"But the photo hasn't changed me personallly. I'm still the same guy. There are many photographers much better than me. Like most Pulitzer winners, I was in the right place at the right time. It just all worked out."

For Kim Komenich and Slava "Sal" Veder, the long road to journalism's highest honor – the Pulitzer Prize – took both men through Stockton.

After reading a letter, he holds up the missive to his nose for one last scent of a partner, a spouse, of family and home, a scent so far removed from the front lines.

Among the photographs included in this ambitious project is a picture taken during the People Power Revolution in the Philippines by former Manteca Bulletin photographer and Manteca High graduate Kim Komenich.

This extraordinary display records some of the 20th century's most important moments and provides an emotional and memorable journey through history.

Veder said that the photo resonates partly because the image of the returning soldier will be powerful as long as there are wars.

Kim Komenich was a teen-ager looking for a chance. Glenn Kahl gave it to him. The rest of it, as they say, is history.

Viewing the photos was a walk through history and left even Driller speechless.

This isn't a typical day-at-the-museum experience. It's a moving journey, an emotional odyssey captured in black-and-white and color images.

Veder and the Stirms and three other Pulitzer Prize-winning photographers, along with the exhibition's curator, Cyma Rubin of New York, spent most of the evening chatting with guests and autographing copies of the exhibition catalogue, a heavy glossy tome the size of a coffee-table book which easily sold out.

"I was making pictures of Landsmark being hit, and I saw him going down and rolling over."

Just as sports allow us to escape – at least momentarily – some of the unseemly realities of daily life, the four sports photographs in this superb collection have a similar effect.

If you haven't been to the Port City in a while, check out the new Stockton ... While you're in town, catch the exhibit of Pulitzer Prize photographs at the Haggin.

Even if you've never heard Bob Stirm's name, you might know his image. Stirm, now a resident of Tracy, was the subject of one of the most famous photographs of the Vietnam Era.

"At that point, I knew that one of two things would happen: That girl would live, or she would drown."

Beall saw the policeman bend down to caution the boy and, with one shot, forever froze a moment of childhood innocence.

Set your sights on the best photographs taken from 1942 to 2004. The Haggin Museum galleries present a traveling exhibit, "Capture the Moment: The Pulitzer Prize Photographs." Parental discretion is advised.

Persuading my 16-year old son he would rather spend a Saturday afternoon at a museum than riding his dirt bike was the tough part.

There's wall after wall of truly unbelievable art. People seemed to walk to the next exhibit in awe. Some were so moved, they were brought to tears. Sighs were the usual response. It was priceless.

The wonderful Haggin Museum premiered Pulitzer Prize Photo Collection. Seeing this show is a chance of a lifetime! It is still going on so take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to experience history.

Approximately 100 other viewers were moving through the exhibit at the same time. Yet there was silence — an occasional sigh or smile or tear — but silence, as the images elicited memories and emotions in each of us.

Deanne Fitzmaurice of the San Francisco Chronicle was named the winner of the 2005 Pulitzer prize for Feature Photography last month for a photo essay that recorded the journey of a 9-year-old Iraqi boy from the streets of Iraq to a hospital bed in Oakland.

At 2:30 p.m. May 15, Fitzmaurice will speak at the Haggin in an event hosted by San Francisco Chronicle Vice President and Editor Phil Bronstein.

"I took the picture quickly, hid the camera under my coat and ducked into the crowd," Brooks said. "A lot of people would have liked to wreck that picture."

The photos – some of them part of controversial publishing decisions at the time – can be powerful, haunting, emotional and uplifting.

To search for their mother. That's the motivation of hundreds of Mexican and Central American teenagers who jump on Mexican freight trains to get to the United States.

Thanks to The Record and the Bank of Stockton for supporting The Haggin Museum's "Capture The Moment -- The Pulitzer Prize Photographs." It's a stunning collection of photographs documenting significant events and emotions. Having such a world-class exhibit in Stockton is just outstanding.

The picture above is a symbol of American grief and hard to look at, as if we're intruding on this woman's anguished moment. It is the 1984 Pulitzer Prize winner for feature photography, captured in a Denver cemetery by photographer Anthony Suau, and on display at The Haggin Museum in Stockton.

The exhibit of Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs at The Haggin Museum in Stockton was inspiring, compelling and emotionally draining.