A day after President William McKinley died from an assassin’s bullet, a grieving Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as the 26th president of the United States in the opulent library of his friend, Ansley Wilcox. The ceremony took place at this bay window. Today, a vase of flowers marks the spot. I used spot metering mode to expose on the brightest part of the image – the sun, as it illuminated the flowers commemorating Roosevelt’s inauguration here 114 years ago. The blossoms become translucent, as do the drapes and curtain in the background. The window beyond casts its shadow on that curtain, which becomes an art deco abstraction symbolizing the event’s era. Color also plays a major role in this image. The red flowers dominate the scene, while the golden drapes add a rich tone worthy of the scene.