Hoover Tower, 2005

Along with the impulse to raise a camera to take a picture come the mental calculations about where to stand and what to include in the frame. At some point the primary question has to be resolved--does this subject have meaning to me? Meaning can come from an association with an event or people or from a consideration of beauty. It can also come with what truth is revealed by the subject matter. In this particular photo, taken at the top of the Hoover Tower on the Stanford University campus, the meaning comes from considering the question. Monuments are built so that we appreciate how monumental they are.