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30 Days of Photos - #6 - Tragedy


Welcome to 30 Days of Photos, where 18 bloggers are participating in posting a photo a day for 30 days. Here are the other 17 you can visit after you've been here:

Ziva, Mike, Nicky & Mike, Mo, Meleah, Bryan, Mariann, Malissa, Nora, Laughing Mom, Tanya, Elizabeth, 00dozo, Cheryl, Kristen Pam and Katherine



When I think of tragedy my mind often wanders to the ravages of war. I mean the number of soldiers who have fallen in wars around the world is astronomical and, to me at least, tragic. In downtown Ottawa we have the National War Memorial, a constant reminder to the lives lost through war.

The memorial features 23 bronze figures, representing people who fought in the First World War, emerging from a memorial arch, moving from war into peace. 

If only. 

Completed in 1938, it was rededicated in 1982 to include the Second World War and the Korean War.

I can't pass this memorial without feeling sad. The fact that the day was overcast when I took this picture seems quite fitting.
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Comments

Kristen said…
I love the idea of moving from war to peace. If the US did this, that arch would span 3 buildings. Nice photo. Truly tragic.
6 April 2012 at 08:18
BERNADETTE CALLINAN said…
i feel like that at the War Memorial in canberra
6 April 2012 at 08:58
nonamedufus said…
The memorial was one thing but the weather that day really added to my sense of sadness over the tragedy of war.
6 April 2012 at 09:08
Cheryl P. said…
Ditto on the "If Only"

War memorials make me sad as well. The sacrifices made for causes that keep emerging over and over. Very poingnant picture, Dufus.
6 April 2012 at 09:12
nonamedufus said…
Here's what the entire memorial looks like...
6 April 2012 at 10:09
Unfinished Person said…
I like the angle you used for the first photo better. It's like they're walking out a door. I almost thought it was on the side of a building...as if they were walking out of a hospital maybe.
6 April 2012 at 10:16
Nora Blithe said…
Ok, now I feel slightly shallow about my post for the day. An empty cat bowl my indeed be tragic to Ernie but it doesn't even compare to the men and women who have died in war over the centuries.
6 April 2012 at 10:18
nonamedufus said…
Oh it was always my intention to use the "partial" pic. It's unfortunate it was so cold that day. I could have taken a little more time to frame the thing a little better.
6 April 2012 at 10:23
nonamedufus said…
It's all in people's definition of tragedy, isn't it. Some people might think a hungry cat's a tragedy. Not me, mind you, but some. Did you pick up on the fact that cats and I just don't get along?
6 April 2012 at 10:26
Nora Blithe said…
Yes but if you knew Ernie in person you might make an exception. He's made a lot of converts in his time.

-----Original message-----
6 April 2012 at 10:47
nonamedufus said…
I already have a cat, Nora. I know all there is to know about cats. More than I need to know, actually.
6 April 2012 at 10:58
Linda Medrano said…
Really a gorgeous photo of the Memorial. Really beautiful and very touching!
6 April 2012 at 11:41
Mo "Mad Dog" Stoneskin said…
I love the photo. On the one hand you can't see a lot of the Memorial (or so I imagine, having not seen it) but what you have framed definitely captures it perfectly, despite my not seeing it.
6 April 2012 at 11:49
nonamedufus said…
Thanks, Linda. The real beauty comes from the guy who designed the memorial. I just took the picture.
6 April 2012 at 12:45
nonamedufus said…
Thanks, Mo. My efforts worked then.
6 April 2012 at 12:48
Ziva said…
Oh dufus, you did such a great job on this one. The photo is beautiful, and the subject is just so tragic. War really is the most evil thing man's ever created.
6 April 2012 at 12:52
Cheryl said…
Not only is this a great photo, you've photographed tragedy at its very worst.
6 April 2012 at 13:03
nonamedufus said…
Coming from you, Ziva, that's high praise, indeed. Thank you.
6 April 2012 at 13:26
nonamedufus said…
Thanks, Cheryl. Like I said earlier, when you've got the right stuff to work with it makes a big difference. I just took the picture.
6 April 2012 at 13:28
Mikewj said…
I cannot see war as heroic, although it requires heroism, but only as tragic because people die. When my son, Gabe, was about 3 or 4, I dreamt one night that he'd gone to war and used his athletic skills to save his fellow soldiers, sacrificing his own life in the process. I awoke panicked and tearful, and haven't forgotten the dream some 14 or 15 years later. I hope he doesn't join the military, but he's at the prime age, and who knows?
6 April 2012 at 13:44
nonamedufus said…
I think as parents we all go through that thought process, or in your case dreams, about the mortality of our kids. Kids shouldn't die before their parents. And there's something inherently unfair that they get sent off to war where those chances increase markedly.
6 April 2012 at 13:52
meleahrebeccah said…
That is a tragedy.

And... "The fact that the day was overcast when I took this picture seems quite fitting." yes, indeed.
6 April 2012 at 15:12
laughing mom said…
Wow. That is very powerful.
6 April 2012 at 15:49
nonamedufus said…
Thanks, Meleah.
6 April 2012 at 15:52
nonamedufus said…
People seem genuinely quite taken by this photo. I'm pleasantly surprised. Here's a little more info... http://www.cdli.ca/monuments/on/nationalwar.htm
6 April 2012 at 15:55
laughing mom said…
Thanks. I checked the link and it is a very inspiring memorial.
6 April 2012 at 22:11
00dozo said…
I love the silhouette aspect of this photo. It's quite striking and it makes the figures almost appear alive while alluding to the sad memories that they will carry with them.

Powerful, indeed.

;-)
6 April 2012 at 23:05
nonamedufus said…
I always like to know the history or inspiration behind things. It's interesting.
7 April 2012 at 07:44
nonamedufus said…
Thanks, 00dozo. Lucky shot, I guess.
7 April 2012 at 07:45
Kristen said…
Dang. I so commented on this yesterday, but it isn't showing. Anyway - great photo and great concept. My comment said something about if this was in the USA - it would span 3 buildings....
7 April 2012 at 08:35
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