A visit to Ypres

Hi all,

We had the chance, it being the 90th aniversary of the Battle of the Somme, to visit Ypres in Belgium yesterday. I've taken lots of photos, mainly of the various war graves; and although they aren't that bad, as full colour jpgs, they don't do the mood of either the place or the event justice.

I thought I'd try something a little different to what I've seen here in the past. It's not a new idea by any means, but hopefully these serve to pay homage to the casualties of both sides of the conflict, and convey something greater than just a photo.

With this in mind, as the actual soldiers on all sides were just young men conscripted into battle, I have used an image from both an Allied and a German war cemetary. I hope they convey something of the mood of both the casualties of war, and the tributes still being laid on their graves 90 years on.

The Allied Cemetery: Tyne Cot




The German Cemetery: Langemark




Cheers

Liam

Very nice shots. I visited the area and the graveyards back when I used to live in Brussels and the sheer volume of graves (plus the huge number of names of missing men who's bodies weren't found) was a very sombre experience.

Hi Niblue,

it is a sombre place indeed, and I think the smaller cemeteries were probably more so. By the time we saw the one at Passchendaele, where I took the upper picture, it seemed less personal somehow, with there being some 12000 headstones. The smaller cemeteries still retained that bit of individuality for the dead.. if you know what I mean.

I'm starting to like the effect of the stark red against the B&W background, the more I see the cross above. I'm not sure of the second one so much. I went there a couple of days ago, so there is some significance for me, but as a picture for a general audience, it lacks something. The first one, I think (IMHO) can stand on it's own two feet as a picture. I'd like some input on whether I could have done a better job of it though, if you'd like to critique it. It comes out darker and more contrasty on the monitor (TFT) at work, and if anything improves it, so I may have another go.. and I need to get a couple more shades of red reintroduced into it, as the poppies don't stand out as much as I would like.

I'll play later.

Cheers

Liam