As I mentioned when I posted my last entry, the interior of the Buzludzha monument houses a 500 sq.m. fresco which includes portraits of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Todor Zhivkov (the leader of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1954 to 1989). This fresco is visible in this shot.
Additionally, there are mosaics all around the outer ring of the structure too: on the wall you can see on the far-left of this shot (my favourite from this location). These are made from stone rather than marble, and seem to be mostly celebrations of war, conflict and military power.
Of all the ones that are still visible, this was one of the most striking: a knife-wielding soldier carrying a smiling child on his shoulders. The two just don't seem to go together, ... at all. That said, I'm sure that if I'd been born in Bulgaria, and lived through the Soviet occupation, it wouldn't seem anywhere near so strange or alien.
captured camera lens focal length aperture shutter speed shooting mode exposure bias metering mode ISO flash image quality RAW converter image editor plugins (etc) cropped?
comment byCarlos Garcia at 01:45 PM (GMT) on 20 May, 2011
This is a striking image. I suppose the message was some kind of justification for war, or the true mission of the army was actually about the future and well being of children. Beautiful results from your processing.
comment byhowse-photo at 03:23 PM (GMT) on 20 May, 2011
such an odd mosaic that tells of a unique, and very different past. i'm glad you captured this photo, as it has made me more aware of the place i call home and the places i don't.
comment byDan Kaufman at 04:08 PM (GMT) on 20 May, 2011
I agree with your confusion over the message and intent of this mosaic (particularly being on the other side of the pond). Your post-processing really brought out the richness and detail of the mosaics. Good call too on the "content mod, alignment".
comment byCatalin at 04:35 PM (GMT) on 21 May, 2011
Dave, are you sure she's not actually carrying a flag. We used to have a lot of "victorious" portraits like this in Romania during communism and they always carried a red flag. Either that or in Bulgaria times were a bit harder :)
As I mentioned when I posted my last entry, the interior of the Buzludzha monument houses a 500 sq.m. fresco which includes portraits of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Todor Zhivkov (the leader of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1954 to 1989). This fresco is visible in this shot.
Additionally, there are mosaics all around the outer ring of the structure too: on the wall you can see on the far-left of this shot (my favourite from this location). These are made from stone rather than marble, and seem to be mostly celebrations of war, conflict and military power.
Of all the ones that are still visible, this was one of the most striking: a knife-wielding soldier carrying a smiling child on his shoulders. The two just don't seem to go together, ... at all. That said, I'm sure that if I'd been born in Bulgaria, and lived through the Soviet occupation, it wouldn't seem anywhere near so strange or alien.
camera
lens
focal length
aperture
shutter speed
shooting mode
exposure bias
metering mode
ISO
flash
image quality
RAW converter
image editor
plugins (etc)
cropped?
Canon 5D Mark II
EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM
25mm
f/4.5
1/50
aperture priority
+2/3
evaluative
100
no
RAW
Camera Raw
Photoshop CS5
Topaz Detail
transformed (skew)
This is a striking image. I suppose the message was some kind of justification for war, or the true mission of the army was actually about the future and well being of children. Beautiful results from your processing.
such an odd mosaic that tells of a unique, and very different past. i'm glad you captured this photo, as it has made me more aware of the place i call home and the places i don't.
I agree with your confusion over the message and intent of this mosaic (particularly being on the other side of the pond). Your post-processing really brought out the richness and detail of the mosaics. Good call too on the "content mod, alignment".
Dave, are you sure she's not actually carrying a flag. We used to have a lot of "victorious" portraits like this in Romania during communism and they always carried a red flag. Either that or in Bulgaria times were a bit harder :)
Thanks everyone.
Catalin: I'm not sure, but I don't think there was a flag.
this is aswm
====================
mhmgc
The picture is really looking good and creative,thanks for sharing.