About the Image(s)

I was going to delete this image because it's just boring. Then I stopped myself - I normally drive past this historic cemetery and never give it a thought. We only stopped this time to give the dog a run! Not much of the original cemetery remains, as you can see, but it holds stories of goldminers who were part of this area's history - stories that should not be forgotten.

I admire the work of Eric Malm. I'm not always a fan of ICM images, but he always begins his movement with something in focus. I like his technique. Obviously, the effect in this image was not achieved in camera, but I thought introducing movement would tell the story of driving past, without taking the time to stop and notice.

Focal length for this image was 14.00mm. Exposure settings were 1/250sec, f/9, ISO125.

In Photoshop, I copied the background layer, removed dust spots and added a motion blur. I painted back the cairn at full opacity, and the fence and gate at 40% opacity. I used a colour balance layer to adjust tones, and added a LUT to increase the warmth in the hills and foreground. Finally, I cropped slightly from the bottom.

Next time I drive through the Nevis Valley, I will stop and photograph with purpose!