Honors
Full military honors at the funeral of a WWII veteran and life long fire fighter.
Full military honors at the funeral of a WWII veteran and life long fire fighter.
Read less
Read less
Aug, 2016Views
394
Likes
Awards
Winner in Sadness Photo Challenge
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
Peer Award
Superior Skill
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Top Ranks
Top 30 rank week 1
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 20 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at the cemetery where my grandfather was laid to rest.Time
I took this photo mid afternoon on an overcast day in April.Lighting
My favorite type of lighting is totally natural light. I prefer to use the sun to all it's advantage and it was a perfect mix of sun and clouds on this solemn day. There was plenty of light to work with but not so much that it disrupted the quiet and mournful tone of the event and photograph.Equipment
I used my Canon Rebel XSi with the standard lens it came with and nothing else, expect the available light from the sun.Inspiration
This was a very difficult day for my family, my grandfather was a WWII veteran who had a very full life after he served. During his time he spent nearly a week lost in enemy territory after his B52 bomber went down across enemy lines. Once he was safely returned home he married his sweetheart and they had six children together and 14 grandchildren. He lived to be 91 before dying of cancer. I was inspired to bring my camera this day because I didn't know how else to process the days events without falling apart. My grandfather had been a huge part of my childhood and saying goodbye to him was very painful, being able to watch and capture the events through the lens of my camera was a relief and helped me get through the day.Editing
I rarely do an excess of post processing, with this photo I only adjusted the contrast and light a little bit to really sharpen the colors.In my camera bag
My bag contains my Canon camera, two lenses including a 32x zoom and the standard lens, I also have four different flashes, extra batteries and charger, and several copies of my business cards.Feedback
Shoot what inspires you, shoot what you love, start in a space you are comfortable and push yourself a little at a time. I love working with natural light so anytime I go somewhere outside that may be interesting I drag my camera bag with me. I love to experiment with angles and lines as well, I took several different style shots of this moment and when I was going through them after wards I found this to be my favorite because the flag is it's traditional triangular shape and you can spot two of my grandfather's children mourning his loss behind the soldiers as they give him his final honors. My biggest piece of advice to any new photographer is to know your camera! Know all the little things it can do, learn about aperture and shutter speed and how to read a light meter. I like to say everybody thinks they're a photographer until they put their camera on manual mode. Know how to operate on manual mode, it's tricky and takes years to master but it's worth it!
