by Knight Trainees

Photos by Neva Grant/NPR

  • This Memorial was designed so visitors would interract with the statues--"as if they're alive--" says one park ranger. Here, FDR and his dog Fala enjoy a quiet moment before the tourists arrive.
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    This Memorial was designed so visitors would interract with the statues—"as if they're alive—" says one park ranger. Here, FDR and his dog Fala enjoy a quiet moment before the tourists arrive.
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  • Liliana Heinbauer, age 3, wonders if Fala might bite.
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    Liliana Heinbauer, age 3, wonders if Fala might bite.
  • A family from Phoenix lingers near the statue of FDR.
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    A family from Phoenix lingers near the statue of FDR.
  • Who knew the Depression could be such a blast?
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    Who knew the Depression could be such a blast?
  • Anthony Higdon of Brooklyn throws himself into the bread line.
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    Anthony Higdon of Brooklyn throws himself into the bread line.
  • These faces and other images--etched in brass--are molded from actual photographs taken during the Depression.
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    These faces and other images—etched in brass—are molded from actual photographs taken during the Depression.
  • Park ranger Lara Noel offers advice to two visitors as Eleanor pretends not to eavesdrop.
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    Park ranger Lara Noel offers advice to two visitors as Eleanor pretends not to eavesdrop.
  • Memorial designer Robert Graham purposely included large hands in this brass montage to encourage visitors to touch it.
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    Memorial designer Robert Graham purposely included large hands in this brass montage to encourage visitors to touch it.
  • Some visitors like to leave a little piece of themselves at the memorial. Stanley Hutchins pressure-washes tourists' gum from the Red South Dakota granite.
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    Some visitors like to leave a little piece of themselves at the memorial. Stanley Hutchins pressure-washes tourists' gum from the Red South Dakota granite.
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One of the big challenges of photographing tourists is that EVERYBODY has a camera. I wanted to get more close-up shots of people interacting with the statues, but every time I tried, the tourists assumed I didn't want them in the frame, apologized, and moved away. "No, I want you to be part of the picture!"—I would tell them. But then they assumed I wanted them to pose. By the time I told them to "just act natural," the moment was usually ruined, and they were either self-conscious or suspicious. So: question—how to be invisible but still get the shot you need?