It was Saturday April 8th at 1:38pm in an open field near Jamestown, VA. We were not looking for a Civil War Re-enactment, but there it was along a public road. There weren’t a lot of spectators around; maybe less than fifty. The soldiers were doing drill maneuvers as the Sergeant barked out his orders. The volunteer troops were properly in-line and turned correctly at each command. I wondered if the 1860’s volunteer soldiers were as precise? Today’s soldiers were tall, short, skinny, and fat; most of them had beard’s and/or mustaches. The sun was shining—the day was hot, for April, at 66° and it looked like the soldiers were wearing woolen uniforms. The marching had stopped, and they were at attention awaiting the next orders.
I quickly scanned the group with the Nikon Coolpix P900 (Super-zoom 24-2000mm). I landed on the face of this man. His beard was full, with a face that looked like he was a re-incarnation of his double that had fought in the War-Between-the-States. The big-bore rifle, by his side, was standing just as erect as he was. His head seemed to be drawn back in anticipation of the coming order of parade-rest or dismissed. It was, “Dismissed.” I was just in time. I only fired off one shot of him.
The image was adjusted from color to black & white in Lightroom; I paid particular attention to his eyes under the shade of his cap using the iris adjustment brush. I sent the image into Nik Silver Effects Pro 2 and continued with other adjustments.
This printed image won 1st Place at the Baltimore Camera Club with a perfect score from a panel of three judges. (The Baltimore Camera Club is the longest continuous meeting camera club in the United States.) Thank you Judges.
