Beauty can be found anywhere

Richmond VA - The Hollywood Cemetery is one of the major tourist attractions in the Ricmond area. It is the final resting place of Presidents James Monroe and John Tyler as well as several major figures from our Civil War history. In addition, it is one of the most beautiful cemeteries that local residents select as the final resting place of loved ones.

A Newport News photography club recently traveled to the Hollywood Cemetery to explore and to photograh this park-like setting. I elected to photograph using my most recently aquired toy - my MaxMax IR converted Canon 20D camera.

1. This is just one of the many mausoleums to be found in the cemetery.

2. The white, "spade-shaped" tree is a Bradford Pear. They flower for about a week in the early spring (beautiful flowers) and break apart at the slightest storm. I think they are so popular because the are fast growing and for the short flowering season each year.

3. This is a 90-foot granite pyramid, completed in 1869, as a monument to the 18,000 Confederate enlisted men burried nearby. What is interesting about this structure, aside from it's historical significance, is that the stones are not mortored into place.

Some short time ago I found myself with three cameras and I only needed two for the work I do. Time to get the third one converted! First I sent the 20D to Canon to get the focus calibrated as I wanted to make sure that all was working to specification before I sent it to MaxMax. When it came back I tested that the focus had, indeed, been corrected. All was good so I shipped it off to MaxMax with the required note outlining that I wanted the 830nm conversion.

Shortly after I got the IR converted camera back from MaxMax a local digital photography club (of which I am a member - imagine that :) ) went out on an afternoon photo shoot session. The following are a few of the images I captured:

1. Unfortunately, there no clouds in the sky to led some drama

2. Just a bridge. For me, the interesting point is the young man on the bridge - that's my son!

When MaxMax does the conversion, they remove the ICF/AA filter(s). The AA filter is something the manufacturer puts in the light path to the sensor to actually blur the photo. Why do camera manufacturers do this? Because, without it, when a photographer shoots something with lots of parallel lines, they will more likely get unsightly moiré patterns in their photos. The AA filter reduces, but does not eliminate, the incidence of these patterns. Net result, when shooting anything not containing a series of parellel lines, the potential for a very sharp photo is greatly enhanced and your need for sharpening during post processing is greatly reduced.