SECOND PLACE: SUNSET OF EMPIRES BY NATHAN SMITH

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“It was a typical sight in the spring. Long columns of soldiers were marching off and back and off again. The beauty of the flowers, the gulls gliding in the afternoon sun, the roar of the waves carrying grand ships to distant lands all seem to have one purpose…to mask the horror of it all.

It was considered a great honor to be presented with a fallen soldier’s sword, but what once was as triumphant as the bells ringing from sacred places eventually became a dread. Cheers were replaced by mournful wails. And for what? War and profiteering had no end. And as the peasants looked towards the opulence of the capital with its tall towers and grand facades, many wondered what it was all for – and if anyone would miss it if it were gone.”

The build and photography process for “Sunset of Empires” was a very fluid one that took about eight weeks to complete from the initial concept to the final composition. The concept started out much smaller in scope but as I was building the landscape I lost interest so I set it aside to work more on sketches and build out the story further. It was in this period that the defining elements of the image took shape such as the lavish capital city buildings as well as the sword being presented to a mourning family. The rest of my design decisions came from wanting to further emphasize the contrast between the grieving peasants and the grandeur of empires which is something as relevant to our present day as any time in the past.