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From cdsi26@bupers.navy.mil:
The idea of the cemetary from a historical reference is notable.  The point you are trying to make is lost on being able to see only the first row and evidence of a second.  Perhaps an elevation of 3 meters,  a wide angle lens and a focal point about midway would have helped.  The stones and the grass are excellent.  there is a macro for adding random tilting and placement (in small degrees) that would have added to the realism.

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From daffyduckx@hotmail.com:
The horrors we invent in our stories are never as terrible as the
things we actually do to each other.




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From timk@jtse.com:
The cloudy sky is out of place with the sunny lighting. Is it overcast or not?

The soil, grass, and trees are impressive. A more sparsely populated
sky, with the sun clearly illumating big fluffy clouds painted on a blue
tapestry, might have emphasized the surrealism and emotion of the scene.


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From ameede@madmac.com:
I feel that this is an important subject to draw on for the theme of horror. The fact that you added social commentary about the subject of war and its effects is great. The addition of the rose shows that war extends beyond the individual who lost their life and into the lives of the living was done successfully.  My negatives towards this piece is that it has been done in similar fashion before. I would have liked to see not a description of a book, but your interpretation to the moment when loosing ones life to war.  You reported well in your image, yet the sterility of the image lacks your expressive thoughts about the subject.  Tolstoy was really good at presenting the thoughts that go through a persons mind at the time of death, perhaps you have already read "The Death of Ivan Illich."

ameede@madmac.com 

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From mark_poole2000@yahoo.com:
You may have conveyed the enormity of the numbers of the lost by lifting the camera
a little and shooting diagonally across an entire field of headstones.

Was the randomness of the placement of the crosses intentional?  It may have been better 
to have the height of each the same, but move the headstones ever so slightly.

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From robertsc@accn.org:
I liked this picture. The sky was realistic, as was the grass and dirt around the headstones. 

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From jake@snafu.de:
Super idea, awesome grass!!

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From jrcsurvey@aol.com:
Nice idea, make homage to a simple and sobering reminder.  By focusing your 
technical skill you focus our attention.  By keeping the composition simple 
you engage the comtemplative.

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From dwallace@lynx.dac.neu.edu:
The headstones are incomplete

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From tina@ripco.com:
I understand the artistic uses of starkness but this seems just a little /too/ 
stark; with the fairly bright white regularity of the grave markers it ends 
up a little sterile. I do like your idea and the basic layout. Alternating 
religious symbols is nice.

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From ericf@foothill.net:
Although this is a nicely designed image, I particularily like the overcast sky and the leafless tree, it seems too bright.  Given that it is overcast, shouldn't it be a bit darker?  I think it would give it a more somber tone, in keeping with the image.  The other problem it that although war is a horror, this image does not evoke that feeling.  Sadness, respect, but not horror.



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From gmccarter@hotmail.com:
Very good cloudy sky seems quite realistic.  The rose is a good focal point, but it makes the image itself seem to be more about "remembrance" than "horror".  The horror becomes only a distant subplot here.
I know what your headstone CSG problem is... let me know if you need help.  Good macro work.

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From sjlen@ndirect.co.uk:
There's one of these in almost every round of the IRTC.  The image looks good
especially the textures on the soil, grass and grave stones.  Though you put
a lot of effort into the clouds my first impression was that they looked very
flat (don't worry, nobody does good clouds really).  I can't imagine where that render time comes from, I haven't read the source, but the head stones furthest away from the camera don't need the crosses differenced out of them as that level of detail can't be seen at that distance, and I hope you only used two rows of them because that's all I can see.  Hope to see more of your work in later rounds. 


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From file:
This picture is far too sterile.  Try to put some life (or death) in it.  eg. a bird, a different stone, ... anything!  The rose is a nice touch, but not enough.