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The Gatekeepers



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This is a portion of a gated area of family monuments in a large cemetery. I was working on a lesson for a class project on low light photography. This was my f...
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This is a portion of a gated area of family monuments in a large cemetery. I was working on a lesson for a class project on low light photography. This was my first attempt at night photography. I particularly like the contrast between the light and shadows. Creepy place to go, but exciting.
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Awards

Top Shot Award 22
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Member Selection Award
Peer Award
Junglemono petergrigg deonvanderwalt ryananta_yossy KeepOnShootin photoABSTRACTION stephanoskaraoulis +12
Outstanding Creativity
Bylderchic GELeka mcampi photoman1974 thecatsmeow Mstagc NikitaRavi +3
Top Choice
Arve_HH jamiesarkett Carmen_Ruiz LizC whitedeer andreadebonis stone12 +2
Superb Composition
tomandlindafirme reginaldgargaro67 RebelYell rachelhelenhudson garytaft aprillewis
Absolute Masterpiece
omolast toddcooper Svenergy72 countryside
Superior Skill
Confalonieri sherrilynnherrmann
Magnificent Capture
grantoge tonyberry

Top Ranks

All About The Night Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Our World At Night Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Into The Night Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Clash Of The Premiums Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 2
Clash Of The Premiums Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 1
Freshmen 2016 Photo Contest Vol 2Top 30 rank week 2

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Behind The Lens

Location

This shot was taken in a small town close to where I live in Kentucky. It is a group of monuments within a very large cemetery. The monuments are gated and no one is allowed to enter the gated area. This shoot provided me with another lesson in my photographic learning journey. There are lessons to be learned with every frame I take. Some lessons are harder than others. The failures drive me to learn more. The successes.... sweet satisfaction!

Time

This shot was taken at night. I had to get permission (courtesy of my sister) to be in the cemetery after dark from local law enforcement. I had a homework assignment for a class I am taking to shoot in low light. I got really brave and went to a creepy cemetery at night! Once there, I was mesmerized by the atmosphere this group of monuments created.

Lighting

The only lighting available for this shot were two old gaslight replicas that illuminated the monuments. The light was very dim, which actually served a great purpose for a longer exposure. I used no flash for this shot. I wanted it to be eerie and utilized the play on the light and shadows on the monuments. I am very pleased considered it was my maiden voyage in night photography.

Equipment

This was shot with a Nikon D3200 with a Nikon 18-55 mm lens at f11, 24mm focal length for 2 seconds. ISO at 400. I wanted to keep the ISO as low as possible to reduce any noise. I used a tripod, but forgot my remote shutter release(bad me!). I carefully held my breath and hit the shutter. Got really lucky! The challenge was to include a portion of the ambient light from the lamp, but not to have it burn out the exposure. Again, I feel very lucky!

Inspiration

My inspiration for this photo was a lesson in night photography. What I did not know at the time was the whole experience was an inspiration to learn and totally be in the moment while shooting. Shooting with the heart. Technically I have so much more to learn, yet my heart and eye is filled with inspiration. One day I hope the two will be in sync.

Editing

This is a rather funny question to me! The reason being is that I am an infant in the world of post-process in Lightroom and Photoshop. I am learning day by day. Thank goodness for tutorials! Quite honestly the only thing I did was convert to black and white and did a bit of cropping. I try to get as much in camera as possible, but I do realize that post- process can be key in the final outcome.

In my camera bag

I carry my Nikon D3200, usually my 18-55mm lens, 55-300mm lens, and my 40mm macro lens. I also have a flash, just in case. Then, the normal stuff like lens cleaner, remote release, and of course, snacks!

Feedback

Considering I am new to this adventure, my advice would be to try many different settings for a shot. Change the shutter speed, ISO, focal length with many different combinations. You never know which one is going to give you the result you are looking for. The best advice I can give to anyone that is new like me is to try, fail, succeed, and never give up the chance to improve! It makes the experience so much more fun! Happy shooting to all! Time to upload more photos!

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