French Fireman by netkonnexion

French Fireman

Believe it or not I did another charity shoot today. That's two in a row! A colleague (@greyman) and I from my camera club volunteered to take shots at the council Veterans Luncheon. What a great time we had.

There were some lovely people there who had some horrendous times during the war. I spoke to quite a few people about their experiences and it was quite sobering. One man and his mate where shot at while crossing a shallow stream. His mate was hit and shortly after died in his arms while they both lay in the water. It was the last day of the war. They were shot at with such deadly accuracy by two Hitler Youth. The boys were so young the two soldiers could not even bring themselves to fire back. The boys obviously had no such worries. Horrible! The veteran was so humble and matter of fact about the whole thing. What a lovely man too.

This picture is about the event today. Marlow, Buckinghamshire, UK has been twined with Marly-le-Roi, France, since 1980. In the picture you see the Captain of the French Fire Brigade in that town. A contingent of firemen came over for the veterans event. The Captain did a little shot for me to lighten the mood. Fun!

Tomorrow I will try and post a collage of the veterans. There are a lot of shots to sort through.
He looks like such a character. Love the smile. =)
November 13th, 2011  
This is such a fun shot.
November 13th, 2011  
A great photo, and it appears that he has a great sense of humor.
November 13th, 2011  
Wonderful choice of photo to use for today!
November 13th, 2011  
The photo is wonderful and says so much about the human spirit!! Must have been quite a day for you . . meeting up with such great people. Love your story about this. Thanks!
November 13th, 2011  
Good for you! It sounds as if today made quite an impact on you, unsurprisingly.
This is a charming shot. The badge on his shoulder looks very like the Bucks. County Council logo, though.
You were in Marlow? You and @greyman could've popped up to Chez Bailey for a cuppa! ;-)
November 13th, 2011  
what a wonderful gift it sounds like you got from the day and your portrait is really charming
November 13th, 2011  
Wonderful portrait
November 13th, 2011  
He does look like quite the character and what a lovely way to spend the day. I wish my Grandpa were still around to tell me tales of his time in the service.
November 13th, 2011  
what an incredible day for the two of you.
November 13th, 2011  
Awesome shot!
November 13th, 2011  
Very nice!
November 13th, 2011  
Great shot
November 13th, 2011  
I am sure you had a great time for a good cause.
November 13th, 2011  
Nice shot:-)
November 13th, 2011  
A very happy photo for a day so intertwined in tragedy.
November 13th, 2011  
That's a cool shot. He looks so relaxed.
November 13th, 2011  
Wonderful portrait! He has a lovely smile!
November 13th, 2011  
such a great looking character - lovely smile and beautiful portrait
November 13th, 2011  
really great portrait - lovely shot
November 13th, 2011  
eva
Lovely portrailt. Like it.
November 13th, 2011  
lovely portrait shot
November 13th, 2011  
This is wonderful (and quite light-hearted). So good to remember and honour these brave men and women.
November 13th, 2011  
Great character in the lines on his face!
November 13th, 2011  
Impressive.
November 13th, 2011  
@dulciknit - It could be the logo. The French firemen were accompanied by a contingent of the local firemen too - it may have been presented to them. BTW our camera club is http://www.marlowcc.org/ so we are not far from your home ground anyway.
November 13th, 2011  
Cool capture and nice portrait. Have to love his sense of humor.
November 13th, 2011  
Fantastic portrait.
November 13th, 2011  
Looking forward toyour collage, this is a fantastic portrait, full of fun and character.
November 13th, 2011  
it's a great portrait!
November 13th, 2011  
Such a sad story... but wonderful shot to lighten it all up
November 13th, 2011  
sad stories but great personality :D
November 13th, 2011  
wonderful portrait! And thank you for the story behind the day :)
November 14th, 2011  
nice !!!
beautiful portrait ... =)
November 14th, 2011  
love the lines, great personality, beautiful capture
November 14th, 2011  
great portrait........the flower adds personality
November 14th, 2011  
He looks like he would be a lot of fun. interesting face.
November 14th, 2011  
Great shot!
November 14th, 2011  
wonderful shot :)
November 14th, 2011  
Wonderful portrait. He has a great smile :)
November 14th, 2011  
(: This is an awesome portrait. Those experiences during the war are quite sobering, however
November 14th, 2011  
b
My father served 4 yrs in WWII, Army, as a dental X-ray technician. Never carried a gun, but took many photos of wounds and their healing progress, since he had dark room privileges. As a child, an only child, I passed the time sometimes, by looking at all of those photos. It may have influenced my decision to become an R.N.
November 14th, 2011  
Great portret. Great shot
November 14th, 2011  
Lovely portrait. The man looks like a character. Wonderful story, too, about your photo shoot.
November 15th, 2011  
What a heartbreaking story. This guy looked like he had a good time, nicely captured.
November 16th, 2011  
Leave a Comment
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.