Day of the Dead

A Quick Thought

To my disgust, I am getting rather obsessed with photography, and trying to take mine to a higher level. This higher level means better composition, more forethought before shooting (though it may not be possible at times), and better understanding of the post-processing program(s) I use.

Below is the original image of a guitarist in a crowd of people.

Singer for the Dead - Original

The composition isn’t great, but I needed the entire length of my lens – the Nikon 24-120mm f4 – on my Df. The focal point is the guitarist. As you can see, there are a few people between me and him. While taking this picture, and many others at the Day of the Dead, I thought about composition, and layers – foreground, midground, background – while I shot. During the crops, I thought of the same, and tried, too, to incorporate leading lines and/or the rule of thirds. Post-processing included colors, black and white, and vignetting. I used Nik Silver Efex, LR, and Perfect Photo Suite 9, along with different crops.

Singer for the Dead BW

Singer for the Dead

El Dia de los Muertos 2014 (87 of 421)

Dia de los Muertos, i

A small celebration of the the Day of the Dead, held in a local cemetery. Fun and poignant, people gather to remember loved ones, bring them presents, and build altars with the deceased’s favorite objects. Colorful marigolds brighten everything. Skulls and bones, face painting, dancing, costumes, ceremonies.

The Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos, is a Mexican tradition from the more southerly parts of the country. Such days are celebrated in various forms throughout the world. As populations migrate, so do their holidays, and this holiday is much better than Halloween!

Yesterday, there was Dia de los Muertos in a local cemetery. There were altars for lost ones, with photos and memorabilia and objects they liked; remembrances, some poignant, some funny; there were marigolds everywhere; and there were booths, dancing, cultural events and more.

The cemetery itself is new; there are no fancy headstones and rusting gates. Tucked against a mountain with vistas of the plain below, it is a rather pleasant place to come. Ranchland spreads out to the city and hills beyond. Last night’s remaining rain clouds filled the sky. Altogether, it was a beautiful day, for the living or the dead.

A View from the Cemetery

A couple of friends and I got to the cemetery around 11 in the morning. It wasn’t crowded, but still had enough people to make it busy. For me, the most interesting subjects to photograph were the people, especially the kids. Click on a picture below to start a slide show.