Oliver Morton, A{SA
April 2026 - County Courthouse
About the Image(s)
My father was born and raised in Gray, Georgia. Although we never lived there after I was born (my father was in the army), we usually visited every few years. To be honest, those visits weren’t things I enjoyed; however, I always found the county courthouse interesting. I thought the tombstone was an especially interesting touch as a way to indicate that it was the “Jones County Courthouse.”
Processing was done in Camera Raw and consisted of adjusting the lighting, using masks. Unfortunately, the original isn’t available.
Data: Canon R5; 24-105mm lens @ 47mm; 1/320 sec; f/9; ISO 100.
8 comments posted
Hi Pete - you captured the gravitas of the county house perfectly and the tombstone is the cherry on the cake. I trust you also messed a bit with the sky - otherwise it wouldnt be blurry with a 1/320 sec.
What would I do different? Difficult as I like your version. For my personal artistic taste there are however too many interesting elements (tombstone, stair to the right, flagpole, tower etc) on it, and I probably would have rather tried to focus on one element.
Br, A Posted: 04/03/2026 12:45:34
What would I do different? Difficult as I like your version. For my personal artistic taste there are however too many interesting elements (tombstone, stair to the right, flagpole, tower etc) on it, and I probably would have rather tried to focus on one element.
Br, A Posted: 04/03/2026 12:45:34
Adrian, you're correct. I definitely modified the sky. (I wish I could find the original image, but...) From what I recall, I removed a significant number of distractions, including telephone poles, lots of wires, and a few unidentifiable objects. However, I agree with you, it would be better to eliminate even more things. I think Emil did an excellent job of simplifying the photograph (see below).
As always, I really appreciate your input.
Posted: 04/04/2026 18:33:21
As always, I really appreciate your input.
Posted: 04/04/2026 18:33:21
Pete - you have well documented what is probably the most admired, cherished and well known landmark in town. You can see that the citizens are proud of it and have installed markers to point out the significance of the courthouse and its history.
Your high quality treatment of the image contributes to express to the viewers that the courthouse has significance.
Cheers
Mike Posted: 04/03/2026 20:28:59
Your high quality treatment of the image contributes to express to the viewers that the courthouse has significance.
Cheers
Mike Posted: 04/03/2026 20:28:59
Thank you, Mike. As you surmised, the Courthouse is a source of pride for the residents. I have been inside a few times, many years ago, and it has an antique, musty feeling. It seems that the exterior has gotten all the attention.
Posted: 04/04/2026 18:35:51
Posted: 04/04/2026 18:35:51
Pete,
An iconic town/city Courthouse with a nice dome and clock.
A couple of ideas for you to consider: The courthouse could come down a bit in luminance which I did in LR by selecting subject and dropping the highlights. I also used the PS remove tool to declutter the area around the tombstone. I know it is removing history but I went for a simpler view
Regards
Emil
Posted: 04/04/2026 17:16:50
An iconic town/city Courthouse with a nice dome and clock.
A couple of ideas for you to consider: The courthouse could come down a bit in luminance which I did in LR by selecting subject and dropping the highlights. I also used the PS remove tool to declutter the area around the tombstone. I know it is removing history but I went for a simpler view
Regards
Emil
Posted: 04/04/2026 17:16:50
Wow! An excellent job improving this photograph. As you can see in my reply to Adrian (above), I removed quite a few distractions... but clearly not enough. THANK YOU, Emil!
Posted: 04/04/2026 18:37:23
Posted: 04/04/2026 18:37:23
Pete,
I'm with Adrian on this. It's a great photo but at first glance, i'd have cropped the right side to remove the stairs. You'd loose some of the back of the courthouse but it would push the viewers eyes toward the front of the building and eliminate the tree on the right which is a bit distracting. Mark
Posted: 04/13/2026 19:27:16
I'm with Adrian on this. It's a great photo but at first glance, i'd have cropped the right side to remove the stairs. You'd loose some of the back of the courthouse but it would push the viewers eyes toward the front of the building and eliminate the tree on the right which is a bit distracting. Mark
Posted: 04/13/2026 19:27:16
Hi Pete,
Greetings my friend.
Your image "County Courthouse" is a fantastic one. As its a pretty old structure and a historic one, the treatment of monochrome make this even relavant for the show casing. I understand you have a memory with this place, so while capturing and post processing; your emotional part worked as well. I loved the way you have treated and surely Emil's version is also as good. Thank you for sharing.
Cheers.
Kamal. Posted: 04/15/2026 11:27:50
Greetings my friend.
Your image "County Courthouse" is a fantastic one. As its a pretty old structure and a historic one, the treatment of monochrome make this even relavant for the show casing. I understand you have a memory with this place, so while capturing and post processing; your emotional part worked as well. I loved the way you have treated and surely Emil's version is also as good. Thank you for sharing.
Cheers.
Kamal. Posted: 04/15/2026 11:27:50