Dia de Los Muertos @ Hollywood Forever - Maestro de Los Muerto
My first time attending the Hollywood Forever event, I was struck by a number of things: The eclectic mix of peoples, how overly commercialized, and overly crow...
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My first time attending the Hollywood Forever event, I was struck by a number of things: The eclectic mix of peoples, how overly commercialized, and overly crowded the event was. To be fair, the overcrowding was in the main areas, which you could escape if you so desired. The Disney-sized pricing on everything from off-site parking to churros (The Thrifty ice cream however was delish and moderately priced). The setting was of course appropriate and the foreboding skies, just perfect. Some of the displays-altars ran the gamut from cheesy to strange(i.e. cat altar with "crazy dead cat lady") to compelling-moving. The entertainment was a mixed bag of candy corn with the Aztec performers being, for me, and what I was able to see, the most interesting and striking. I found them a more immersive element into the ancient aspect of what was and should be a very holy "opportunity" to commune with, or feel as though you're communing with relatives and friends that have passed.
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Oct, 2016Views
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Awards
Top Shot Award 21
Fall Award 2020
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Superb Composition
Peer Award
Superior Skill
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Top 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rank
Top 10 rank
Top 30 rank
Top 10 rank
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was shot at the Hollywood Forever Cemetary on October 30th, 2016 during the Día de los Muertos Festival. It was my first time at the festival and there was no shortage of people and things to photograph. This is the one of the Aztec dancers whom I've dubbed Maestro de los muertos.Time
I don't recall the exact time of day but it was very close to sunset. It was a cloudy night and rain was threatening which you can see in the color version of this photo. The weather created a perfectly appropriate backdrop for the event and for this character.Lighting
All natural lighting, and as mentioned in the previous answer about time of day, it was near dusk and the skies looked angry which created a shadow-less evenly lit environment.Equipment
Shot with my Nikon d750 and I believe it may have been the kit lens, 18-55mm. I have a Nikkor VR 70-200mm, f2.8 lens but I don't think I had it for this event.Inspiration
Look at the guy! What more inspiration do you need? Throw in an angry sky and dusk lighting and there you have it. Truth be told, he and the rest of the dancers came up on us quickly so I had to maneuver into a workable position fast and then click quickly.Editing
Absolutely. I shoot in RAW and my workflow is mostly Lightroom with Photshop as needed. This shot was all Lightroom. Just bumped up saturation, vibrance, dehaze, and clarity. I always use the historgram so any other adjustments were to even out the histogram.In my camera bag
I carry my Nikon d3200 with either the 18-55mm or 10-24mm attached and my Nikon d750, usually with the Nikkor 70-200mm lens attached.Feedback
Be prepared and patient and also willing to get to the location you need to grab the image you want.
