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Of all the things to take photos of in San Diego, I somehow ended up here - the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. I'm not one to frequent or seek out ceme...
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Of all the things to take photos of in San Diego, I somehow ended up here - the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. I'm not one to frequent or seek out cemeteries, but the endless rows of nearly identical headstones drew me in. On the overcast day I had there, it was a very sobering and surreal experience.
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cameraKODAK C875 ZOOM DIGITAL CAMERA

settings Aperture f/2.8 ISO 64 Shutter 1/400 

upload_dateAug, 2014

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5 Comments |
wilmamichel
 
wilmamichel April 24, 2015
Back and white works so well for such a sad scene.
dereksouter
 
dereksouter December 18, 2015
a great shot of a terrible waste of life (I am assuming this is a military cemetery from one of the world wars)
bobbihensley
 
bobbihensley January 08, 2016
Excellent shot. Pulls out emotion and I love the lines.
moonlightguardian
 
moonlightguardian January 22, 2016
Mindblowing photo. Captures all the emotions and intensity. Well done!
normg123 PRO+
 
normg123 August 21, 2016
Great picture. We need them for reminders. In LA at the Westwood Veteran's cemetery, they are laying all of the headstones flat so that we will not remember that brave men die in the wars. Keep on taking great pictures like this.

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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken on an overcast day at the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego.

Time

It was sometime in the middle of the afternoon.

Lighting

With most landscape photography, you kind of get what you get - the day was overcast, so the light was diffused. It wasn't raining, but it was kind of a damp and gloomy day.

Equipment

This shot was actually taken with a point-and-shoot Kodak C875, handheld. Nothing else. I actually climbed on top of a small dividing wall to get the angle right.

Inspiration

Like many of my photos, I didn't set out to take this shot. I actually made the trip out to the area to see and take photos at the Cabrillo National Monument. It just so happens that you have to drive through the cemetery to get there, and I was struck by the symmetry and even spacing of the headstones. I went to the Cabrillo National Monument and spent most of the day there, and though I had a great time hiking the bluffs and enjoying the views, I never really came away with a photo that stood out. As I was leaving, I stopped in the cemetery on an impulse, figuring that I could get some composition that would be interesting. This was literally the last photo I took before I left.

Editing

Post processing is essential! First, I removed people, cars and trees from the road in the background. I converted the original color shot to black and white, and did a fair amount of adjustment to the RGB channels to achieve even tones throughout - the grass was pretty uneven in tone and it was actually pretty tricky to get it right!

In my camera bag

I normally carry a Nikon D3200, tripod, speedlite, 35mm Nikkor prime, 18-250mm Sigma zoom, extra batteries, flashlight, macro extensions... But on this day, it was just that Kodak C875.

Feedback

The best piece of advice I could pass on is to get out there and just shoot! Yes, it's great to have a expensive gear, but your eye is the most important tool you have. Think about what you're trying to capture and figure out how to make it work by moving, experimenting, and retaking photos that don't match your vision.

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