Mike Patterson
July 2025 - Paying Respects
Original
About the Image(s)
The cemetery in New Braunfels, Texas, is home to a herd of deer and the resting place of many family members. On one recent visit, I captured this image of a whitetail doe standing among the tombstones, as if paying respect to the deceased. Taken with a Canon 7D using a 70-300mm lens at full power. ISO was 400, f/8.0 at 1/800 second. Processed in Lightroom, mainly cropping and brightening the shadows.
5 comments posted
Good visit Mike in more ways than one. However, I think that this unusual and story-telling image deserves a little enhancing. You may consider adding a little real estate in the front, give it a bit of brightness and eliminate the stones in the left bottom corner and right top corner. Posted: 07/09/2025 18:53:09
I agree with Joe's suggestions. Add some brightness and contrast to the foreground, and darken the background a bit.
Nice capture.
Posted: 07/10/2025 17:02:01
Nice capture.
Posted: 07/10/2025 17:02:01
I think definitely the shadows in the dear have to be brought out more. Perhaps strangely, I prefer the original composition. The circle formed by all of the stones tends to add a frame around the dear while at the same time portraying a sense of the scale of the cemetery. You've captured a nice story here. Posted: 07/15/2025 01:41:35
Con cur with the above. You've done a great job with clarifying the deer but the rest of the image needs sharpening and contrast. I would not have cropped this one so tight--make the other tombstones show a bit. Keep the deer in the center right. Posted: 07/19/2025 15:17:13
I like the story but would also like to see more of the cemetery. I rather like the fringe of branches at the top of the original. It could use a little contrast perhaps and some sharpening. Posted: 07/19/2025 15:51:24