
I felt such a feeling of peacefulness as I slowly walked past each pew. The colors of the stained glass bathed me in vibrant light. The colors started to emerge to my tear-filled eyes as now distinct figures. These were paratroopers descending from the skies to liberate this town. The windows were a living memorial to those that had sacrificed their lives in order to regain peace.
I shot this photograph in the darkened church without the benefit of a tripod to hold the camera steady.
I exposed the photograph using the window illumination as the light source.
Since I only had a two-dimensional piece I was photographing, depth of field was not an issue but camera shake definitely was. As such, I used a wide-open aperture to allow as much light in the camera as possible. I bumped up the ISO and used the slowest shutter speed I could to capture a crisp shot.
This is one of my favorite shots because of the memories associated with my family, the historical significance and how difficult this shot was to get.
John Daly
