Give Me Liberty, Or Give Me Death!

Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death!
By: Andrew Apodaca, Daniel Huante, Leslie Reyes, and Aryeh Ruiz
Photography and edited with Photoshop

On December 26, 1776 George Washington led his men across the Delaware River and onward to victory during the American Revolution. America’s mother-country, England, had been unfairly taxing the colonies through the Tea Act, Stamp Act, Boston Port Bill, Townshend Act, etc... The colonies, wanting a representative government, decided they were ready to become their own independent country. The Americans formed the Continental Army to oppose the English, directed by George Washington. By reading Rise to Rebellion by Jeff Shaara, which takes place during this process of establishing freedom, our group was able to see the colonists’ perspective as they worked towards building America.
This portrait is designed to show the leadership of George Washington and his men ready to head into battle, despite how underprepared they were. The Continental Army was outnumbered by the English army, but they charged valiantly into battle. The flag and uniform on George Washington are key elements in the portrait; they show the time period as well as Washington’s authority as commander in chief. Also, the color blue is especially important, as that represented America. English soldiers wore the opposite color, red. This portrait was taken with a digital camera and enhanced in Adobe Photoshop. Our initial plans were to take the portrait at Imperial Beach, and decided to use the rocky outcrop as the background when we arrived. Throughout the photo shoot we had trouble capturing a believable scene, but managed to find a shot that we were proud of.