Smokin’ in the Tetons

Black And White Photography, David Jensen, Photography

I paid a visit to the Grand Tetons in Wyoming in September of 2025. The mountains were obscured by smoke from the many western wildfires happing at that time. Thankfully, when I returned in April of 2026, the skies were clear and the snow covered peaks were majestic.

More of my photography can be found on my website and my blog.

“Gloria Victis” National Gallery of Art – Washington D.C. 

Alakajay, Black And White Photography, Photography

 

Antonin Mercié’s masterful Gloria Victis (“Glory to the Vanquished”) stands as a powerful tribute to resilience in defeat. Created after the Franco-Prussian War, it subverts traditional heroic imagery by depicting a winged allegory of Fame lifting a dying soldier, who holds his broken sword high in defiance. The dynamic, upward-sweeping composition captures a brilliant interplay of vulnerability and strength, immortalizing the courage of the fallen and proving that true glory is never lost.