Meet Mr. Jordan Hardaway. He's 12 years old and he lives in Hickory, North Carolina. He was attending the Hart's Square Village Festival this weekend in his best civil war attire, complete with his musket. He saves his money and spends a good bit of it on his clothing and gear for civil war re-enactments.
When I saw him, I knew immediately that I wanted to get a photo, so I chased him down to ask. He gladly allowed me to do so. After I snapped this photo, he informed me that he's not supposed to smile when he has his picture made, because it woudln't be authentic. He said that old cameras during civil war times took a long time to make a photo and it was too hard to hold a smile for that length of time :)
I wish I knew how to contact this kid so I could share this print with him. I'm going to have to see if I can look him up somehow...
My title, "Deo Vindice" is latin for "God will vindicate." This motto appears on the great seal of the confederacy.
Post Processing:
Minor level adjustments
Dodged the subject's eyes to brighten the whites
Added noise. The original had none...
USM to define the grain a little more
EXIF:
File: IMG_5237.CR2
File size: 7,343KB
Camera Model: Canon EOS 20D
Camera serial number: 0420100366
Firmware: Firmware 2.0.0
Owner: John M. Setzler, Jr.
Date/Time: 2005:10:22 15:30:01
Shutter speed: 1/400 sec
Aperture: 2.8
Exposure mode: Av
Flash: Off
Metering mode: Evaluative
Drive mode: Continuous
ISO: 200
Lens: 70 to 200mm
Focal length: 135mm
AF mode: One-shot AF
Image size: 1536 x 1024
Image quality: Raw
White balance: Auto
Statistics
Place: 12 out of 274 Avg (all users): 6.3579 Avg (commenters): 7.7059 Avg (participants): 6.2807 Avg (non-participants): 6.4737 Views since voting: 2019 Views during voting: 325 Votes: 190 Comments: 25 Favorites: 1 (view)
Every year in my home town, the civil war comes to life in the biggest event of its' kind in California. Funny to have in California, right?! One year, I took my daughters (ages 7 and 9 at that time), and they promptly wore their peace sign outfits complete with tie died shirts! Oh well...I don't think they will go again, but I like to go as a photographer with an interest in history despite the fake blood and guts. I rarely see anyone else shoot these type of photos on DPC so I was surprised to come across this one! Well done!
Glad to see this one do so well, John. One of my highest votes. Classic, timeless, lovely to contemplate. I'd have expected to see a ribbon on this, myself...
This image is expertly captured and carries the essence of this challenge. I am besides myself that it was not honored by a ribbon. By far, the strongest study without pretense of presentation. It is honest and expertly composed with the best use of grain.
One of the most outstanding studies wherein the grain is used to full advatange to enhance what already is an outstanding image. Returning for final bump.
My absolute favorite entry in this challenge. Ofcourse I'm also a Civil War buff - so I'm sure that's part of it. I like the young lad's eyes, and the tight composition. Good luck in the challenge - hope you get a ribbon with this one. 10
Very striking portrait, I love his tilt away from the frame to expose the gun.
I would like to see the grain less evenly spread out, you can do this on a seperate layer with eraser brush here and there, it looks too photoshopped.
I'm thinking this comes from selzter's line of portraits from his portrait project, but if I am wrong take it as a compliment... It's a wonderful series!
I think this picture will win this challenge, excellent portrait, love the sadness in his eyes and the duty that seems to burden him so heavily. Congratz :)
Excellent application of grain... definitely looks like an old fashioned photo taken on film. Great photo too :-) I like it a lot. Good lighting... good expression... definitely fun. Is this his holloween costume? Good luck!
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