'Halloween 2023'

Halloween 2023

Here's the picture I wrote about a few days ago in "Half the Battle is Being There." I titled it "Halloween" just to keep it a little friendly, even though it was taken on Monday, a couple of weeks past Halloween.

You can see the larger version here.

Mike

[UPDATE Friday evening: I think perhaps I should mention that this has no "fudging" of the lens image at all. All I did was crop the image somewhat and adjust the tones slightly—no Photoshop. The stones appear just as they do on the hillside from that standpoint. This image needed almost nothing in the way of processing.]

Original contents copyright 2023 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. (To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below or on the title of this post.)

Featured Comments from:

Mark: "This is my favorite of your Sigma pics. Very nice."

Mike replies: Thanks Mark.

Will Duquette: "I love this, and especially that the tree right in the middle, amidst the trees with bare branches, is an evergreen. There is death, but life goes on."

Cecelia: "That is a beautiful, evocative, truly lovely image."

robert e: "That's another beaut, Mike. Congrats! Expanding on Stephen Jenner's comment [in the Comments section —Ed.], I've noticed a cinematic character in your recent work overall (some of the more obvious examples are the boys on bikes, which would not be out of place in a Spielberg movie, and the road/cornfield/house shot, as I commented then). Gets me wondering whether this character was always there but recently more evident, perhaps by your new practice; or if this is a new thing, inspired by the environment and/or the rig (which I note was aimed at cinema shooters); or maybe you've just been watching a lot of movies? Thinking back, I think it's something that's always been there in your work, but now is more obvious to me because you're shooting consistently in B&W, and maybe because your growing fluency with your new process is enabling both better expression and better recognition of opportunities to say what you want to say. What do you think?"

Mike replies: I'm flattered by the analysis, for which thanks. I do think I'm more comfortable when I start seeing and thinking in B&W. And I've recognized that I sense some emotional response with these pictures that hasn't always been part of my work. Something complicated having to do with aging and getting closer to death; the dreadful calamity of climate change and the fate of Earth; and the Mennonite idea that they—well, we—are only travelers through this world, and not here to stay. I titled this "Halloween" to trivialize it deliberately, in deference to the feelings of those who have lost, or are in fear of losing, loved ones.

Comments

[Stephen Jenner]

Hi Mike,

Somewhat reminiscent of some of the scenes in that old Carey Grant film "Arsenic and Old Lace".

For me, anyway... I can hear Peter Lorre in my head as I write this. He always played the same part, but wonderfully.

Hollywood's 'stock creep'. Rick... Rick!

[Geoffrey Wittig]

All you need is an owl or a vulture in one of the trees, and it's Halloween perfection.

[Dave]

That's a terrific one! Inky blacks, and the tree limb near the right side even looks spooky.

Great job! (Glad you went back and had similar conditions to the first viewing!)

[Marti Kirkpatrick]

Understanding you know a thing or two about photographing, and looking at the straightness of the trees, the tipping and leaning of so many of those markers in remarkable, and sad.

[Benjamin Marks]

That liminal moment between day and night has long been my favorite. I don't tend to photograph in it though -- I just enjoy it. You've captured that feeling perfectly though: the crystal clarity of the leafless branches against the edge of the fading day.

[Rob Griffin]

Mike,

A truly lovely photograph, well worth your effort to take a chance on going back 24 hours later. You see Halloween, I see Christmas for the dearly departed.

From a technical viewpoint, I would say that Sigma 24mm lens really does its job excellently. Sorry, techno speak is not my strong suit. :)

[It's the 45mm ƒ/2.8:

https://amzn.to/40Fx6JD

--Mike]

[Dillan K]

I hope you get "explored" with this one. It really deserves it. Great photo!

[Tim McGowan]

Brilliant. Would make an excellent print. Speaking of which, any update on your print sale ?

[Kenneth Tanaka]

An interesting take on a cemetery scene. Almost like a cutout silhouette. If only you could have gotten a guy holding a reaper to lean against one off those trees.

Well-done.

[Rick Graves]

Nicely done!
It was well worth the time that you spent thinking about the scene, planning the photograph, making the return trip and sharing this wonderful image.

Rick

[Kaemu]

Wonderful! Goes to show you gotta try, even if the odds seem low. Thanks for sharing.

[Bob Rosinsky]

Wow. Just Wow!

[Jim Freeman]

I think this is the best of your pictures that you have shared, so far.

[calvin amari]

I gather this would be the dead center of town?

[It's sort of on the outskirts of the town of Benton, which itself is only a bit more than a crossroads. I think Benton is actually a town with no traffic lights, but I'm not sure. --Mike]

[SteveW]

Wow, good job going back for it, but even more so seeing it in the first place, super good, super impressive! Thank you for sharing.

[JohnW]

Sometimes there's an image that just stops you in your tracks. The trick is always capturing and conveying that "stop you in your tracks" feeling. You've done that brilliantly ... composition, tonality and mood.

I Bow To You Sir. WELL DONE!

[Dan Khong]

When I see your shot, I don't see Halloween. But I see stones that invite a closer look at those names of loved ones that came and went. I see history. They make me wonder how many of these persons did something significant that has become legacy. In some measure, those stones are "alive" and they each tell a story.

[Joseph Kashi]

I ordinarily don't comment about on-line photos, but this one is very nice.

I never thought that I would write about the Rule of Thirds, but one could plausibly argue that the photo even follows the Rule of Thirds despite the dark conifer in the middle: there is a wide bright channel to the left 1/3 vertical and very large, detailed tree on the right 1/3 vertical, which definitely attracts the eye with its strong filigree. The lower bright horizon band, as well as the upper fade to black area are also approximating the horizontal 1/3 lines.

[KeithB]

It is like the Anti-Moonrise over Hernandez, New Mexico.

[Seth Friedman]

This really deserves to be seen as a print, just lovely.

[Mark Sampson]

Now go back at sunrise, or just before.

[David Dyer-Bennet]

That's very nice. The proximity of the grave markers, I guess we're seeing them at a range of distances but compressed into one image layer visually, is great, and those fairly harsh, blocky shapes against the trees.

As has been mentioned already, the number of severely leaning gravestones is sad.

[Calvin amari]

I think you missed the dead center (cemetery) of town pun

[Kye Wood]

Left field and random, I know. My question is, is there a use in B&W photography, for a Colorchecker Passport?

[Patrick Dodds]

I agree with Jim. This is a very moving image.

[Ken Monroe]

Very nice! Do you use the Sigma-M with a support or handheld? I ask because I'm wondering how the LVF-11 is when handheld?

[Mike Plews]

Home run

[robert e]

Hi Mike, thank you for sharing your thoughts in response to my comment. Yes, there is an elegiac quality to some of your recent work and it's interesting to know where it might be coming from. In any case, it's well served by the BW tonality you're getting. Though that also reminds me that I noticed long ago your particular ability (interest? affinity?) around twilight and dusk.

At the risk of chasing away your muse, here's a ray of hope from a leading climate scientist:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/18/opinion/climate-change-report-us.html

(h/t to Lawyers Guns and Money blog).

Had to smile at your update about Photoshop because I'd been thinking how this picture could use some Photoshop to make it look less fantastic and more believable! I don't think the title is helping here.

[Richard John Tugwell]

I like the image, but I can't help feeling that it seems to go against what I've always thought was your B+W aesthetic. Which was, I assumed, to be about continuous tones, low key etc. Here we have basically a silhouette against a graduated background

[Sean]

I keep expecting to see the children from The Night of the Hunter running across this scene.