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Monuments: To the Quick and the Dead
Monuments: To the Quick and the Dead
Dr.Confuser


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Cemetery (Advanced Editing IV)
Camera: Nikon D70
Location: Renton, Washington USA
Date: Mar 21, 2005
Aperture: F/19
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/125
Galleries: Cityscape, Landscape
Date Uploaded: Mar 21, 2005

 Photographer’s Notes
When the Cemetery Challenge was announced, I found a bunch of related ideas swirling around in my head:
1) A friend and colleague said to me once that “Cemeteries are full of indispensable people.” I like this notion that people often take themselves too seriously, and would do well to remember the admonition of my friend.
2) Further I have been thinking about the ultra-rich and how they build (and have always built) monuments to themselves, especially buildings.
3) When in Cairo, I visited a cemetery there known and the city of the dead which is an interesting counterpoint to the monuments the living build to themselves in cities of the living.
4) And finally, I like the now outdated expression, “The quick and the dead,” meaning of course the living and the dead.

I did a little internet research to see if anyone famous or infamous was buried in the Seattle area. Sure enough, Jimi Hendrix is buried in Renton, a suburb of Seattle and there are a few more. I set out this morning for Jimi Hendrix’s grave site with ideas swirling. Turns out it’s a pretty nice memorial but not very photogenic. However on the way, I passed another small cemetery and returned to it after giving up on Jimi.

Driving through the cemetery, with all these ideas, the view in my photo presented itself: The city of the living in the background; the city of the dead in the foreground; and monuments everywhere. And at that moment we had a rare sun break which lit everything up. So I stopped the car, assembled my camera, took two shots … and was accosted by attendants who ultimately chased me out. But not before capturing this image which nearly perfectly embodied my swirling thoughts of this morning.

Editing was a labor of love. Hope you enjoy this.


Post Processing
Cloned out a power line
Select background
Save selection
Levels
Select inverse of background
Levels
Clone out a foreground distraction
Select inverse
Burn the clouds a bit
Crop
Reduce noise
Resize
Unsharp mask
Save for web


Camera Data
Nikon D70
2005/03/21 14:12:27.8
JPEG (8-bit) Fine
Image Size: Large (3008 x 2000)
Lens: VR 24-120mm F/3.5-5.6 G
Focal Length: 120mm
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Metering Mode: Center-Weighted
1/125 sec - F/19
Exposure Comp.: 0 EV
Sensitivity: ISO 200
Optimize Image: Vivid
White Balance: Auto
AF Mode: AF-S
Flash Sync Mode: Not Attached
Color Mode: Mode IIIa (sRGB)
Tone Comp: Auto
Hue Adjustment: 0°
Saturation: Normal
Sharpening: Auto
Image Comment:
Noise Reduction: OFF

Statistics
Place: 36 out of 281
Avg (all users): 5.8911
Avg (commenters): 7.0000
Avg (participants): 5.8188
Avg (non-participants): 6.0469
Views since voting: 1077
Views during voting: 313
Votes: 202
Comments: 17
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Nikon D750
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR
 04/02/2005 03:21:22 PM
famous gunslingers buried here? nice composition with the Chicago? skyline
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-300D Rebel
Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 L USM
 04/01/2005 06:21:12 PM
My favorite in this challenge.I see in this picture that work can conduct to death. So we need to balance our priority ... life is so short. -10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D300
Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D IF
 04/01/2005 09:25:43 AM
Not bad. Could a lower viewpoint have improved this by de-emphasising the part between the gravestones and the skyscrapers?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon PowerShot SD780
03/30/2005 07:16:34 PM
I am making two passes on this Challenge. I will vote on your photo then return later(before voting is over) to comment on what I like and dislike about your shot. You can take the comments however you wish and I will try not to be mean. Just don't take it the wrong way.
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Good work. Looks a little crooked but could just be the hill.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D300
Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED
 03/30/2005 02:55:46 PM
nice parallels with the gravestones and the skyline. Well seen
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D5000
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
 03/30/2005 02:37:18 PM
Great idea and interesting shot.9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-20D
Canon EF 17-35mm f/2.8 L
 03/29/2005 04:04:54 PM
Love the scene! Kinda like we live on one side then spend the rest on the other!! Top picks for me!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon Coolpix 8700
 03/29/2005 03:36:32 PM
I like the idea of this photo. I also like that it's framed by trees. It looks to me like too much of the photo is in the center third of the frame, Not sure how to fix this. One idea would be to take a much higher angle. But then I was also going to comment that I think the river makes a kind of dead space in the middle of the photo - a problem which would be solved by moving the camera down. I wonder if there's a spot where the skyscrapers are bracketed by the monuments? Finally, I'm not convinced that color adds much to the photo. I hope you find some of this ramble helpful.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon Df
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
 03/29/2005 01:15:26 PM
I like the use of the city in the background although I can figure out the title.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D50
Quantaray AF 35-80mm f/4-5.6 for Nikon
 03/29/2005 05:32:05 AM
Super shot and a great analogy.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-1D Mark II
Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon
 03/28/2005 09:58:57 PM
clever comparison of monuments, nice color controll, and i like the wide screen view
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Olympus E-3
Olympus 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 ED Zuiko Digital
 03/28/2005 09:34:10 PM
Like the way you show their new homes and possibly teir old homes in the city as well. Neat concept
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-10D
Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM
 03/28/2005 07:30:59 PM
Nice photo and colors
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D300
Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-210mm f/4.0-5.6D
 03/28/2005 12:19:10 PM
Great perspective! I really like the comparison and your title definatelly fits. =)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-20D
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM
 03/28/2005 12:17:55 PM
great shot! Really pretty
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-450D Rebel XSi
Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS
 03/28/2005 11:20:08 AM
beautiful9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS
 03/28/2005 01:06:43 AM
What a wonderful photo you have there. Guess what - I have one that is basically identical *g*. (what day did you go there, I wonder?) However, I didn't enter this one, I decided on a very different approach. If you do really well with this one, I'll sooooooooo kick myself!
Good luck to you, anyway :-) ( btw - you did a nice job cloning out the wire that was in the way).
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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