Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory

The "Battle Hymn of the Republic" is an American patriotic song that was written by abolitionist writer Julian Ward Howe during the American Civil War. Howe's husband, Samuel Gridley Howe, was also an abolitionist and a scholar in the education of the blind, both causes that many thought were unimportant. The Howes were active leaders in anti-slavery politics and strong supporters of the Union. Samuel was a member of the Secret Six, the group who funded John Brown's work.

In November, 1861, Howe adapted her song from the song "John Brown's Body", which as a song sung by Union Army troops. Her song would be published in The Atlantic Monthly in February the following year. The tune and some of the lyrics of "John Brown’s Body" came from a much older folk hymn called "Say, Brothers will you Meet Us", also known as "Glory Hallelujah", which has been developed in the oral hymn tradition of revivalist camp meetings of the late 1700s. The tune was so catchy that it (and its many variants) spread across both the southern and northern United States.

The lyrics of "Battle Hymn of the Republic" appear in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s sermons and speeches, most notably in his speech "How Long, Not Long," which was given from the steps of the Alabama State Capitol building on March 25, 1965, after the successful Selma to Montgomery march. Dr. King would also use the lyrics in his final sermon "I've Been to the Mountaintop", delivered in Memphis, Tennessee on the evening of April 3, 1968, the night before his assassination. In fact, the latter sermon, King's last public words, ends with the first lyrics of the "Battle Hymn": "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."

As I was going through old folders, I came across this RAW file that had not been edited and knew that it needed to be. It was taken in July 2020 and with the new amazing Nikon 28-80mm f/2.8 lens that I'd just bought. It was only the second professional lens that I'd owned, and I felt that it was necessary to capture my pretty girl in the manner that her form and poses deserved. There is a maxim in photography that goes, "invest in lenses over camera bodies." The idea behind this is that every camera is capable of capturing good images, but the lenses are the "eye." The camera can only render the image that the lens transmits, so in order to ensure the best image, use the best lenses possible. In this regard, there is no lens in a similar range that is superior to the one that I used for this picture. A superior lens for a superior girl, I say.

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