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291 was pleased to see this story hiding among the dull glut of media attention surrounding the sixth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. It’s a nice example of how the the predominance of cameras can make a complete amateur who witnesses an important event relatively famous. My favorite part of this story, however, is the quote that ends it. It’s a powerful demonstration of the quasi-mystical attitudes that prevail about photography, regardless of how “sophisticated” our society becomes. Phyllis Musser feels that she must revitalize her century-old barn–not because of its importance to her or the value of her property, but because it plays a crucial part in the composition of a now famous photograph. It’s as though reality has a responsibility to correspond to the image of itself as seen in pictures.