Concentration Camp

[fightheheathens]

Hey, this is my first post, i got into photography about a year ago and i did a study abroad in Germany and got a lot of good photos.

This photo is from the Concentration Camp Dachau out side of Muenchen Germany. 200,000 people were killed at this camp and near the end their bodies were disposed of in these ovens. The image was taken with a Canon A80 4.0 megapixil camera and shutter speed of 1/60 and f/3.5 ISO 400. The shot is underexposed on purpose and I took it with the ISO 400 setting on purpose so that it would look grainy...
I also darkened this image up in photoshop, the origional is slightly lighter with no completely black areas, but i think the darkness adds to the effect of the picture.

This is one of what i think is my best pictures and im just looking for ways i could have improved this image and what not.

-edit, i noticed that the image i had put up did not match up with the one that i printed out as far as darkness etc, i took the origional and messed with it in photo shop until its appearence on screen matched the one that i printed out, so once again any suggestings on composition, or what you think about darkening the photo to match more the mood of the place would be helpful, remember 200,000 people died in these ovens and that feeling of hopelessness and death is what im trying to convey.


-Jon

 

[PlasticSpanner]

Not sure about how dark it is. It seems to loose a lot of detail.

Are the shadows on the floor from other visitors? Without them and with some light on the floor it may help balance the darkness a bit more.

 

[fightheheathens]

The shaddows are from other people, i have several shots where i waited for people to leave so the room was empty and i would have no shaddows but i think the facelessness of the shaddows captures the mood of the place more then an empty floor.

 

[ClarkKent]

Without seeing the original...I wonder what the image would look like without you darkening it. I have to agree that you are losing detail.

 

[DramaDork626]

I am not fond of the darkness. However, the shadows do work

 

[terri]

The shadows of the people don't bother me; they could almost be the ghosts of the people destroyed in those ovens. Very dramatic.

I like the dark, heavy feel of this image. It's a dark, heavy place; it shouldn't be too bright. That said, I would agree that a tad of lightening overall wouldn't hurt this image - just enough to give some detail in the shadows.

Nice job. :thumbup:

 

[JonMikal]

the darkness doesn't bother me at all. this building was last used many years ago and although not 'abandoned', it's not in use today, and while the actual atmosphere isn't as dark as you portray, your choice of alteration works in my opinion. i feel the hopelessness these people felt through your image. also, the human shadows adds an increased sense of death. looks like a view back in time through a dusty window. well done!

it's very refreshing to see a newbie read the guidelines before posting here...thank you! i welcomed you in the photo gallery, i welcome you again in critique. Jon

 

[fightheheathens]

thanks for the feedback, i was looking at the origional and while you can see the detailing in the brick in the big black portion of this photo, there isnt much, (i tend to underexpose all of my B&W photos)
When looking at the origional though i feel as if some parts are too light, I'm tempted to keep the image dark and crop out the large black portion.
if its ok ill post the origional as taken and give permission for people to edit it if they want. This is one of my favorite images (not for the quality but more for the feelings and experience it evokes) which is why i put it up in this part, so any takes on how i could keep it dark, (like looking through a window to the past with the shaddows being the dead, i really liked that analogy) i would appreciate,

 

[Calliope]

I have to agree with JonMikal (for once ). I like the darkness in the photo and I think the shadow of the people adds to it. It gives that feel of people still lingering there like terri said. It makes it a very dramatic photo.

 

[terri]

I have to agree with JonMikal (for once ).

Why, Linda! :shock: I am shocked, dismayed, and

fightheheathens, I actually like the second, lighter image better. It's not all that much brighter, and the hint of detail in the brick suggests the dimension of the ovens and adds a clue as to what they were used for. It also gives more depth to the shot. It's horrible and creeps me out to look at it.

In short, very, very well done! :thumbup:

 

[Vmann]

I prefer a bit more contrast in my images... so I edited the orig.

• Uped the brightness and contrast
• rotated the image to straighten the front most leg on furnace and recropped
• burned in back wall and the ceiling a bit after running through B&C
• Cloned out the pipe coming out of the back wall

Nice photo though and love the shadows on the floor... they add a since of depth both to the image and emotionally... as a since of dark souls still present even after all are gone.

Good first post

 

[fightheheathens]

thanks for the feed back.
i like the editing you did...unfortunatly i dont have photoshop so most of my images are as taken or with very minor editing....plus i believe in image as taken and not doctored too much. But i like whats been done

 

[clarinetJWD]

I like the last version the most. It really captures the sadness of the place. My critique would have to be that the black part on the left doesn't seem to add to the photo to me, and I would crop at least some of it out.

 

[Christie Photo]

You nailed it the first time. Don't be so quick to alter your images. You have a good instincts.

BTW... I would advise against retouching out ANYTHING from a historical record like this.

-Pete Christie

 

[JonMikal]

You nailed it the first time. Don't be so quick to alter your images. You have a good instincts.

BTW... I would advise against retouching out ANYTHING from a historical record like this.

-Pete Christie

yeah, this is what i was trying to say