The computer-assisted moire technique and finite element computations were used to determine displacements, strains and stresses in the neighborhood of a crack tip. The measurements were performed in an aluminum 6061-T6 compact tension specimen. The experimentally determined stresses were compared to the stresses obtained from the finite element calculations. Some important conclusions concerning the small scale yielding stress field can be obtained: (I) The presence of a HRR plastic field is not confirmed by experimental observations or numerical results, (2) A deep notch model fits the experimental observations better than the asymptotic singular solution, (3) The residual stresses generated during the fatigue loading to produce a sharp crack have a strong influence on the crack tip stress distribution, (4) The crack tip blunting and the residual stresses displace the maximum tangential stresses away from the crack tip of a distance larger than the currently accepted two crack opening displacements, (5) The experimental and numerical results support the view point that in small-scale yielding, the J-dominance is independent of the validity of the HRR solution.