The Cross we bear
Jun, 2016Views
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Awards
Winner in Graves and Graveyards Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Outstanding Creativity
Superb Composition
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Absolute Masterpiece
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All Star
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Behind The Lens
Location
While taking my dog for a morning walk around the block, we came across this Barred Owl sitting in a tree in a local wooded area. It posed for me for several minutes before taking flight. Liking this particular pose of the owl, I thought it would look great sitting on an old cross looking down as if into a grave site. I then went out later in the day to try and find a cross to shoot. I shot and edited this old grave stone I found in our local cemetery and combined the two photos. The first name I thought of for this photo was "The Resurrection".Time
The owl photo was taken at 8:47 am on June 4, 2016Lighting
The original photos were shot with natural lighting, then I added lighting effects in post processing.Equipment
Owl was shot with a Nikon D3300, VR 55 - 300 mm lens at 240 mm. 1/400 sec @ F 5.6, ISO @ 3200 because of the low lighting in the trees at 8:47 am.Inspiration
I originally shot the owl and really liked one shot where the owl was looking down, and I believe it came to me right away that he would look great sitting on an old cross looking down at the ground, so I took a trip to our local cemetery and took photos of an old gravestone and combined the two photos in post processing.Editing
Yes, I combined the two separate photos, layered in a black background, added light rays and dust particles and adjusted the lighting.In my camera bag
I carry a Nikon D3300 camera, a Nikkor VR 55 - 300 mm, a Nikkor 18 - 55 mm Kit lens, a Sigma 10 - 20mm F/3.5 for wide angles & a Nikkor 50mm F/1.8 for portraits. A Manfrotto 290 tripod and a Yongnuo YN560 IV Speedlite.Feedback
Be prepared, as almost an after thought, I decided to take my camera along while taking my dog for a walk around the block. In my mind I thought I would take a few shots of the wild flowers that grew on the side of the road. Then almost as a gift the Owl presented itself for me to photograph. Prior to this, I normally did not take my camera on our dog walks, but now I always do. :)
