The image shows a fireworks display to celebrate the Gateway Arch’s 60th Anniversary in October. I think the photo I’ve titled Gateway to Justice is rich with symbolism: the Gateway Arch, the Old Courthouse, and the fireworks each tell a story.
The Gateway Arch was built as the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, commemorating the era of territorial growth under President Jefferson. Its sweeping curve represents our nation’s ongoing journey—not just physical expansion, but moral and civic development as we strive to fulfill our founding ideals.
The Old Courthouse stands as a symbol of justice. It’s a place where justice was sought, sometimes won, and sometimes denied, as was the case with the Dred Scott trial in the Old Courthouse.
The bursts of fireworks above the courthouse symbolize, to me, a light of hope shining through a history that has not always lived up to our ideals.
The title Gateway to Justice is an acknowledgment of our complex history and a hopeful path towards realizing the ideals of Equality, Justice, and Liberty, even as they remind us of the work still to be done.
ISO =100, Shutter Speed =. 5 sec. Aperture = f/11, focal length = 41mm.