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08-06-2019, 06:26 PM   #1
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Gettysburg

Will have a couple of hours to visit Gettysburg and was looking for some insight on “must see” places and any ideas on locations that should be photographed. Alas, I’ll likely be there during mid-day, so light will potentially not be the greatest. Appreciate any insight. Thanks.

08-06-2019, 06:59 PM - 1 Like   #2
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I had the grand fortune of visiting Gettysburg a few years ago.

On the recommendation of one of my American associates, I hired a guide for a personal two-hour tour of the battlefield. I didn't carry my camera while I was with the guide, but bought a nice book from the shop instead.

I'd highly recommend taking such a tour. My guide was deeply knowledgeable, personable, and welcoming of my questions. I'd say it was the best guided tour that I have ever taken anywhere.

- Craig
08-07-2019, 09:17 AM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by c.a.m Quote
I had the grand fortune of visiting Gettysburg a few years ago.

On the recommendation of one of my American associates, I hired a guide for a personal two-hour tour of the battlefield. I didn't carry my camera while I was with the guide, but bought a nice book from the shop instead.

I'd highly recommend taking such a tour. My guide was deeply knowledgeable, personable, and welcoming of my questions. I'd say it was the best guided tour that I have ever taken anywhere.

- Craig
I second this idea. To just visit the battlefield without a lot of prior knowledge how the battle progressed can get frustrating. Even though you are there for photos, the story of the battle itself is just too compelling to ignore. The battlefield itself is very quiet and peaceful. To me it feels like I am visiting a sacred place where so much violence occurred that a reverent silence now permeates the landscape.


The guides are awesome and the roads around the site can become confusing pretty quickly. The guides undergo a lot of prep and have to pass a pretty thorough exam before being certified.


As to photos, the view from the top of Little Round Top is very good and the area around the Devil's Den has many photo ops. The statues an monuments offer plenty of photo ops too when shot from different angles. As C.A.M mentioned above, the guide will take up most of your time so getting a book from the visitor's center filled with photographs may be a good alternative. If you have any time left over, return to those places that you want to do more photographic justice too.


Here is an early morning shot from Little Round Top that I took with a Canon PowerShot A590 IS in August 2009.


08-07-2019, 10:17 AM   #4
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Thank you all. Appreciate the insights.

08-07-2019, 10:19 AM   #5
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I've never been to Gettysburg, but have been to Little Big Horn and my wife and I spent a wonderful afternoon there. I didn't have a guide, but I had read quite a bit about this battle, previous to our trip and I found that helped a fair amount in understanding the battle..from both sides...and the areas of interest.

At the battle site, I used my K5 and Km...with a 55-300 (wide zoom range) and my 12-24...for wide angle shots quite well.

We were on a trip to Montana and Wyoming...two states that have much to see and to recommend.
08-07-2019, 10:25 AM   #6
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the battle ground at Gettysburg is huge, the battle started outside of the town, went into the town and then opposing forces settled into the hills ( Union )

and the " low lands " [ main Confederate force ][ well Seminary Ridge actually but they had to climb up to the Union lines ]

and what most people think of the battle started the next day

I also recommend doing some research and a guided tour

it might be interesting to look at photos taken after the battle and see if you might want to use the same locations if you can find them

https://www.historynet.com/stealing-sun-mathew-bradys-gettysburg-photographs.htm

https://allthatsinteresting.com/battle-of-gettysburg-photos

[ includes good short description of the battle ]

Last edited by aslyfox; 08-10-2019 at 06:28 AM.
08-07-2019, 06:44 PM   #7
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Appreciate the advice. Equipment will be a K-70, likely with my trusty 16-85 and a polarizing filter. Alas I’m not going to be able to justice to the ground, but may be able to soak in some of it.

08-09-2019, 05:09 PM - 1 Like   #8
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I’ve been lucky enough to visit Gettysburg over a dozen times so far. The biggest impression of the futility faced by the Confederate forces on day three of the battle and the tactical advantage held by the Union can be experienced from two location.
First, Seminary Ridge which starts behind the Lutheran Theological Seminary and runs along the mile long plus Confederate line of gun emplacements used in the cannonade before the Ill fated third day “Pickets Charge”. There are fabulous monuments, my favorite being the Alabama monument. You can look across the mile of gentle uphill sloped fields toward the Union Lines and the “Bloody Angle” on Cemetery Ridge. From Seminary Ridge, it looks like a Long, long distance.

Next, drive to the Union third day positions on Cemetery Ridge and find the famous “copse of trees” where the charging Confederated very briefly penetrated the Union line. Looking downhill from there, the perspective is much different. The distance between the ridges looks much less.

I also highly recommend exploring Little Round Top. How only one Union Officer, Guevenor Warren, saw the immense strategic value of this commanding position boggles the mind! The view is grand. You can feel the spirits if your soul channels such things.
08-10-2019, 04:33 AM - 1 Like   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by steamloco76 Quote

I also highly recommend exploring Little Round Top. How only one Union Officer, Guevenor Warren, saw the immense strategic value of this commanding position boggles the mind! The view is grand. You can feel the spirits if your soul channels such things.
Several people saw the advantage of holding Little Round Top. The problem was that the man who was supposed to be there was General Daniel Sickles,commander of the III Corps, who was a politician and not a real general. Instead of following orders, he decided that moving his men out into and inferior position in front of the whole Union Army was a better idea.


The story of why Little Round Top was "unoccupied" and why Sickles felt compelled to do what he did is a very complex combination of poor decisions by several commanders on day 2 of the battle. The book " The Gettysburg Campaign: A Study in Command" by Edwin B. Coddington goes into a lot of detail here. The book, published in 1965 is still considered "the book" on the battle. Sadly the author passed away just before it was published and never lived to receive the praise rightly due him for his efforts. I have read it several times over the years.
08-10-2019, 06:23 AM   #10
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the book is available at several sources, I just checked.

I will be getting a copy

thanks

_________________

Sickle almost cost the North the battle and possibly the war by his advancement down slope
08-25-2019, 05:28 PM   #11
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Thank you for all the replies. We did a truncated version of the self driving tour. Had a beautiful day. Couple of results attached.
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08-25-2019, 05:33 PM - 1 Like   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by dsingley100 Quote
Thank you for all the replies. We did a truncated version of the self driving tour. Had a beautiful day. Couple of results attached.
Couple more. K-70. Pentax 16 to 85 for all.
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