My real life job........

[goldenseal]

I have found it so hard over the years to get pictures of these, the reflections are horrendous, unless you can get a shadow like we did here. even the clouds will show up in the reflection on the marker...and people will ask...how did you get those clouds on there like that? LOL Ive thought of making some kind of backdrop to stop the reflections etc...not sure what to do. anyway...

This monument just went out before memorial day, it was a job that was VERY close to my heart. Tim was my youngest daughters first "real" boyfriend, they even talked about getting married...unfortunately, as you can see, that wasnt meant to be.

Tim was probably one of the most talented guitar players I have ever played with, he taught this lady a thing or two. The monument is a replica of his beloved Les Paul , or as close as one can get carved out of a rock. Even the tuning keys turn.

I worked with artists in china who did the rock cutting, carving and polishing, then imported here and put all the lettering and design work on the marker.
He was such a great kid, only 22, was not suppose to live at all. A miracle boy who touched many lives. He lived with his twin, going to college in duluth, stubbornly refused to live at home where his parents could take care of him and help him as his condition worsened.
Tim laid down to take a nap one day and woke up in paradise.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

That is beautiful!

 

[goldenseal]

Thank you, I was honored his parents chose me to create it.

 

[Recty]

That is nice Is it really your job or you just did it for this instance?

As far as photography goes, I think if take pictures again, do it with the camera turned sideways as a portrait and you'll lose the distracting gravestones off to the side and get a better shot. Try to not capture in the main portion of the image any other headstones.

Maybe look up HDR and try to HDR it, this would probably be one of those occasions where a slightly surreal looking HDR image would be totally appropriate and might turn out very cool.

 

[jhawkor]

Nice work. Rock on.

 

[goldenseal]

Recty,

its my business or ours ( hubby and I ) I should say, a monument company, so I work on many many every year. I do the design and art work, he does the lettering, sandblasting and installation as well as cemetery restoration etc.

what is HDR?

thank you hawkor!

 

[James404]

Really amazing work!

 

[Misled]

what is HDR?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_dynamic_range_imaging

That link will give you info on HDR. The other thing you may try is get down to the level of the monument when you take the pic. Being more perpendicular to the stone will allow the entire image to be more in focus. It will also change where the reflections are.

 

[Reef Bass]

A beautiful memorial to an obviously loved person.

I agree with Recty and Misled's suggestions. Give 'em a try.

 

[swjim]

First of all, I'm very sorry for the loss of your friend. Very nice job on the monument, I'm sure his family appreciates it.

As far as the reflections go, the best thing to do would be to come up with some kind of a flag to block them. I keep a black bedsheet in my light stand bag that comes in handy for this type of situation but the challenge will be to figure out where to place it without it being in the shot.

If the cemetery allows visitors after dark I'm sure you could get very nice images with a couple of off camera flashes.