Indianapolis, UNITED STATES
Pictures of the Year: A picture and its story
A man kneels with a folded U.S. flag as the motorcade of U.S. President Donald Trump passes him after an event at the state fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., September 27, 2017. Jonathan Ernst: "Shooting through the window of a van in the U.S. president's motorcade is never an ideal way to make pictures - but sometimes it's the only way. Even then, if you spot something, it might be distorted by the glass in the front windshield, or a little bit fuzzy from the speed. In September, soon after President Donald Trump had made comments condemning NFL players who kneel during the national anthem, he made a day trip to a rally in Indianapolis. As we drove there from the airport, I wondered if I might see someone kneeling along the way. As the motorcade sped along there were sporadic groups of people, many with supportive signs or American flags. All of a sudden on my side of the van I saw a man on one knee with a tri-folded flag about to whoosh by. I was able to shoot a few frames without even time to bring the camera all the way to my eye. Did I get it? No. Out of focus. Unusable. But I was pretty sure neither of my competitors that day had spotted him at all. It's not often that you get a second chance to make a picture, but on our way back to the airport I was ready just in case he was there again. Sure enough, as I kept watch on the left-side sidewalk, there he was. I fired a burst of pictures and filed a pair of them. In one of the earlier photographs I had caught a portion of the sign on the building he was kneeling in front of. Using that information, a reporter was able to track the man down and tell his story in full. U.S. Army veteran Marvin Boatright wanted to send a message against social injustice, and he did. I was happy he gave the motorcade a second look on the way out of town - so that I could be a messenger." REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File photo SEARCH "POY STORY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS POY" FOR ALL BEST OF 2017 PACKAGES.