You REALLY know you're dead when...

This is an infra-red edit of the single most humorous thing I have ever seen in a graveyard. I was Sacramento’s (California) Old City Cemetery where countless historic figures are interred when I turned around and saw this sight. I could tell you it was a mother crow feeding a very large youngster; the young are easily as big as the parents while they are being fed outside of the nest. I could tell you that it was “bird season” for crows and this was some sort of bonding ritual between an old couple that had been together for years. Or I could tell you that it was about 10000 degrees in the graveyard when I took this shot and the birds were panting like crazy, especially the ones appropriately dressed (or “feathered”? “Downed”???) in black. But I’d rather say the thought that came to mind as soon as this painfully obvious shot was noticed:

You REALLY know you’re dead when you look up to see two crows on a tombstone with your name on it, singing in harmony. That should confirm it nicely.

THIS PIECE IS FEATURED IN: Amazing Graves. Thank you AG Group for remembering my little shot and honouring it once it returned! Ya’ll rock!

And another round of THANK YOUS for the featuring in Image Writing Group. Woo hoo!

The Necessary Evility
Nikon D80
Nikkor 70-300mm lens
Exposure: 1/160
F/stop: 5.6
ISO: 400 (but I can’t imagine why)
Focal length: 300mm
Metering mode: Pattern
Creative setting: Vivid and actually important since that setting increases sharpness before editing to monochrome
no tripod (Maybe that explains the shutter speed and ISO)
hella hot outside (Perhaps 100 degrees F.)
No crows were not bothered in this shot.
No, I’m not really sure what they were singing; Forgot my babblefish.
Corel Paintshop Pro Photo XI did the editing.
Shot taken due east.