You Never Know

This image appeared in Life Magazine on this day in 1945. Photographer Ed Clark drove all night from his Nashville home to Warm Springs, Georgia where President Franklin D. Roosevelt had died. Clark wanted to be there when Roosevelt’s casket was escorted out of the home, bound for the railroad station and a long journey back to Washington.

Unfortunately, Clark found himself corralled behind barriers with scores of other reporters. Disappointed, he wondered how he would ever capture an image that would be different than everyone else’s.

And then he heard music. It was this man, Chief Petty Officer Graham Jackson, who often played for Presidential parties.

Clark took just one small 35 mm camera with him when he slipped away from the press pool, hoping for others not to notice the scene unfolding behind them. He took just a couple of quick shots, capturing this emotional scene and freezing in time a moment when a sailor mourned his President.

This is one of my favorite images. It’s also a gentle reminder to turn around and look at what’s behind you. If everyone has their camera trained in the same direction, they will all have the same shot. Aim in a different direction and capture the thing that no one else sees.

You never know what you might capture.