Iwo Jima

Cora Wandel

Iwo Jima

The battle over the island of Iwo Jima in World War II was one of the fiercest battles between the United States and Japan, and resulted in the United States capturing the island.

Japanese positions on the island were heavily fortified, with vast bunkers, hidden artillery, and 11 miles of underground tunnels. The battle was the first American attack on a major Japanese island and the Imperial soldiers defended their positions tenaciously. Of the 22,000 Japanese soldiers present at the beginning of the battle, over 20,000 were killed and only 1,083 taken prisoner.

The battle was immortalized by Joe Rosenthal’s photograph of the raising of the United States flag atop the 546 foot Mount Suribachi by five Marines and one Navy Corpsman. The famous Iwo Jima Memorial, which is outside Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, was created based on Mr. Rosenthal’s photograph.

This is a photograph of that memorial.

Source: Wikipedia

Thank you to the groups “ImageWriting”, “PostCard Style” and “Virginia” for featuring this photograph.

Camera: Canon Rebel XTi 400D

This photograph is “as is” from the camera, there was no post processing

Iwo Jima belongs to the following groups:

Complex Simplicity of Art, ! 100% !, All Things Poetic, Artistic, Philosophical, AMERICAN PATRIOT, Artists with Disabilities, Canon DSLR (One Image Per Day), Everyday Life, Flags in motion, History, ImageWriting (2/24), Live, Love, Dream, Men Appreciation, Public Art, Street Photography and Photojournalism, The Patchwork , United States, United States Challenges Only - JULY: SCENIC VISTAS (submit 1-3), Virginia and War Available for sale as

Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, Laminated Prints, Mounted Prints and Framed Prints
Iwo Jima by Cora Wandel
  • BigD

    BigD

    Excellent image and comments, Cora. BigD

  • Cora Wandel replied

    Thank you BigD!

  • Myrddin

    Myrddin

    Very fine photo. Hope you will be ok and get some good shots during the inaguration crush—or will you be smart and get out of town!!!

  • Cora Wandel replied

    Thank you Myrddin. I will not be disturbed by the inauguration because I live here and know how to avoid it. However, I will be out in it with my camera for some events. I wish I had been into photography when Clinton was inaugurated, that was a fun-packed week. But the bottom line is, it will be January and if it is too cold, this girl is staying bundled up inside where it is warm. – Cora

  • michael byerley

    michael byerley

    THIS IS A WONDERFUL TRIBUTE TO THE MEN THAT FOUGHT THAT BATTLE.I HAVE SEEN MANY PHOTOGRAPHS OF THIS MEMORIAL,BUT NEVER ONE LIKE THIS.I AM VERY GLAD THAT YOU CHOSE TO DO SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.THIS REALLY GIVES A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THIS IN A WHOLE NEW WAY.THE ANGLE THAT YOU CHOSE REALLY SHOWS THE HUMAN STRUGGLE AND THE EMOTION OF THAT MOMENT,THE FLAG WAVING PROUDLY WITH THE BRILLIANT BLUE SKY AS ITS BACKDROP,REPRESENTS TO ME HOW WE CAN OVER COME ANY CHALLENGE AND REACH DEEP WITHIN OURSELVES TO OVERCOME ANY FEAR OR OBSTACLE THAT MAY PRESENT ITSELF.THIS REPRESENTS ALSO HOW IMPORTANT OUR FREEDOM IS TO US.

  • Cora Wandel replied

    Thank you so much Michael. After living in this city for 25 years yesterday was the first time I photographed this memorial, and that is because all I ever really focused on was the sides of the memorial that shows all the men, and that image has been so photographed. But yesterday I decided to tackle it, and yes, I chose a very different perspective for the reasons you cited, but also I deliberately wanted to minimize the memorial and not have it be its usely photographed massive structure so that I could do something simple and meaningful—focus on the flag.

  • steveberlin

    steveberlin

    o_O nice. I love the angle !

  • Cora Wandel replied

    Thank you Steve!

  • Steve Buffington

    Steve Buffington

    All right Cora. Great focus and composition on this one Cora, as well as our flag standing out amongst all the other muted colors.

  • Cora Wandel replied

    Thank you Steve, the photo was taken as I was walking over to Arlington Cemetery yesterday. It took me five hours to walk what I normally do in two because I had my camera with me. Oh well . . .

  • Virginia N. Fred

    Virginia N. Fred

    Hi Cora great tribute, I submitted one yester of the same statue but from my area great minds think alike lol nice capture…gina

  • Cora Wandel replied

    Thank you Gina, now I am anxious to see your submission!

  • Lori Peters

    Lori Peters

    Excellent work!

  • Cora Wandel replied

    Thank you Lori!

  • cowgirl7

    cowgirl7

    GR8 work.

  • Cora Wandel replied

    Thank you!

  • bubblehead1979

    bubblehead1979

    Pretty picture

  • Cora Wandel replied

    Thank you!

  • Michael Rucci

    Michael Rucci

    thank you cora for all the facts i love history and this shot
    mike

  • Cora Wandel replied

    Thank you Mike!

  • marianne troia

    marianne troia

    cora thanks for all of the background information, and the wonderful photo. my father was a wwII veteran and my mother lost her brother in wwII.

  • Cora Wandel replied

    You’re welcome, Marianne!

  • NautilusBlue

    NautilusBlue

    A very strong image Cora. Well done!!

  • Cora Wandel replied

    Thank you Julie!

  • Jerame *

    Jerame *

    nice capture

  • Cora Wandel replied

    Thank you Sir Jerame (oh, I love the “Sir” ! ! )

  • BigAl1

    BigAl1

    Great capture Cora, it’s refreshing to see a new slant on such a well known image

  • Cora Wandel replied

    Thank you Big Al, I have always avoided photographing this memorial because of how it is geneally photographed, but I was walking head-on towards it the other day and I realized what a good angle and perspective that would make. It allowed me to minimize the memorial and emphasize the flag. Thank you for appreciating it. – Cora

  • Anne-Marie Bokslag

    Anne-Marie Bok...

  • Cora Wandel replied

    Anne-Marie, thank you very much! This comes as a total surprise and I really appreciate it! – Cora

  • bidkev

    bidkev

    Congratulations Cora.

    kev

  • Cora Wandel replied

    Thank you Kev!

  • bubbleblue

    bubbleblue

    great work

  • Cora Wandel replied

    Thank you!

  • Opus

    Opus

    This is an outstanding picture.
    Greg

  • Cora Wandel replied

    Thank you Greg!

  • eelsblueEllen

    eelsblueEllen

    Love this shot, perfect sway of the flag and cloudless sky. A wonderful depiction of this tribute.

  • Cora Wandel replied

    Thank you Ellen!

  • marianne troia

    marianne troia

    great photo and onformation cora. congratulations on being featured. hope you have a merry christmas.

  • Cora Wandel replied

    Thank you Marianne, hope you had a nice Christmas.

  • Joanne Bradley

    Joanne Bradley

    Excellent composition of your subject, with great use of space and sky! Really interesting and informative description ! Congrats on the ImageWriting feature, Cora!

  • Cora Wandel replied

    Thank you Joanne!

  • American Patriot

    American Patriot

    Superb!

  • Meike

    Meike

    Great photo and perspective.. ;)

  • Isa Rodriguez

    Isa Rodriguez

  • blamo

    blamo

    Congratulations on your feature

  • Cora Wandel replied

    Thank you!

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