Black Rock Dusk

Alf, what a great scene, so well captured in a gorgeous composition. The beautiful golden grasses in the feilds work well with the dark, forboding grey sky. The white cottage looks inviting in the middle of the damp, cool, landscape. I wonder if someone lives there? There is no smoke coming from the chimney, it does look a bit isolated and lonely. It has that beautiful, romantic, melancholy  feel that I often see in your landscapes, scenes from literature.

Best wishes,

Linda

I do hope your not the last : - )  But It's always good to hear from you and share your thoughts and invaluable feedback. The grasses in this part of Scotland are unlike any other I've come across, they are so vibrant, maybe it's the damp conditions, or the peaty soil, but it isn't easy to display to it's fullest potential without it looking over saturated, so quite often I have to tone it downa bit. I'm really pleased you liked this one Michael.

Sincere Thanks  & Best Regards

Alf

LINDA

Many Thanks for your thoughtful and well considered feedback, very much appreciated!

I love the grasses in this part of Scotland, I keep meaning to compose an abstract image photographing just the grasses and nothing else, but once in this location the landscape photographer takes over and I become oblivious to everything else : - )

I think the cottage is owned by the National Trust and can be rented, though I'm not certain of this. The settings and views from this location are awesome, I just wish I could have spent more time there.

I'm really pleased you connected with this one Linda, there are a few more cottages along this route that I photographed and I hopefully I will post more of them in the not too distant future.

Best Regards

Alf

my best quality.  j

Almost as good as mine :-)  best wishes

I suppose "Discerning" would be a more complimentry adjective, and better describe your fastidious attention to detail, but I'm sticking with "fickle"

: - )

TERRY

Amost.....but what can I say......one day eh Terry : - )

Best Regards

Alf

What a picturesque landscape Alf! I love the colors and dark sky; I bet there is a nice hot cup of tea waiting just inside that cottage... Lovely image! Thank you for sharing. :)

Alf

I love this one The dark sky and the colors of the foreground really make the building shine and stand out

Pat

The larger version is impressive indeed. Have to disagree with Mike on this one. You lost nothing of the optical quality of the lens, IMO.

To me this is the superior image. (dawn vs dusk)  Beautiful deep rich colours and an ominous sky warning you not to stray too far from your umbrella.  Low contrast and even illumination allows for details throughout to be revealed.  Icing on the cake is the contrast provided by the white building which re-attracts the wandering eye.  A most excellent composition with interesting elements foreground, middle, and distant.  Always a treat to view your offerings.  Best, LM.

TRISHA

Many Thanks for your interest and thoughtful comments. No tea this time I'm afraid, I think the cottage is owned b the National Trust and rented out duting the holiday season, but there was no sign of life when we were there. It would be awesome to spend the night there on a clear night and just watch the stars, and maybe get some cool star trail photo's too.

Best Regards

Alf

PATRICK

The white cottage is like a little oasis in the wilderness, I just love the place, indeed the whole area, I'm really peased you liked it too.

Sincere Thanks

Alf

EMMANUEL

Many thanks for your interest and positive feedback. I think Mike may have commented from a purely scientific viewpoint and he is more than qualified to do so. From a practical and aesthetic viewpoint the optical qualities are good enough on the original image to make a very large print, thats not to say it wouldn't have been better scientifically without the ND grad, but then it may not have looked as good either. Science V Aesthetics......... I guess its all about finding the right balance.

Best Regards

Alf

LEN

Many Thanks for stopping by, it's always good to get your views. I happen to agree with you, the "dusk" image has a better balance of light, and whilst I initially thought the cottage looked good illuminated by the morning sun in the "dawn" image, the reality is that there shadows and highlights are too far pronounced, the composition was a challenge, that boulder never seemed to be in the right place in conjunction with the angled view I wanted of the cottage, but after much contemplation and seaching the files I think I found one that fits the bill. I will maybe just post it without critique at a later date. Thanks again Len.

Best Regards

Alf

lovely crisp image Alf, with a very atmospheric feel due to the dark clouds, it looks like a storm is coming.

Great work.

Rich.

The play of contrasts is what makes this strongly work .I agree with Marjolien about a tiny crop suggestion, especially a bit in the FG. Still it has a beautiful color palette and a dramatic mood. I like as well the clear details of the whole.Good work.

Many thanks for your interest and kind words. The ominous looking cloud patterns changed by the minute throughout the day, but sure enough in this case 30 minutes later there was a down pour of rain.

Cheers Richard!

Alf

PNINA

Sincere Thanks for your observations and positive feedback, much appreciated. Yes I also agree the small foreground crop is a good suggestion. The colours of the grasses in this area are really vivid, and unlike anywhere else I have visited, I think it might be a result of the very wet climate.

Best Regards

Alf

Stunning work, love the colours and the moodiness of the landscape. 

Sincere Thanks! it is always very gratifying to get such feedback from an expert.

Best Regards

Alf

Excellent sujet, capture, composition and editing. Very harmonical positioning of image elements, great colors and contrasts of them. Wonderful mood conveyed.

Bw, Volker

Good to hear from you I hope you are keeping well. It was a bit of a compromise this composition, I wanted to include, the cottage, the boulder the tree's and the misty backdrop, but in doing so couldn't quite get the cottage into a perfect thirds position, I do have another that achieves my objective a bit better, but as yet I haven't had a chance to post it. My sincere thanks for your interest and feedback, very much appreciated!

Best Regards

Alf

a great shot !!beautiful light and colors -very nice composet and atmophere.

Best regards ,Janegbert

I thought I had commented on this one before , must have had a " senior moment " . An absolutely stunning landscape . What I call a painter's light and the Met Office  .... precipitation in sight ! Marvelous colours and composition ! Bill

Many thanks for your interest and kind words, it was one of those evenings that was never going to be short of atmosphere.

Best Regards

Alf

BILL

You did indeed comment on this one..........well not this particular image but an earlier version taken at dawn, and posted just previous to this, so your not losing the plot after all : - )

"Precipitation" what a glorious name for rain, must be worth a few points at scrabble too : - )

Sincere thanks for your thoughtful and invaluable feedback Bill, much appreciated!

Best Regards

Alf

When viewed large, I got the sense of actually standing there!  It's so sharp and clear where it needs to be, and then the distant mountains become a little less distinct with the cloud cover.  The color variation is what makes it for me though.  The red/purples in the trees near the house contrast nicely with the golden tones of the grasses and the deeper tones of the sky.  The white just pops!  It's the kind of scene that could have had too much going on, but you tied everything together beautifully, and I love this image.

It is so beautiful and peaceful image, with that white washed house and the rusty-yellow colored field. The sky add a real Scottish atmosphere to the image too. Also,  the foreground  stones underline the visual effect too. Excellent composition.

Humble Apologies for my belated reply, somehow this one got away from me.

This is my kind of landscape, just being there is an absolute joy, and if I get a few decent photo's along the way, its a bonus.  It's very gratifying to read you got the sense of being there, thats what I aim for. Thank you for taking the time to communicate that to me, much appreciated!

Best Regards

Alf

BELA

I don't know what it is about Scotland, the air or maybe the soil or perhaps a combination, but the vegetation looks so much more vivid than further south of the UK.  Many Thanks for sharing your thoughtful comments, very much appreciated.

Best Regards

Alf

great chocolate box view and photo.

All your work is top of the range loved all of it.

Humble apologies for the late reply, I have been away for a week (Taking photo''s of course) But I'm really pleased you liked them.  This is probably one of the most photographed cottages in Scotland, but then with its setting that isn't surprising.

Mnay Thanks & Best Regards

Alf