Existing comment:
1975 Spot News: Lull in the Battle:
His grandfather fought fires and died in the line of duty. As a boy, Gerald Gay wanted to be a firefighter, too. So when the Seattle photographer got a call to a fire on the morning of Oct. 11, 1974, he was ready to follow the photographers' adage "The best pictures come when your mind and heart are there."
A house had burned down. Tired firefighters mopped up. Gay walked up as four of them took a break. "As I crouched and watched them, they just went back to what they were doing. All I really thought at the moment is, 'These are the firemen who fought the fire.' The background is wonderful. There's burned brush and smoke and an overturned wheelbarrow. And dejected people ... There was one frame where the firemen turned. Each had a certain expression, which is what made the picture." |