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Full military honors for my friend

Full military honors for my friend
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Awards

Chatter Award
People's Choice in Military Photo Challenge
People's Choice in A tribute to a lost loved one Photo Challenge
Winner in Last day of your life Photo Challenge
People's Choice in HONORING OUR MILITARY Photo Challenge
People's Choice in CREAVIVE FLAG PHOTO Photo Challenge
Winner in A Scene For Memorial Day Photo Challenge
People's Choice in Honor those lose their lives in Military service Photo Challenge
People's Choice in Cemeteries Photo Challenge
Winner in Honoring The Fallen Photo Challenge
People's Choice in Memorial Day: the real meaning Photo Challenge
  View more
Peer Award
sigridbh timmullis alexlevinsky danpatton brendaglen mohammadhadiboojariloodariche ddyson61 +66
Top Choice
PhotoWux trainwoman ErnieF lyndacoxon Hprue marvan snowdon +17
Absolute Masterpiece
VLJ_PHOTOGRAPHY deekaycee Thatpicchick The_Bigbarritto Craig-Sheffield Cherokeedancer ronjudyluv2travel +16
Magnificent Capture
BenDufeck Cameraupoint b2bjacks PeriHoke_CoyoteQuest h2odean JPART7 jensen9cat +11
Superb Composition
carolcardillo JTello Dawgbyte jonasweiss Steve-n-Ning HarryLR wemco2 +8
All Star
CJPark4991 chuckmyer rueysung AndyBug mariadel richardeaton_9707 Maadhatter +2
Outstanding Creativity
MiyoJergen BobSellers637 staceygensel
Superior Skill
jdmarks64 NevilleJeffries
Virtuoso
Confalonieri mcampi
Genius
pamm16

Emotions

Impressed
ahuffaker onyanita oldgal KoralC jensen9cat daniducayag gman176 +6
Happy
enriquekapie
Sad
thatunicorngal Steve-n-Ning Joviaal EyeSpyPhotography InnitouPhoto RogerV MyFotografie +1

Top Ranks

The Visual Swag ProjectTop 10 rank
The Visual Swag ProjectTop 10 rank week 1
My Best Capture Photo Contest vol2Top 20 rank
My Best Capture Photo Contest vol2Top 20 rank week 1
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol11Top 30 rank
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol11Top 30 rank week 1
Red White And Blue Photo Contest 2020Top 10 rank
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 6Top 10 rank
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 6Top 20 rank week 1
Creative Landscapes Photo Contest vol2Top 20 rank
Creative Landscapes Photo Contest vol2Top 20 rank week 2
Creative Landscapes Photo Contest vol2Top 20 rank week 1
Flags and Banners Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Flags and Banners Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
The Emerging Talent AwardsTop 10 rank
Compositions 101 Photo Contest vol4Top 30 rank
Thank You Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Thank You Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Compositions 101 Photo Contest vol4Top 30 rank week 3
Compositions 101 Photo Contest vol4Top 20 rank week 2
ViewBug Photography AwardsTop 10 rank
ViewBug Photography AwardsTop 10 rank week 1
Compositions 101 Photo Contest vol4Top 20 rank week 1
Once Upon A Time Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Once Upon A Time Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Composing With Rule Of Thirds Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Composing With Rule Of Thirds Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 3Top 20 rank
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 3Top 20 rank week 2
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 3Top 20 rank week 1
World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank
World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Covers Photo Contest Vol 39Top 20 rank
Covers Photo Contest Vol 39Top 10 rank week 2
Covers Photo Contest Vol 39Top 10 rank week 1

Categories


15 Comments | Report
p_eileenbaltz Platinum
 
p_eileenbaltz July 09, 2017
Beautiful work! Congratulations on your People's Choice Award.
iluv2shoot
 
iluv2shoot July 09, 2017
Great capture; congratulations!
Norona PRO+
 
Norona July 16, 2017
Beautiful tribute to your friend. Thank you and your friend for your service! May he rest in peace.
MikeBoyle
 
MikeBoyle August 14, 2018
Nice...Very Nice
JanHrischenko Platinum
 
JanHrischenko August 04, 2020
Beautiful. Very emotional. I love this photo.
thatunicorngal PRO
 
thatunicorngal June 14, 2021
Congratulations! I chose your photo as the Grand Prize winner in my A Scene For Memorial Day photo challenge.
kurtsnyder Ultimate
 
kurtsnyder June 14, 2021
That is an amazing shot and surely the winner indeed! COngratulations on wining the Memorial Day photo challenge! Kurt
RogueAngel75
 
RogueAngel75 June 14, 2021
Congrats on the win! Sorry for the loss, RIP Soldier Thank you for defending our Freedom!
JayneBug Platinum
 
JayneBug August 01, 2021
So well captured and framed. Impressive!
Sandypartlow4
 
Sandypartlow4 August 01, 2021
Congratulations
kurtsnyder Ultimate
 
kurtsnyder July 05, 2022
Congratulations on yoru winning image in the Last Day of your life challenge! Super image! Kurt
Craig-Sheffield PRO+
 
Craig-Sheffield August 20, 2022
Congratulations on the People's Choice. A photograph like this brings a tear to my eye. (This was the winner in my opinion).
Cameraupoint Platinum
 
Cameraupoint September 17, 2022
Respect
deekaycee Ultimate
 
deekaycee March 09, 2023
What a magnificent way to have one’s life honored.
brendaglen PRO
 
brendaglen September 24, 2023
So poignant. May your friend rest in peace.
See all

Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was a military funeral at Arlington National Cemetery. It was a 95 degree day last May when we laid my friend to rest. He was an infantry Colonel who had served 3 tours in VietNam. He was 82. I had been asked by the family to be the official photographer. They didn't really have to ask. It was my honor to do it.

Time

The time was shortly after noon on a cloudless day

Lighting

While the road was under the shade, I was standing in full sun. A lens hood was important. Sun was nearly overhead

Equipment

I was shooting a Canon T3i with a Canon 18-135 kit lens and a tulip lens hood. I was shooting video with my 70D. Tripods are not allowed at Arlington, nor are any fixed lights.

Inspiration

I was honored to be asked by the family to record the event for them. My wife and I were not restricted as to where we walked, as long as it did not interfere with the official activities. The deceased had been a personal friend for 40 years, and, although part of different commands, had served at the same post as me for a time. We will all miss him.

Editing

PP included cropping and brightening shadows. The bright & dark areas were extreme. I increased contrast, and then brightened the shadows.

In my camera bag

It varies depending on the event. This day, I had a T3i w/ 18-135mm Canon lens, and a Canon 70D with a 28-105mm USM. I also had a Canon 70-300mm f1.4-5.6 IS USM, a Nifty 50 f1.4, and a Tokina SD 11-16mm f2.8, a Canon 430 Speedlight II (inside ceremony) with diffuser and softbox. ND & CS filters, along with spare batteries for everything, and spare SD cards. I also carry a Nikon Coolpix 3500, just in case.

Feedback

This was a special occasion for me. As the photographer for the family, we had a lot of latitude. You cannot do this as a tourist. There were military roadblocks to keep the public away from the family. If you ever have the opportunity, take it. Shoot everything. Make sure you have spare SD cards & batteries. This is a bad time to run out. However, don't get to locked behind the camera that you forget why you are there. Many of the photos I took that day were when I took a minute to look around and see what else was happening. The bugler playing taps was some distance away on the hillside. Made a quick change to my 300mm lens. Tripods are forbidden at Arlington, but I should have brought my monopod. It was 95 degrees, and we were in the full sun. Stability became an issue. It was still an honor, and a privilege to do this for my friend.

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