Big Storm At Black Rock

TIBI

Many thanks for your thoughts and positive feedback. The rain had started, but only spits and spots, it didn't soak me at this point, it just kept getting on my lens, the prevailing wind in my face didn't allow me any opportunity to shelter the lens with my hands either, so it was a case of wipe wipe wipe every time. By The time I got halfway back to the car some 5 minutes after this shot, the heavens opened and I got a good soaking. Would I do it again? .......Every day if given the opportunity. I loved every minute of Scotland.

Cheers Tibi

Alf

PAMELA

Now theres a philisophical question .........when does peace, tranquility and solitude turn into loneliness......Hmmm I'll save my A4 type written answer to my self inflicted question for another day.  For me though it was definately a place of wild rugged beauty and tranquility. The roads here are mostly inaccessable during the winter months, and so the sense of isolation must become quite intense. But I suppose like any experience good or bad, it can be accentuated and amplified by whoever you choose to share it with. : - )

As for coughs, colds, sneezing and Bubonic Plague, I escaped without hardly a sniffle. This isn't suprising as I was hardened to the damp atmosphere a week or so earlier, when a mix up in communication left me plunging through a swamp and two rivers to get to my intended destination .......but thats another story (an amusing one on reflection I must post an image and tell the tale that goes with it) Many thanks for your thoughts and feedback Pamela, much appreciated!

Warmest Regards

Alf

TERRY

I couldn't help note the clarity of the water, by the time I got back to England I'd developed webbed feet : - )  But seriously what a beautiful place! I hope to get a chance to see your neck of the woods before too long, but I'll give you planty of notice before I invade your borders. As for the "wee dram"  ahhh well I'm afraid I over indulged of the amber liquid at the tender age of errrm well very young .......and never really recovered, hence my abstinance, and so I had to make do with 3 pints of Grolch and a packet of peanuts to ward off the cold. Thanks for your supportive comments Terry, much appreciated.

Best Regards

Alf

 

A really beautiful composition with very nice details Alf! some very nice tones and colours that set it off, all the best...

Hi dear Alf,

Very well view point and camera angle.

I really admire the tones and details,also.

Take care.

Best regards(Bobby).

My overall Impression is that this image definitely attracts attention and conjures a feeling because you achieved to transmit the mood perfectly. In short, it has the visual and emotive impact to make this one to stand above the crowd. Against all proposed evaluation guide lines on this site, please accept my comment as compressed ‘positive acknowledgement’

Your perseverance paid of nicely. It portrays the storm very well. Water filled clouds casting their darkness on the valley.  The fore ground pebbles are well lit and sharp. The curve of the stream add to the pleasant composition.  

I played with the small copy in PS, Made a layer and in level moved the right pointer to left till the foreground lighted up a bit. Filled it with black mask Used  large soft brush with white at 60% and painted over the pebbles and a a bit on the water. Then left the storm dark and FG a bit brighter (nature soft box effect). Play with it see if you like it. Regards, ifti.

Hey Alf, Nice work. It certainly says wet.  I like your control of light here.  The sharpness and dof are impressive.

I might be tempted to crop out the lower fourth of the image, making it more of a panorama but also adding maybe a bit more of a sullen tone. Maybe the foreground rocks are just a bit too bright...  Nevertheless, a fine image as is.

Hope there was a warming brew waiting after the shoot.

 

One of the best landscapes I've seen on PN..BR,vf

exposure, tones and composition well mastered.

you did a magical good work with the lines in composition, and the subtle tones are very pleasant. a very good photo.

beautiful shot!! nice composet and lighting best regards

GRANT

Many thanks for your interest and kind words, very much appreciated.

Cheers mate!

Alf

BOBBY

Sincere Thanks for your visit and positive feedback, I appreciate your contribution.

Best Regards

Alf

EL

Many Thanks for stopping by, my sincere appreciation of your detailed feedback and positive acknowledgement ......I just love it when you use those long words : - )

Cheers EL

Alf

IFTI

Many Thanks for your interest and positive contribution, I will have a play round with those suggestions Ifti is sounds like an interesting technique. It is interesting to note though, that whilst you perceive an inprovement through making the foreground stones brighter, Steve below has an opposite view. Maybe I got the right balance after all : - ) but much more likely we all just see things differently

Best Regards

Alf

STEVE

Sincere Thanks for stopping by and contributing your thoughts, very much appreciated! I can see where your coming from with the sullen mood suggestion, but the light (what there was of it) was coming from over my left shoulder and illuminating the stones and the side of the cottage, I didn't really want to make it any more sombre than it is in the colour version. Having said that, I am contemplating converting one of the shots I took to B & W and I think your suggestions would have great merit in that instance.

Cheers Steve!

Alf

VLADIMIR

Many thanks for your visit and that very generous compliment, I'm truly flattered.

Best Regards

Alf

ZSOLT

Sincere thanks for your interest and positive feedback, very much appreciated.

Kind Regards

Alf

JANEGBERT

Many Thanks for your visit and kind words,

Best Regards

Alf

I'm always impressed by the clarity of your shots.  The piles of rocks rushing down to the waterline is a wonderful entry into this vast and moody scene.

Lovely Autumnal image with terrific atmosphere with the dark clouds over those haunting mountains. Excellent detail and clarity.

Regards..........John

Spectacular lighting and color. The stark white of the lone dwelling really accents the feeling of remoteness. The stream carving through the photo create an unusual demarcation and draws the eye into and across the photo very effectively. It actually creates two photos in one with the foreground being a close up of the rocks and stream and the top portion of the photo being a landscape.  Well seen and well done - especially in the rain!

JEFF

Many Thanks for your interest and thoughts, I always like to get close fore ground in when possible, I think it gives the viewer a better idea of exactly where you are and what you can see as a photographer.

Cheers Jeff

Alf

JOHN

Thanks you for looking in and for your positive feedback. I hope your keeping well! The weather is quite typical for the area I think, and knowing the type of terrain that you go rambling through, I have an idea you'd love it up here. A 7 hour drive is a bit off putting though.

Cheers John

Alf

SANDRA

Sincere Thanks for your very thorough analogy and positive feedback, very much appreciated. I must admit my first priorities compositionally were to get the cottage in the upper thirds section and the foreground detail included without losing the mountain to the right, it took a bit of fiddling about moving the tripod a few times, the river as a leading line was a lucky bonus.

Cheers Sandra

Alf

Alf, I love the fine detail of the pebbles in the foregound in contrast to the large scale of the mountains. The white house is a great touch. 

The beauty of the Lakes and Scotland is that you can shoot in any weather,the scenery is so dramatic,beautifully framed Alf,the white cottage adds so mach to the composition(i think that the composition would not work without it).excellent,regards,Harry

TONY

Many thanks for your interest and kind words, I took about 10 shots of the cottage  from various distances, but the shots by the river with the stones included are my favourites.

Best Regards

Alf

HARRY

Sincere Thanks for your kind visit and positive feedback. You are so right about shooting in any weather, it really doesn't detract from the beauty of the place. I do think also there is a different quality of light, even the vegetation seems more alive somehow. Your right about the cottage too, it is a well photographed cottage ( Black Rock Cottage) but strangely I have seen some photo's of it where Just the cottage is visible from a very close range, and the surrounding landscape is ignored, I think maybe some folks just miss the point, it isn't about the cottage, it isn't about the landscape, it's about the remoteness of the cottage in the landscape, well in my opinion of course. Thanks again Harry

Kind Regards

Alf

I have come back to view this photo quite a few times now.  I particularly love the way the stones lead you into the picture. Also the way the water moves, the tones, the mist and atmosphere.  It has been mentioned that this feels like a classic photo, indeed it does, but of course with your unique and individual stamp.  As I was brought up on the Isle of Skye until I was ten years old, it brings back happy memories of the highlands and islands.

Excellent work (and great dedication to get the result) !

Jim

 

Sincere thanks for your visit and feedback.

I didn't realise you were a native of these parts Jim, and you must get real twinge of home sickness when you see images of these parts. Although of course the amazing scenery in your current location must be a consolation.

Of all the shots I took whilst I was in this area, this one remains a favourite, as it seems to epitomise the rugged beauty of the landscape, whilst the cottage symbolises mans small impression on it.

Cheers Jim

Alf

This one obviously touched a lot of people, it took me about twenty minutes to scroll to the bottom of the list to leave my comment. But it's easy to see why it attracted such attention: the deep depth of field and the arrangement of such diverse elements from the sharply focused river rocks in the foreground, the stark white of the buildings and the mountains half-shrouded by mist in the distance. And, of course, a river runs through it. Very nice work.

Many thanks for your interest and well considered analogy. We spent three days in Scotland and the scenery was nothing short of majestic. Ever colour  seemed so much more vivid and the light, although stormy and grey, was also very clear, if that makes any sense. I recommend a visit if you ever get the chance, it's awesome. I will definately return in the Autumn.

Best Regards

Alf

Visually, a very pleasing image to sit back & enjoy, the soft muted colours are very well captured & the white house adds just a touch of brightness to the scene. Well done-Regards-Ross

Many thanks for your interest and positive feedback. It's the kind of image I like to look at when I've been unable to get out at the weekend because "other duties" take precedence. It allows me to roam free for a few minutes, (in my mind at least) in that wild rugged country, and the best part is ........I don't even get my feet wet : - )

Best Regards

Alf

 

Gteat!

Thank You!