This is a photo that was taken...

This is a photo that was taken at Newport Harbor High School during a

memorial service for Jose Garibay, a 2000 graduate of the school and

a U.S. Marine who died while serving his country in Iraq. Because of

the sensitive nature of the assignment, I chose to shoot with a

longer lens so I would be less intrusive and be able to “compress”

whatever moment I found.

The three girls huddling at the front of the crowd gave me a very

clean shot of a moment that condensed the feeling and emotion of the

ceremony into one tight picture. All three girls knew Garibay, and

the emotional connection is obvious.

Moreover, the way they were embracing -- with their arms and

clasped hands encircling each other -- pulls the viewer into the

picture and gives a glimpse of what the intensity of that event was

like.

-- Kent Treptow, staff photographer