Death, Life and Respect.

[Radtech1]

Not much else to say.

C&C Please

Rad

[Epix]

Try blurring the background a bit to emphasis the headstone.

[Radtech1]

Try blurring the background a bit to emphasis the headstone.

Thank you for your comments and I was glad to receive them. That tells me that I did, in fact, do a convincing job of blurring the background.

See, when it came out of camera (the G9 with a little sensor), the background was nearly tack sharp. It was a somewhat complicated job, as I only have Elements 2 on the traveling laptop. That means: No Depth Masks. I had to blur each of 4 background areas separately to get the correct falloff. And, of course there was the problem of halos around the area not blurred, but I have developed a technique that handles that. (Time consuming, but it obviously works, as you apparently couldn't tell I had already blurred the image!)

THEN, I had to recreate the sensor noise of the G9 on the blurred area so it would match the noise on the remainder of the shot.

And to answer the question as to why I didn't blur it out completely - well, I didn't want the subject (particularly the ivy) to be presented in isolation. I wanted the background to provide a visual context for the subject. I just didn't want the background to be completely sharp as that was competing for attention.

Again, thanks for your comments.

Rad

[Robert_Lay]

Dear Rad,

Very nice image, but I don't like the composition - too static as a result of being centered.

[vpnd]

I agree with robert. even cropping will add to the composition. I do like the green of the ivy on the stone. It almost looks plastic because it has such a uniform growth pattern. Not because of you or your camera mind you.

[saiminyaku]

I agree with robert. even cropping will add to the composition. I do like the green of the ivy on the stone. It almost looks plastic because it has such a uniform growth pattern. Not because of you or your camera mind you.

i agree on all grounds, but especially on the uniform growth pattern of this ivy. it definitely does lead one to think that it is artificial. that, and the rather thick frame the shoots come from always tickle the mind to think 'fantasy.'

and to the OP, good effort. don't be afraid to crop to save a shot and please, keep posting! :D

[Robert_Lay]

Dear Rad,

Isn't there some special significance to the little reddish stone sitting on top of the headstone? I seem to remember something relating to that which showed up at the end of the "Schindler's List" movie.

[Flo]

Placing stones on Jewish graves is a tradition carried down since the Exodus from Egypt. Moses took 40 years to make it from Egypt to Israel and durning that time several people obviously died. Since they were in the desert they did not bother burying the bodies, instead they just placed a sheet over the body and used stones to keep them covered.
I am not Jewish, but I do know a lot of the religion is based on tradition. I am not sure exactly why but this is one of the traditions that has carried on.

Something else you might notice on some Jewish graves is a 'roof' over the headstone. This has a more obvious reason, and also based on tradition. It keeps the head stone dry and clear, so that those who pass by know who is buried in that spot.


Taken in text from a yahoo forum...

I agree as well about the placement of the headstone in regards to the photo..I think the Bg could be darker..but then I like contrast alot:o

[richardyoung]

Yea.. shoot from the ground up higher if you can.. different angle