Justice for the 96 - 2012

2012 version

This is the first time in a long while that I have done a 'Saturday Special' but with the Olympics coming to a close and the football season beginning again next week, I feel it is an appropriate time for another one! So I'll ask the question if you already haven't - why am I posting this picture again, when I have already posted it before (December 2011)? Well after seeing this picture on various websites over the last few months and having printed it a couple of times for Liverpool fans, there was always something bothering me about it that I did not really pick up on when I first posted it. Although it is natural, there was too much darkness in the Kop area of the crowd where this picture is focused. On blogs such as this one and Flickr, it was not very noticeable but as other people have used it for their blogs (which I do not mind at all) the dark areas seem to obscure the whole message of JFT96. This became apparent when I had it printed as well. I have long pondered tweaking this one to bring out the dark areas more so it stands out better on websites and you can see the difference with the old one below.

I only had the Hi resolution JPEG to correct as I had long thrown away the TIFF files I processed it with (I never throw away the original RAW files but as I have discussed before, processing it from scratch is a frustrating and ultimately disappointing method). So I worked on the JPEG in Lightroom and for all the bad press editing JPEGS get, it doesn't seem to have reduced the quality at all between the old and saving the new version. I know it would get worse the more you save it but I think editing it once makes almost no difference, which is the way I know Trey Ratcliff works (if you've seen any of his tutorials you will know he converts all his RAW files into JPEGs rather than TIFFs). Back as usual tomorrow!

2011 version

Justice for the 96

I was going to post another picture today of my recent forays round Combe Gibbet but after attending the Liverpool v Norwich game yesterday, I was emotionally blown away by the mosaic the Kop end presented prior to the game in marking the recent announcement that the government will release all files relating to the Hillsborough disaster to the investigation committee. For those unfamiliar with the Hillsborough disaster this was a tragic event that took place on 15th April 1989 where 96 Liverpool FC fans were crushed to death. The game being played was a semi final FA cup tie between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at the neutral ground of Hillsborough, where Sheffield Wednesday FC play. The game was stopped after 6 minutes as it was clear that a terrible event was occurring in the stands, as too many supporters were being let into the ground and this was creating a crush of fans already in the stands. 

I was only 7 years old at the time of the tragedy but the memory is very vivid to me. I had family attending the game at Hillsborough and luckily they were ok but what also sticks in my mind was the reaction by everyone as they gradually learnt what was going on. I was at a football game myself that day, Luton Town v Coventry City and the memories of people talking about what was happening at Hillsborough at half time and when the reality really sunk in to people at full time will always be prominent in my mind.

On a photographic note though, I was delighted of course to see this scene. I always take my camera to football games now and after doing the usual shots in and outside the ground, I had put my camera away waiting for the game to begin. After the thanks that were given for all the work by the people who have campaigned for years to get justice for the victims of this disaster, this huge mosaic was presented and I quickly got out my camera and took some more shots. I didn’t know it was going to happen and felt very fortunate to be in such a position to get a picture like this. The game yesterday ended up 1-1 but I honestly felt afterwards that I was so glad to have gone up and been there and wouldn’t let the results of yesterday’s game bother me that much