Luminous Landscape Forum
The Art of Photography => User Critiques => Topic started by: John R on April 29, 2009, 02:35:10 pm
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Took thiese images in a cemetery near RGB (Royal Botanical Gardens). Looks good in BW, but the flag loses its impact and the highlights become almost whited-out, which they almost were. The second image, I just realized, is bit eerie because they have no names, which I suppose make the shot even more symbolic.
JMR
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Took thiese images in a cemetery near RGB (Royal Botanical Gardens). Looks good in BW, but the flag loses its impact and the highlights become almost whited-out, which they almost were. The second image, I just realized, is bit eerie because they have no names, which I suppose make the shot even more symbolic.
JMR
Frankly I find the flags distracting in both images, the tombstones could be so much more powerful on their own...
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Those neat, simple rows look like either a transplanted cemetery, or a veteran's cemetery. They also look old.
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Frankly I find the flags distracting in both images, the tombstones could be so much more powerful on their own...
John, I agree with David. I find that usually, though not always, graveyard shots are most powerful when they're as simple as possible. Here's an example. The original color shot is okay too, but the grass was beautiful and green and I think it's better as a B&W. This is from St. Augustine. I like the light and shadow contrast.
[attachment=13330:21_Dec_2005_31.jpg]
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John, I agree with David. I find that usually, though not always, graveyard shots are most powerful when they're as simple as possible. Here's an example. The original color shot is okay too, but the grass was beautiful and green and I think it's better as a B&W. This is from St. Augustine. I like the light and shadow contrast.
Well, in general, I won't disagree, but one has to deal with what is there at the time. I did not have dappled or unusual light; Most of my other cemetery shots do not have colour or flowers. The red flag was at first distracting until I got closer and realized what it was. It was important to somebody. Your example is very good, but it is about mood and light. I don't think it is bad for a passing shot. Thanks for the comments.
JMR
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Well, in general, I won't disagree, but one has to deal with what is there at the time. I did not have dappled or unusual light; Most of my other cemetery shots do not have colour or flowers. The red flag was at first distracting until I got closer and realized what it was. It was important to somebody. Your example is very good, but it is about mood and light. I don't think it is bad for a passing shot. Thanks for the comments.
JMR
Yes, in photography it's very, very difficult to deal with what's not there at the time. The place always is is here and the time always is now.
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Those neat, simple rows look like either a transplanted cemetery, or a veteran's cemetery. They also look old.
WW I I'd bet. The birthday on the nearest stone is 1893, which would be just about right.
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WW I I'd bet. The birthday on the nearest stone is 1893, which would be just about right.
That is a lot of war graves for a Canadian cemetery - the number of headstones would be something I'd expect to see in Europe. Nonetheless I would not be surprised at all if a large percentage of the dates on those headstones are from the Fall of 1918 - Spanish Influenza. There is a similar, though much smaller plot of military graves (on the order of 25 or so) at the cemetery behind the Catholic Church in Niagara on the Lake (Ontario) with dates if my memory serves me, clustered around October 1918. And mostly if not all Polish names, as I think there was a contingent of Polish volunteers at a nearby training facility.
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John, seeing you were so interested in the flag and were concerned that it lost its' impact, what about pushing the boundaries of this image more conceptually, and really making the focal point of the flag?
I am terrible at making images B&W, and have only done a 1 minute bodgy mask job so you can get the idea, but this is one way you could represent the narrative, and the graphical elements of the headstone, and still focus on the flag.
I also had a play with the saturation of the red in the coloured layer, which produced images with a different feel. I would personally desaturate just a tad, but you can experiment if you feel like it.
[attachment=13389:Apr_28_0..._on_flag.jpg]
Desaturated a bit.
[attachment=13390:Apr_28_0...saturate.jpg]
Julie
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Julie, What a splendid idea. The result is a very different, very striking photograph.
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John, seeing you were so interested in the flag and were concerned that it lost its' impact, what about pushing the boundaries of this image more conceptually, and really making the focal point of the flag?
I am terrible at making images B&W, and have only done a 1 minute bodgy mask job so you can get the idea, but this is one way you could represent the narrative, and the graphical elements of the headstone, and still focus on the flag.
I also had a play with the saturation of the red in the coloured layer, which produced images with a different feel. I would personally desaturate just a tad, but you can experiment if you feel like it.
Desaturated a bit.
Julie
Thank you Julie., for your comments and ideas. I did think of it, but my program, Elements 6, does not do masking. Love the examples. And one day I shall be forced to buy the real Photoshop to perform some of these techniques. I was concerned about losing the power of the flags and flowers, because as I see it, the composition flows from the scene. Of course not always. And sometimes we are not concious of just how powerful a given element in a scene is, until we see it in review. You certainly made it come to life. thanks.
JMR