Lord, please remember them

notification in the mailbox and wondering if you did go back?
IMHO symmetry makes for a nice image, but -for me- it would only work if Jesus was looking straight ahead? but since he is looking to the left, that is where the action is?
more specific (in geen geval 'bijdehand' bedoeld, n hearhear), I would go much closer and lower (looking up to Jesus, again it w/b nice, puppet warp?, if he was looking down/to look him in the eye?) and shoot from the left.
if waiting for the 'right' natural light/beams/god rays is not an option, I would try to carefully set up lights. (+ perhaps use some family members/friends to hold them? ;-)). to obtain, as Roger said, something more moody?
directional light. whether flashguns or just a flash light (+ black carton, coloured 'cover'?) or whatever combi or ? I wouldn't care as long as it was 'shaped' to get it exactly where needed. maybe even a golden reflection screen?
it could bring out the shapes in the wood carving (and those awful nails) and add so much to a pic?
I would try to get the little crosses in focus and be very careful with DOF. think I can actually see that pic, but wondering about the distance between figure and little crosses and to the wall.
perhaps you can paint that wall? ;-)

PostScriptum?
<If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough.>
sounds familiar?


Edited by angora - 05 June 2017 at 12:05

Hi Pieter,

Well, it all depends for me if you wanted to treat this as a 'Record' image or as something Pictorial.

If it's the former, then you've already degraded the shot by altering the angle the cross was at, plus the fact that there is detail in the names etc. that cannot be read makes it fall short on that aspect as well (yes; I know these sound harsh but I've been exposed to a Camera Club for the last 9 months and a few things have rubbed off ). The exposure looks okay - perhaps a little dark in places and some detail may still be present in the shadow areas etc that you could bring out if needed. Lightening the wood of the cross may give a little more detail but also a lightening of the figure may also bring it out a little more from the cross itself perhaps? Anyway, as a Record shot it's not bad but I suspect it's not amongst the very best of that genre that we have seen?

Now, as a Pictorial image (which is what I suspect you originally had in mind), then it works very well for me. I 'get' the message straight away and thought it an involving, almost melancholy type of scene with the names to each side of he figure. I know we want them remembered but this seems, well, just a little too saddening a scene almost. I care not that I can't see the names - the sense they are there is enough. The darkness of the cross and the figure help reinforce the feeling that this is a sombre subject and, whilst I agree that adding some lightness would bring out detail etc., I'm not too sure that is needed for this image and the way you feel about it. I'm happy about the unbalanced number of names - the addition of the unused pegs adds a feeling of waiting for the inevitable which, in itself, adds a degree of sadness to the scene. I think you were right to correct the 'straightness' of the cross; unevenness wouldn't have looked right in this context and the changes don't show. Finally, a little darkening round the corners and, less so, the edges (darn, I have to use the word 'vignette'...) would possibly help bring the eye more into the centre point of the frame which is where the main message is. Finally, it would be interesting to also see a well-worked B&W of this - I suspect it may look very different and have a completely different mood to it.

Thanks for sharing this and, if it's of any interest, I would also have taken this as well given the chance.

Thanks for opening up a very useful debate and best regards, Neil.