"North and South," by John Jakes
by ShaneBlake

Comment by tvsometime:
Somehow I hadn't heard of the book, which seems to be too recent to be considered a "classic" but we'll let that pass. So this is clearly a Civil War reenactment so it seems to fit the novel, although the action is more of less static except for firing the gun. The photo itself is perfectly timed to capture not only the smoke but the flash and even a the shock as the discharge blows up debris from the ground. However, the processing has created halos edging the gun and gunners against the white smoke, and the overall contrast is washed out. 5

"North and South," by John Jakes
by ShaneBlake

Comment by RyanW:
don't they know the war's over?

interesting capture, i like the spray coming out of the barrell and the shredded grass coming up in the vacinity.
I find the hint of the confederate flag too minimal, but wonder if including more would throw off the balance of the soldiers and the cannon.
a 7 from me

"North and South," by John Jakes
by ShaneBlake

Comment by RKT:
4...The HDRish effect really flattens the image out. I might have cropped the flag on the right out. There isn't enough of it showing to add any important information to what's going on I think.

"North and South," by John Jakes
by ShaneBlake

Comment by Cory:
Good enough fit.

Love the rain drops and sparks flying from the mouth of the cannon.

What I don't like is the absence of faces, and the ear plug which kinda dispels the period 'feeling' of the shot.

6

"North and South," by John Jakes
by ShaneBlake

Comment by bmartuch:
Gotta love those people that reenact the wars. They make for great photography.

"North and South," by John Jakes
by ShaneBlake

Comment by Tiberius:
Reenactment. A shot from behind the characters. Noting more. 4

"North and South," by John Jakes
by ShaneBlake

Comment by daisydavid:
Well there's 3 of them, all the right symbols are there. You snapped at a good time to catch the report. I like the HDR style I think it reinforces the imagery.5.

Bobbin Shuttle
by ShaneBlake

Comment by scooter88:
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"North and South," by John Jakes
by ShaneBlake

Comment by posthumous:
This doesn't feel like the decisive moment, even though I see sparks flying from the cannon. Everyone is looking away or has their face blocked. Sometimes this can be intriguing, but in this case it just creates a sense of everyone being bored. The flag in the foreground is awkwardly placed. The processing is weird... an oversaturated HDR. I don't know what effect you're trying to create with it. Also, the composition is close in on a centered subject, and therefore low energy. 2

"North and South," by John Jakes
by ShaneBlake

Comment by Bear_Music:
There's a lot to like in this image, as far as lighting and processing, though to my eyes you've tone-mapped it a little too flat. But the thing of it is, what's not working as well for me here is that every face is obscured, not visible. I know there's not much you could do about it (sure don't want to stand in FRONT of these event) but the bottom line is, it's all so STATIC: a hint of emotion in the faces would have helped that.

A 5 from me.