Santa Barbara Mission Photo

Photographer’s Note

This cross marks the burial site of a soul in the cemetery at the Santa Barbara Mission. This is a unique place to visit as there are relatively few marked sites compared to the actual number of people entombed here. The Mission's website notes at least several thousand Chumash Indians as well as many early Franciscan Padres and other settlers were laid to rest before the tradition of marking burial sites was popular. I felt a real sense of the Mission's history as I strolled around, absorbing it all.

I wanted this image to portray a sense of coolness in relation to the ground in which this marker is placed, without being too morbid. In fact, the gardens in this cemetery were very much alive creating an interesting juxtaposition to its nature.

Your comments are always welcome!

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Critiques | Translate

aspiringamateur (151) 2009-04-02 10:31

Hi again Steve,
I really like this simple composition. This works because of the variety of texture, the off-center compo that maintains the rule of thirds, and most of all, that interesting blue! I'm assuming you didn't mess around in PP to create the blue on what should have been grey, but even if you did, I like it; it has more character than a grey cross on a grey stone wall.
Whitney