I share this image annually as it remains one of my favorites. Evelia and I were living in Minneapolis when this profound statement was made by Justice Kennedy and the U.S. took another step forward in embodying the true meaning of “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”. It was also coincidentally the same weekend that the Twin Cities were having their Pride celebration.
It was a wonderful, exhilarating moment in time, filled with joy and excitement for the future; and in the middle of it all in Loring Park, stood this representation of one of our strongest symbols of equality and compassion, with one flag on the right fallen on the ground, almost as a unintentional symbol of the fact that all struggles for freedom have a cost and not all live to see it happen.
Later, as I was working the image in post, I was struggling a bit with a way to amplify the feelings of this day amidst all the color and the happy crowds and it hit me that for this scene, while the joyousness of the occasion was the inspiration for the photo, the strength of the rainbow symbol was the key. After that it made perfect sense to focus on that.