Backstory: I go to school in a small town of about 17,000 people (plus a university of 6000 students) in the middle of nowhere. One day I headed over to the local graveyard, partly to take pictures and partly for someplace quiet to walk and be alone. The newer and more central parts of the graveyard are pretty well kept, but when you walk a little ways off the path you see the older graves that are mostly cracked and worn down beyond readability. Some are along the edge of the cemetary, on a hill that goes down into a ditch next to the road. There the graves almost seem like they've been sliding down the hill as it errodes over the years, leaving them skattered far apart, toppled, and overgrown with weeds and grass or buried in leaves. I found the place facinating, and took a number of pictures, trying to capture the sense of people who had truely been forgotten. The sun was setting already when I started shooting, so I didn't come up with many good shots, and the lighting was pretty unplesant. However, out of what I did get, this was the shot I thought captured the place best. I'm sure I'll go back and shoot there again this next school year, and I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes a place I swing by from time to time just to collect my thoughts.
As for the entry itself. It's partially desaturated, but a little color is left (mostly the green of the grass) to help bring the graves out from the grass and make the scene seem more real. I messed around with this in photoshop a bunch, but end in end I think the result was primarily brightness and contrast adjustments, and sharpening.
Originally I was going to title it "Eventually, everyone is forgotten" but instead I decided to go with a little bit more aggressive title to maximize the impact of the shot and make people reflect on the personal reality of death and being forgotten, instead of being able to think about it as something that happens to other people.
I probably shouldn't even submit this shot, because I'm somewhat passionate about it, which according to my dpc handbook, means that my score will be dismal. I'm hoping for some interesting comments though.
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Ahh, so true! Nice work--super composiiton and lovely tones for this mood. The trees seem a little oversharpened or pixelated somehow, but this is fine work!
Well done. I get a very distinctly sad, almost depressed feeling when looking at this shot. I really like the black and white (duotones??), it adds to the desolate feel. I particularly like the composition - the slope of the ground, and the bare trees create an unsettling feeling of starkness. Great execution of concept.
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