DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register) 
 
Challenge Entries
Portfolio Images
This image is not part of a public portfolio.
the Fading of Life
the Fading of Life
klstover


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Free Study XII (Advanced Editing IV*)
Camera: Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z10
Location: Richmond, Virginia
Date: Aug 30, 2006
Aperture: f/3.2
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/400 sec
Galleries: Emotive, Military
Date Uploaded: Aug 17, 2006

 Veterans Cemetery


I wanted to capture an image that represented both death and life. Shot with natural light. The blurring and the lower saturation in post processing contribute to my idea of how we don't always see death and life as they truly are.



edit: I did indeed try a crop without the pole. It made sense to me to leave the flagpole out of the final image but I just could not bring myself to do it. I think it was because I am very familiar with this place, and I took it at such an odd angle that I very rarely (if ever) see it from. And the flagpole served as a point of reference for me visually. I am not regretting my decision, but the comments you all have made have helped me to 1) realize and remember exactly why cropping would have been better and 2) understand that in the future it would help to at least keep in mind that I might need to emotionally distance myself from the shot. Thanks for the comments.

Statistics
Place: 599 out of 684
Avg (all users): 4.8143
Avg (commenters): 4.7273
Avg (participants): 4.6952
Avg (non-participants): 5.2600
Views since voting: 679
Views during voting: 302
Votes: 237
Comments: 13
Favorites: 0

Please log in or register to add your comments!

AuthorThread
 09/10/2006 10:38:42 AM
Interesting, kistover. I have read your after Challenge remarks. They remind me of a problem that I encounter in my own photography at times. It's hard for me to remember that the viewer is only going to see that portion of a scene that I show him. I can know the entire scene perfectly, and think that the part I show is the most important, etc... but if I don't include enough information to show why it is most important my viewer is going to be puzzled (and move on).

I hope the above ramble is of some use to you.

Alice

PS I really did like your image. My vote was one of your '7's.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
09/06/2006 02:58:21 PM
I like everything about this picture except the pole on the right side...the reason is that it is on the same level, or even closer to the front, as the front headstone, but it's blurrier, and for me the power of this is (in part) how it seems to fade as you look towards the back of the picture. Otherwise, powerful.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/05/2006 08:24:44 PM
This is a beautful commemorative shot, and the soft focus works well. Unfortunately (IMO, of course) that pole to the right is intrusive. A quick crop just to the left of it would make this a lovely image. Try it and see what you think...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/04/2006 08:02:42 AM
The composition dosent capture my eye. The "texture" is litle strange (maybe to much or wrongly used noise reduction?). The colors dull and uninteresting in my opion. Think b&w would have been good here.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/03/2006 04:37:05 PM
Lots of distracting elements in this pciture, the three, the pole on the right, the wall behind. I guess the smearing effect was deliberate (from the title), but I really don't see it adding anything. Clearing out the distractions and trying to get an interesting setting with all the gravestones might create something interesting.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/03/2006 02:46:58 PM
This is a nice, emotive picture. The thing that lets it down for me is the pole over to the right. I think cropping out that distraction would make the gravestones stand out more.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/02/2006 06:29:39 PM
I think I like the concept. two things though...the pole on the left and the entire image is blurred. I would like to have seen crispness on this photo.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/02/2006 04:09:14 PM
not a fan of that glowing effect. 5
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/01/2006 02:04:49 PM
The soft focus and slightly desaturated look work well here, but I would have preferred not to have had the treetop cropped and for the pole to the right to be cropped out as it serves no compositional purpose and distracts from what is otherwise a very nice shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/01/2006 11:51:17 AM
Nice picture but you should have cropped out the pole on the right side and a bit of the top.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/01/2006 11:06:39 AM
I think this would be stronger if the flag pole was cropped out
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/01/2006 06:44:01 AM
The pole on the right is very distracting and the colors are washed out- which could have been your plan.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/01/2006 01:18:48 AM
A saddening part of life, tells the story well...
  Photographer found comment helpful.


Home - Challenges - Community - League - Photos - Cameras - Lenses - Learn - Prints! - Help - Terms of Use - Privacy - Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2024 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 04/24/2024 10:45:40 AM EDT.