Here's the deal - I have a book being published and into major book stores across the country in 3 months, for the holiday season. I have had a few galleries and exhibitions as well as shot a lot of marketing and advertising work. I go up to Dutch Harbor, Unalaska at least twice a year ... well I decided that since I have a book already that surrounds crab fishing, I might as well try to capture some of the Island. The island has a very rich history and many people dont realize that Unalaska was the only other place besides pearl harbor where fighting took place on US soil during WWII.



The island is riddled with old WWII structures, tunnels, underground munitions caches, bunkers, caves, etc.. etc.. You can still find old ammo casings around some beaches.



Well, I wanted to try something new and capture a really dramatic look to all the things relating to WWII. Without adding all the explanations of all the buildings and all the history behind each picture, I just want to know what you guys think about the feel of the images. They are supposed to look surreal ... photo realistic yet processed.



The process is taking about 8 different pictures of the same object at different exposure levels and tone mapping the images together to create the image. Its becoming a more mainstream style as people catch on to it and work with it. I wanted to be the first to do it for dutch harbor.

 

i like the pics, kind of moody, with all the clouds and whatnot



i have a book about WW2 in the islands, it was short but neat

 

i like it... don't have any old armor pieces lying around there? An old busted sherman would look sweet like that..

 

To me the image of the brick building needs to have the brick be more muted and draw attention to the peeling paint on the dormer. The structure in the image as it is doesn't even look old. Also not a fan of the sky--specifically the "aura" around the building.



The concrete bunker or whatever that thing is looks great to me.



The church is very interesting, but I find the sky to be very unnatural-looking. Is that the way it really looked, or has the sky been pasted in? Also, the clutter to the left of the building is distracting.



Three very interesting images. Thanks for sharing!

 

Thanks for the feedback so far! Nothing in the pictures were super imposed or photoshopped in. The skies are natural. I know what you're saying about the red building, it looks like something from a resident evil trailer. On the full scale images the smaller boarded up windows and debris are a lot more apparent, but it still doesn't have the WWII look.



I need to touch up a couple things on the church too.



What do you think of the same picture, just a little desaturated? Be honest

 

I wish ... they have a couple old service vehicles still there that are all busted up but I couldn't find them while I was there. Next time I will find them.

The other thing is, next time I head out that way I will be catching a ride with a boat to Adak, which is still almost 100% intact. It is a complete ghost city on an island. The apartment housing, the vehicles, the crashed aircraft, the gun turrets, everything. Nothing was removed but the people, same with Kiska, which is technically 'protected' but I can get my way onto the island. That island is where the japanese had a base and they deserted the island before the american forces reached them. They left behind EVERYTHING, including weapons, clothes, vehicles, etc... things like Japanese pistols, rifles and ammunition can still be found by crawling through the cave systems underground.



Interesting **** for sure!

 

yeah THAT is cool

 

That would be hot!! I like the pics so far!!