Private Michael D. Huston, 78th Pennsylvania Volunteers. (Union Army)
Thanks to my uncle for posing in his reenactment uniform in the blazing heat for 50 shots. I took some shots of him firing rounds too, but this was one of the few I took in sepia mode with my camera, and I couldn't recreate the contrasts and brightness of the color or black and white shots in post production. Adjustments: cropped and resized.
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Thanks for the comments and votes. Addressing the comments: The shot was taken in sepia mode, so I had very little control over the image. It's basically auto mode with a sepia filter.
re: Who are you? Matthew Brady? Actually, I'd never heard of him until I saw this comment.
I don't really know what true sepia is supposed to look like, but I really liked the brightness and the 3-D quality of this shot. Hence, there is no post-production done other than that mentioned. I did not use any flash - the exposure is due to natural light falling through the trees. The full sized image is fairly overexposed. That's why I didn't show the ground under my uncle. The plants were far too bright. I also liked the framing, emphasizing the length of the gun, and attempting to meet the rule of thirds with my uncle.
I like the angle used. Different angles would produce different results. I don't know if it would be better, but next time I will take that into consideration = )
Finally, the image is waaay to clean, maybe cranking the ISO to 800 would have worked, but then I couldn't use the sepia mode. I would have loved to make it look older. Any suggestions as to how I can do this in-camera?
This image would be much more compelling if you had taken the time -since it is a posed shot- to not have the distraction of the twigs around the soldier. Also, the framing could be tighter and the muzzle of the rifle made more prodominate. The image would also be better without the lost highlihgts on the back of the neck and shoreline behind the soldier. Sepia prints from the civil war era where much flatter than we are used to today. Perhaps a reflector could have been used. I have the sense that fill-in flash was used and this may have contributed to the over done highlights.
Yuo have captured many of the basic elements of photography here, Your picture tells a story and shows excellent composition. Sepia adds to the historical nature.
I like the "old photo" look --on my moitor it looks bright -- a lot like those old stereo photos. "Feel free" to share how you dd this ifyou've time and inclination.
Excellent clarity. Almost too much, as it makes the period costume and sepia kind of hard to belive. Time to add some dust and scratches. {g} I'd have asked him to hack down that one long diagonal twig with his bayonette, and aimed a little lower since I can't tell if he's in the stream or next to it. One of my favorites this round nonetheless. Nice work!
THe union was lucky .... try getting on the same level or lower than your subject ... will give this a whole different look. You could even play around with the depth of field and get some interesting looks.
Best use of sepia EVER! Good photo, only 10 so far. Can't think of a single thing to improve, sorry. Photo 10 Creativity 10 People 10 total 10 perfect score!!!!! This one HAS to win!
Nicely set up. The sepia toning doesn't seem quite right for me. I toned down the red colour a lot, and the green a little, and the effect seemed more authentic to me
I like the setting, the choice of subject but especially I like it relevant to the colors you choose. The civil war was a dirty war with out food, blankets for warmth, clean clothes etc. and your coloring reflects the somberness of that. Others may critize your technique but I give you a ten based on your creaitivity.
Heart-tugging photo for me. My greatgrandfather died as a Union soldier in 1864. This is a very well done picture, and the clarity is amazing! I especially like the sepia tones.
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