San Pasqual Reenactor

[rpcrowe]

In a "normal" portrait, I would have done some skin softening. However, this is really an "environmental" portrait depicting a California settler from the 1850's and I thought the somewhat gritty appearance was appropriate...

[Digital]

Richard, this is a nice photograph.


Bruce

[Karm Redland]

Richard, your image has a strong presence. Like it a lot.

karm

[Loose Canon]

I’d have to agree with your assessment of the grittiness Richard. Very nice portrait and nicely processed.

The first thing I noticed, and it seems out of place for a settler of the 1850’s, was the ear fob thingy.

Somehow I doubt a homesteader would be wearing something like that!

But I guess you never know!

[John 2]

That's a nice study Richard. Well processed and nicely presented.

[rpcrowe]

I missed the ear jewelry. IMO, shooting reenactments is much like shooting animals in a zoo. We need to do our best to avoid the man made environment in zoo photos and the signs of the 21st Century in the reenactment photos.

One of the problems with American Civil War reenactments, is the preponderance of fat reenactors. If you look at Civil War images of the soldiers (a few generals exempted) they are all lean and hard looking. This is even more true with the Confederate soldiers who were most often on very short rations throughout the war.

Other factors that spoil the authenticity of Civil War Reenactments is the large numbers of persons wearing eyeglasses as well as the large numbers of women dressed as soldiers. I know that it is not politically correct to mention this but, although there were some females who masqueraded as male soldiers they were very few and far between.

I have a collection of thousands of Civil War images on CD's and I have never spotted a female in those images.

If we also want to be historically accurate, and again politically incorrect, there were very few minorities integrated in the ranks of either Army. There were a large number of Afro-Americans in the Union Army but, they were in all black units. It is not something that I am at all proud of but, there was virtually no integration of the U.S. Army between the Revolutionary War and the Korean Conflict...