I had the pleasure of traveling to Boston for a short vacation.  This trip provided me the perfect opportunity to walk the city and find interesting areas to photograph. As I walked, my wife pointed out to me the Finish Line for the Boston Marathon.  My heart immediately went into my throat.  I didn't realize exactly where I was, or was I looking for the landmark.  This bright yellow line that stretched completely across the street had new meaning to me.  Not only does it represent the end of a long hard race, it also signifies the end of the pain the citizens of the City of Boston endured during and after the marathon bombings.

As I walked further down the street I came across one of the bombing sites.  My thoughts turned to anger.  As I observed the site, my daughter asked me if I had seen what she referred to as the "Running Shoes Memorial" in Copley Square, just up the street across from the Boston Public Library.  I had missed it.  Earlier in the day I walked through the area but Copley Square had a Farmers Market in progress with tents and vendors obstructing my view.  Based upon the emotions I was feeling I made a promise to myself to revisit the area the next day.  I'm glad I did, I will never forget the "Running Shoes Memorial" and I had to photographically document what I experienced.

I arrived at Copley Square early the next morning before a lot of people.  The area was eerily quiet with a few people reading the tributes left to victims and to the city itself - "Boston Strong".  People left these tributes on hundreds of pairs of running shoes, notes, baseball caps, and shirts.  The tributes came from people near and afar.  I was so touched by the experience that I spent about an hour and a half reading and photographing the outpouring of emotions.  As the morning continued, more people arrived to observe the laced-up foot apparel.  What was amazing was that people observed all the placed objects with dignity and reverence.  The area remained quiet and people avoided touching objects and stepping on anything that was on the ground.  This area appeared to be hollowed grounds that elicited the strength and compassion of the people of Boston and our nation.

Above I've included a slide show of my experience at the "Running Shoes Memorial".  I hope you feel as much emotion from the images as I did in photographing my experience. "Boston Strong"!!!

Click here to view my "Running Shoes Memorial" gallery.

Have you visited the 'Running Shoes Memorial", I'd like to hear about it.

Enjoy and remember,

"Moments in time are lived once. Images of those moments live forever."

Ed H.