We go to War
Description
I had a really very interesting day out visiting the Roman Amphitheatre in Caerleon. The Re-enactment unit were marching toward me while I was taking pics of some Birds of Prey that were stationed in a side-stall with their ‘Falconer’.
I just had to get a pic of these guys up close and so I turned quickly to snap a few shots. This one, being the first was the best since it had the centurion at the head followed by the officers and the regiment behind them. The original photo showed up a lot of people in the background, and I wanted to make the picture say something more than just ‘ooh look, and interesting day out’ so I photoshopped it to meet what I wanted to portray.
Of course, I darkened the pic, duplicated some layers and applied some editing to some and then applied others to blending modes, and adjusted the saturation and hue to counteract some of the extremes that bending modes sometimes throw out. I’m quite happy with the final version here, although I do admit it didn’t take 30 mins at most to come to the conclusion I had what I wanted here. To me, it looks like the head of a massive army marching out to war, and so the dark and reflective aspects of the photo work to my end. What do you think? Could it be better somehow? I’d love to hear your feedback on it.
There were a few talks going on alongside the shows themselves, and I learnt a few interesting facts: This is the most well-preserved Roman Amphitheatre in the United Kingdom, and that it is of international importance since the second garrison was stationed here for nigh on two-hundred years. The settlement dates from 90AD. Many of the sites were excavated by a well known Archaeologist who once curated the National Museum in Cardiff, although the majority of the site was directed by his wife. The Daily Mail paid for exclusive rights to report on the findings of the excavation to the sum of 3000 pounds circa 1920. The amphitheater itself was then just a slight dip in the ground back in 1920, and was water-logged. What survives is the stone base-structure. The timber mews rising 12-15 seated-storeys were long ago lost to history.
2 Comment to “We go to War”
I agree with your view on what this photograph sends out to the audience. I especially wanted to comment on the Sky at the time is very cloudy and the dark trees in the background with the overall shade of the photograph really makes you think a war fight is about to break out!
For the people who have and will view this photograph, I think you’ve done a great job on making it what it is. It’s a 30 minutes well spent.
Kind regards,
Andrew Cooper
Thanks, Andrew! I’m glad the shot comes across well; I darkened it up quite considerably to achieve this effect. This was attempting to convey more about mood and feeling of something rather than detail, so I was happy with the result.
Cheers!
Andy