Something I especially enjoy about photography is the access and the relationships it of fosters. I get to see things I otherwise wouldn't and connect with people on some of their life's best moments. When my friend Erin asked me to photograph her retirement party I assumed it was going to be a relatively informal event. Erin and I became friends a few years back sharing an appreciation for the people and the conversation at our favorite spot outside the USNA gates -Galway Bay Irish Pub and Restaurant. I knew she worked at the academy and I had some idea her role was significant but mostly we'd talk about non-work stuff. A Navy Captain, Erin worked for the US Naval Academy office of the Superintendent. She's a member of the Judge Advocate General's Corps and served as the Superintendents professional lawyer. Erin's also a USNA graduate who's travelled the world and settled back in Annapolis with her family to hold this important position. Circuitous and symbolic that she was ending her service career where it began here in Annapolis.
The ceremony included speeches from colleagues, her boss (the Superintendent), our guest of honor, a marching color guard, bell ringing, and finally this crossing of a symbolic bridge from service to civilian life. It was fantastic to see all of this and I left feeling admiration and respect for these officers and their service. We went to the pub afterward and toasted to her bright future.
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