Photographer: Richard Gwin

Camera: Nikon D1X

Virginia Visser was a small-town girl in Iowa when she enlisted to become a nurse in World War II. She's pictured here prior to being photographed in front of a wall of portraits of her and her husband. The second photo ran Thursday on the front page of the Journal-World, kicking off the newspaper's Portraits of Honor series about veterans of previous wars.

Lens: 28-70 mm lens (my favorite) set at 70 with a bit of flash off the wall

ISO: 500

Aperture: 5.6

Shutter: 125

Journal-World reporter Joel Mathis has been working on a series called “Portraits of Honor,” which includes stories and photos from those who fought in past wars.

I was assigned to photograph Virginia Visser, the first subject in the series. A reporter from 6News was interviewing Visser as I walked in. She was just sitting in a chair with some studio lighting on her. That looked OK, but it needed more punch.

I waited through the interview. Then she wanted to show us part of a book she had written. As she did, I noticed there were pictures of her and her husband on the wall, from school through her military career. The composition was simple but very powerful, showing the years of her life and dedication to the service.

She sat down and started telling stories about coming from a small town in Iowa. I used an off-camera flash to catch some light on her face, and that was it.

– “Behind the Lens” is an ongoing weekly series that features an image selected by the Journal-World photo staff that previously ran in the newspaper or online. Wondering how a certain picture was created? Nominate it for “Behind the Lens” by contacting chief photographer Mike Yoder at 832-7141 or myoder@ljworld.com.