When I take a photo of a group of people, the challenges are familiar to most of us. Are the shorter people in the front so they can be seen? Is everyone’s face visible? Are they smiling? Is everyone looking at the camera? And inevitably, someone still has their eyes closed in the final product.
Now, multiply the number of people you’re wrangling by thousands and add a new set of challenges including color-coordinated outfits and the mathematics of perspective on a grand scale and you have some idea what it took for Arthur Mole and John Thomas to capture the American flag image at right.
Taken in 1917 at the Naval Training S