Guiding Joe Paterno Home

On Wednesday, January 25, people formed a human chain on both sides of Curtin Road to have one last glance at the late Joe Paterno as a blue hearse drove him from the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center passed Beaver Stadium. Even though the departure from the Center was delayed by three hours, people stood where they were as the sun set and the temperature dropped. As the hearse finally made its way passed the stadium, people started chanting "We are because you were!"Family and friends were seen shedding tears in the vehicles behind the hearse once hearing the support of Joe Paterno's fans.

Even  though more people and reporters were standing along East College Ave to capture an image of Joe Paterno's hearse with Old Main in the background, I found Beaver Stadium a better background since that stadium is known as Joe Paterno's "house." For this shot, I decided to use a wide angle 20mm lens with a fisheye lens attached to capture the entire surrounding rather than just the hearse. I'm pleased to how this image came out and thankful that I constantly played around with the f-stop, ISO, and white balance to accommodate with the setting sun. I was getting nervous with my previous shots that I used to experiment lighting with since the sun was directing in front of me as I faced down Curtin Road. Fortunately for me, the sun completely set behind the stadium by the time Joe Paterno came around. You can't really tell from this shot, but this was the moment when the hearse was turing around the corner, down to University Drive, and would drive right into me if I didn't move out of the way. My only regret is that I could've been a little further out into the street to capture more of the front of the hearse.