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Black and white cemetery scene.
Black and white cemetery scene.
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Oct, 2015Views
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pamelatuininga
November 01, 2015
Love this image Jeannie! It makes me feell compelled to go through the gate and explore!! Nice Work!
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at the historic Central City, Black Hawk cemetery in Colorado.Time
Usually a photo of an old cemetery should be taken at dusk, but this one was taken in early afternoon because that's when I just happened to be there, so I had to imagine what I wanted the scene to look like. I wanted to achieve the feeling of loss and neglect, the feeling of abandonment. I also wanted my audience to feel what I felt. In my mind I could hear the old gate creak as it was slowly opening, beckoning one to come in, yet give a feeling of intimidation and fear of what lies within the ancient ruins. I pulled the gate half way into the path as if it were opening on it's own. I lowered my camera so it appeared as if I was walking through the gate down the small dirt path towards the single gravestone in the background, the spirits inviting me inLighting
In order to achieve the mood I wanted for this photo, the first thing I did was convert it to black and white. I then dimmed the light, and added a vignette to add focus to the correct areas. I think it is essential for a photographer to know what kind of mood or reaction one wants to achieve. I wanted a dark and haunting feeling to this photo and color absolutely did not do that.Equipment
I used a wonderful camera, Canon Powershot SX50HS, with a 58mm CPL filter which helps dim white light when shooting in midday scenes. I held my camera against my body to keep it steady, took several pictures at different angles F7.1 and EX 1/318 sec. I used Photoshop Elements 14 to make adjustmentsInspiration
Colorado is filled with so much history particularly around the silver and gold era and there are several wonderful old cemeteries that I have visited. I travel a lot around Colorado and having grown up in Denver I knew about the historical towns and ghost towns, which I love to visit and are great places for photo shoots. I hadn't been to Central City in years and just thought I would check it out. I love the feelings you get in these old cemeteries, so much history, such short lives, many of which were children. It is sad, but it also makes me realize how far we have come. I always feel I can sense the spirits in these places. To put these into a photo and make the feelings come to life, that's the best partEditing
I didn't do a lot of post-processing, the change from color to black and white was the biggest adjustment. It was a simple scene that I just needed to add the mood to. I used Photoshop Elements 14, adjusted the light and added the vignetteIn my camera bag
I have what I think is an awesome camera, the Canon Powershot sx50. It has a multitude of capabilities without all the extra lens. It has a 200 zoom and once you learn all it's capabilities, you can achieve a lot of what a DSLR camera does. I also carry several extra batteries, a spare memory card, and some special filters. You can find many filters for this camera, as long as they are 58mm and you get the ring for your lens that they will nicely attach to. I always carry my lens cleaners, wipes and tripod.Feedback
I think the most important thing is know what you want to achieve, what mood or response you want from a photo, that's what makes it unique. Anyone can shoot a picture, but not everyone can capture the essence of the scene. Be like a director of a play, how do you want your audience to react? It's not necessarily how fancy or how much equipment you have, but how well you can create an image with soul
