Cross Graphism, a photo from Manila, NCR

Photographer's Note

The Manila American Cemetery and Memorial is located in Fort Bonifacio, a city within Metro Manila, the National Capital Region of the Philippines.

BRIEF HISTORY:
Some of you may not know, during the WWI and WWII, Manila was an enchanted, charming and beautiful city. Because of its strategic location in the Pacific and rich Natural Resources it posses, Powerhouses (Spain, United Kingdom, United States and Japan) seem to be attracted and conquered the Land.

The Cemetery was built to honor the U.S. personnel killed during World War II and contains the largest number of graves-a total of 17,201, most of whom lost their lives in operations in New Guinea and the Philippines.

Many of the personnel whose remains are interred or represented were killed in New Guinea, or during the Battle of the Philippines (1941-42) or the Allied recapture of the islands.

The headstones are aligned in 11 plots forming a generally circular pattern, set among masses of a wide variety of tropical trees and shrubbery.

The Memorial is maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission. It is the largest site administered by the Commission in the number of graves and of those Missing who names are recorded on the walls of the memorial.

jhm, jjcordier, SnapRJW, GREGG, annjackman, Budapestman, timecapturer, josepmarin, PecoBud, ktanska, macjake, delpeoples, Wanda1 oznaczył to zdjęcie jeko użyteczne

Critiques | Translate

gezimania (6288) 2012-06-11 2:36

Hi Matt,

Excellent graphical compo,
You use the light effectively

Bravo !

ciakgiak (30) 2012-06-11 2:39

Hi Matt,
great use of the graphical effect obtained with the crosses, perfect management of the light and good colors. Well done.
Best regards
Giorgio

Taha13 (0) 2012-06-11 3:08

Hi
Wow! very beautiful photo,clarity and light management and appearance are great,TFS

m00n (2259) 2012-06-11 3:45

Very interesting, nice presentation. Difficult, sad about shows in an interesting way. First of all, a fantastic composition, great depth of visual images as well as in transmission.

Good job, m00n

GiovanniG (3914) 2012-06-11 3:48

Caio Matt,

An excellent capture of such cost, with wonderful colors, perspective and details that are so framed to maximum effect! Bravo!
Warmest regards,
GiovanniG

williewhistler (16606) 2012-06-11 4:32

Hello Matt,the use of the long lens has compressed the scene and introduced a rather pleasing graphic effect,the play between light and shade also adds an extra dimension. Nice one.
All the best Les.

jhm (211736) 2012-06-11 4:51

Hello Matt,

Certainly in WAR II was Manilla in succession in Japanese hands back to the America boys with a lot victims.
But you picture is certainly very well taken.
Very well presentation, good captured. TFS.

Have a nice Monday,
John.

lpi (4857) 2012-06-11 4:52

Hello Matt,
Une trčs belle composition avec un superbe graphisme!
Joli coup d'oeil!
Amicalement,
Lpi

jjcordier (79299) 2012-06-11 5:05

Matt
Le graphisme de l'image est superbe grâce au cadrage trčs original mais aussi par le jeu de la lumičre et des ombres et l'effet obtenu sur les couleurs. Une excellente photo.
Amicalement
JJ

JFS (32459) 2012-06-11 5:23

Hello Matt!
Impressive graphism, very elegant and well seen, a good shot, as always.
Hasta luego amigo,
Juan

SnapRJW (31631) 2012-06-11 9:41

Hello Matt - I love the composition here and your use of DOF is very successful. On my screen the shot looks a little overexposed though which detracts from the impact a tad. Very interesting note and an unusual post well worth seeing. Warm regards rosemary

chrislo (4099) 2012-06-11 10:27

Hello Matt,
So many people killed for so many pointless reasons, mostly because someone had a lust for power and someone else's wealth. It's just terryfing to see all these white crosses, but on the other hand, you managed a highly graphic composition with an incredible perspective and a nice play of light and shadow. The low depth of field emphasizes the number of the crosses stretching endlessly in the distance. Well done.
Kind regards,
Christian

GREGG (7888) 2012-06-11 12:32

Hi Matt,
good composition,
sharpness and light shades create plant
in this photo gives depth..
bravo,
Greg

francio64 (39888) 2012-06-11 13:54

Hi Matt,
ben realizzato questo scatto all'interno del Manila American Cemetery.
L'effetto grafico ottenuto č molto piacevole a vedersi.

Well done and TFS!
Francesco

divail (8334) 2012-06-11 19:35

Bonsoir Matt,
L'effet de perspective est particuličrement réussi. La lumičre également est trčs belle avec ses jeux d'ombre et de lumičre. Il y a également beaucoup de mouvement dans la composition avec les belles courbes de ces croix. Une belle réussite.

Diane

simplyoga (6506) 2012-06-12 1:01

Wow....
this is great!great light, great compo, great angle..
just great!
Congrtas!
Cheers,
Yoga

annjackman (23019) 2012-06-12 1:12

Hello Matt,
Clever control of the DOF here making a very artistic shot with lovely light and shapes. I enjoy this image very much.
Regards, Ann

Budapestman (82620) 2012-06-12 1:16

Hi Matt,
a splendid photo with beautiful composition, the colours and lights are very nice, the realization is excellent, Tfs! Have a nice week! Kellemes hetet kívánok!
György

timecapturer (49288) 2012-06-12 3:59

Hi Matt
a clever and quite wonderfully composed shot this. The effect is mesmerising and the light superb. It is an original subject and your creative eye has made it a stunning image and realisation. Awesome!

Regards - Brian.

baclama (19214) 2012-06-12 4:25

bonjour,
une image tres impressionante et tres bien faite...un champ de croix avec une perspective superbe et une lumiere tres bien maitrisée...
tres reussi!
TFS
vero

Nicou (193806) 2012-06-12 4:53

Hello

quel captage de ce cimetičre sueprbe toutes ces croix, trčs belle homme et le contraste entre le blanches et celles moins esclairge donne un super effet.
Bravo et amitié

Nicou

josepmarin (59385) 2012-06-13 0:57

Hi Matt,
Oh yes! This composition has a magnificent graphism and an elegant geometry, created by the white crosses and its perfect alignment.
I like how you have managed the field depth in order to obtain an effective contrast of the crosses in foreground, and the perfectly blurry rest of the image in background.
The light and the colors have a high quality, it is a great work.
Best regards,
Josep

lousat (139298) 2012-06-13 1:04

Hi Matt,a very very original way to take this war cemetery,remember me the El Alamein english cemetery in Egypt,a beautiful neverending perspective where you play very well whit lights and shadows on the crosses and on the ground.Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

abmdsudi (95869) 2012-06-13 5:48

Hi Matt
Great shot, love the point of view, light, colours. Being a civilian I have visited this type in Kranji War Memorial in Singapore and each time I leave with a tear in my eye, and a lump in my throat. Lest we Forget. An extremely emotive and well taken image shot my friend. TFS
Best regards

sacimar (38173) 2012-06-13 10:02

Hello Matt,

good image with an interesting graphism, the light and shadow combination is also another good detail here, well done,

Best regards,

Sergio

PecoBud (3824) 2012-06-14 10:55

Most excellent POV and presented masterfully, great job Matt!!

TFS........Your Friend from California.........Buddy

Bluejeans (64251) 2012-06-15 5:04

Ola Matt ,
Linda esta tua foto neste cemitério da Grandes Guerras, magnifico o efeito visual , boa luz e cores, parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

Silvio1953 (221659) 2012-06-17 6:25

Ciao Matt, sad composition with beautiful graphism, may be better with more contrast, splendid light and wonderful colors, very well done, my friend, have a good Sunday, ciao Silvio

ktanska (44788) 2012-06-18 9:58

Hi Matt,
Rare image that has both strong message and impressive graphism. I guess we here in europe easily forget how fierce the battles of WWII were also in Pacific region.
Play of sun and shadow works well. I like the way how the brightest crosses sort of pop out.
Kari

macjake (98456) 2012-06-20 20:22

Hi Matt
always nice to see a new post from you, but when i checked your gallery, how on earth could i NOT write a comment about this one!
obviously the subject is a sensitive one, but the photo you took and the composition is A+
great job with the depth of field and light/shadow play.
excellent work my friend.
cheers
craig

serp2000 (47063) 2012-07-08 11:05

Hi, Matt,
My congratulations! Superb artwork. A cemetery is no place for the big smiles. But I'd like to give you two points too. Excellent photo. Impressive graphism, very informative note.
Serghei

delpeoples (60342) 2012-07-17 1:46

Ciao caro Matt

So you;re back from your travels then? And it sounds like you've eaten your way around South East Asia! How jealous I am to hear that you virtually ate Penang out of food! But I'm happy to hear you didnt get food poisoning. What a sad, yet impressive photo. The sheer volume of graves stuns me and makes me very sad. One thing about the photo that puzzles me is the blurred depth of field despite the aperture of f/11. Did you blur it further in post-processing? Anyway, I like the dominant green and white, as I said before it's visually stunning.

Cheers
Lisa

Wanda1 (15142) 2012-07-17 9:28

Hi Matt,
Great graphism here and great composition and use of depth of field. It brings a different dimension to this place, and we really get a feeling of the thousands of crosses here and what they symbolise. nIce!
Regards
Wanda

smarcell (19965) 2012-07-20 3:08

hello Matt,
an excellent graphysm, and you played very well with the focus and the light.
Really a very good image
Regards
stefano