Black Rock Dawn

I've just got back from Scotland, and I'm missing it already! The place is

a landscape and nature photographers heaven! This is the first image

I've processed, (only another 527 to go) .....Yes thats many I took, but

I'll probably process about 20. The rock in the foreground is the "Black

Rock" from which the cottage derives its name, it didn't look very black,

but then the early morning light painted everything it touched a warmer

colour. Your thoughts and comments are always appreciated. Thank

You.

Alf... If this is the teaser, then I sure look forward to the following 500+.  Meticulously composed with the highlighted rock, the white cottage and the warm lighting.  Fantastic depth and detail as well.  Excellent... Mike

It is a truly beautiful image. I love the light and tonality.

You know.....you make this look easy.  :-)  There are so many little details that make this image sing.  I love the arched line of rocks in front, rather mimicking the line of mountains in the back.  And the fact that you carefully prevented the chimneys on the house and trees on the left from sticking up into the sky territory.  Color is beautiful and natural.  And the balance is great because of the mass of clouds extending into the top R corner, balancing out the taller and darker mass of mountain on the left margin.  Extremely well done, Alf!  Can't wait to see what you else you'll be loading.

nice exposure and very good white balance

Hi Alf,

Well done technically , as using the 14mm setting at F/5.6 is still with in the lens range for best all around performance.

The Nikkor 14-24mm zoom peaks it performance level at F/2.8. I have tested this lens on the optical lab and used it many times in the field, and unless I need to control lighting more than just using ISO and shutter speed or I need very large DOF, I use the lens at F/2.8.

What is nice about the Nikkor 12-24 (besides being an excellent lens) is that the DOF is inherently much larger than normal and telephoto lens. The short focal length allows for greater DOF without the need of excessive aperture stop down.

Best Regards,  Mike

Really beautiful work with impressive lighting, Alf!

With best regards,

Ruud.

 

Good Day Alf, The early morning warm light does wonders for this nicely composed image. The hills almost touch the sky. Very beautiful. I too look forward to more images from your trip.

Best Regards,

Holger

 

Beautiful work Alf, but it really must be viewed large to catch all the plays of the light.  I think this is going to be but a taste of what is yet to come.  You really put the push to me, I really need to go shoot something! And Soon!   Best regards...

-Dave

Alf

I have a question. How did you know the scene was level when everything leans one way or another or else uphill or down. Even the building appears to lean to the left and the trees to the right.

Wonderful morning shot

IMHO  You might try a little less sky.

still trying to get to your level

Pat

Very beautiful!!

Cheers.

Alf,

What beautiful morning light!  This is very crisp with great detail and rich contrasts.  This image is best viewed large, I appreciate the size you are uploading, infact you have inspired me to increase the size of my own uploads and have done so with my most recent image.  I am looking forward to more images in this series.  Like so many Canadians, I have family roots in both Scotland and Ireland and hope to eventually visit both countries.

Jim

 

Alf,

  Beautiful image with wonderful colors, details, composition & lighting. I am looking forward to viewing the rest of your images.  Thanks for sharing.  Take care, Patsy

Fabulous light in this superbly composed shot Alf! This looks like one of those images that was a real challenge to get level but you've done very well I think. Looking forward to lots more from this trip!

All the best,
Neil

When i think of Scotland this shot comes into my head,this view has been shot to death a million times (in a nice way) and still every one is different,Not many of the photographers are active enough to get up early and get the best light.this shot has the beautiful light and a very interesting sky,the exposure is also spot on Alf,shooting a white cottage with a dark surrounding is not easy,lovely work,waiting for more,best regards

Alf you have composed this image very well. The rock on the bottom left makes and balances this image for me. It provides a balance to the rounded hills and these elements create interest around the house. The sky is also very appealing. Regards Richard

Uhhh.  I don't know quite what to say.  I must be quite a hypocrite, but I think this one is too dark at the bottom.  Perhaps a little more magic is justified in this case.  Anonymous.

The picture is very natural looking with no excessive color saturation or light overdo, composition is very spot on and effective, and dynamic burden is well managed. white balance despite a warm natural tone is very impressive. Definition and sharpness are also amazing. Nothing to add to improve it, as it already is top notch. Bravo.

Hamid.

Hello Alf,

Lovely landscape.  i love the top half, I have my doubts about the bottom half, which is rather dark and in my opinion not really adding to the dynamic.  I would try to crop some of it, I love the sky and would not crop that out.

Best regards,
Ben

Alf, I very much like the play of light in this created by the breaks in the clouds. The strongest light and color seems to be in the mid ground giving a nice sense of depth and layering. I don't find the foreground to be too dark and I like the nice details coming through in the rock and the grasses on the right. I also like the organization with a line formed by the rock, house and the peak of the mountain and another by the grasses to the right, the cluster of trees and the mountain peak. 

MIKE M

The only trouble with being "trigger happy" is processing the RAW files, and my sluggish pace doesn't help, so far I think I've processed 6 and deleted 2, its going to be a long winter : - ) I'm glad you like this one, its a magical location, and I just love the place.

Sincere Thanks

Alf

ANDREW

Many thanks for your interest and kind words, much appreciated!

Best Regards

Alf

CHRISTAL

Well......it is easy you take 500 shots and just hope one of thems going to turn out right : - )

Seriously though, the composiiton was something of a balancing act, trying to get the cottage and rock slightly offset with thirds positions in mind for the cottage and mountains. I did try a few more but the light wasn't as obliging. But the evening before there was some dramatic dark cloud and mist on the distant mountains and I might post one of these next as a comparison.

Always great to hear from you and my sincere thanks for sharing your thoughts and valued feedback.

Best Regards

Alf

NIKI

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

Best Regards

Alf

MIKE P

I was actually thinking about your comments relating to wide open lens and peak performance when I took this shot and I think I probably got the best combination of quality and dof for the shot. There is another criteria that I haven't heard you mention though, that relates to dof and sharpness, and that is HFD (Hyper Focal Distance) It's something I'm always aware of and try to achieve. But yes it is a quality lens and although it has some drawbacks in relation to the use of filters etc, it's still got to be one of the best wide angle lens available.

Sincere Thanks for your thoughts and feedback Mike.

Best Regards

Alf

RUUD

Many thanks for interest and kind words, much appreciated!

Best Regards

Alf

HOLGER

Good day to you!  The evening before I took this shot, the hills really did touch the sky, or at least the clouds were so low they partly covered  the hills : - ) It's a glorious place to see, and there is more to come.

My sincere thanks for your interest and positive feedback.

Best Regards

Alf

DAVE

Go on get out there! and get some "photo therapy"  I know if I've had to stay indoors at any given weekend I get withdrawal symptoms : - )

Thank you so much for your encouraging words and feedback, much appreciated!

Best Regards

Alf

PATRICK

Many thanks for sharing your thoughts and suggestions, much appreciated! Yes I think thats a fair suggestion for a crop, I was rather conscious of losing the top edge of the cloud, but it does seem to work ok.

"How did you know the scene was level when everything leans one way or another or else uphill or down"

What a great question!

I knew 100% that the scene was level, but theres no complicated mathematical calculation involved. Quite simply the Nikon D700 has a feature in the setup menu called "Virtual Horizon" Once chosen from the menu, the LCD display on the rear of the camera shows a circular graph, you simply ajust the camera on the tripod (Or hand held, though not quite as accurate) and line up the pointers on the graph, and thats all there is to it. For anyone suffering from tilted horizons whose camera doesn't have that particular feature, there is a simple and relatively inexpensive solution in the form of a cube shaped spirit level that fits into the hot shoe of the camera, that is widely available and does the same job.

Oh one other thing to mention is the use of wide angle lenses and tilting them acutely upwards / downwards, this can cause all kinds of problems with distortion, but in this case the camera was level on all planes.

Best Regards

Alf

ALBERTO

Many thanks for your visit and kind  words!

Best Regards

Alf

JIM

It was indeed a beautiful morning, the previous evening had been dark and moody, though equally beautiful in its own right, and there had been a film crew shooting some new movie a few hundred yards away, but we had the place to ourself on this fine morning.

I upload images fairly large after being frustrated on so many occasion at seeing others work and just wishing to see more detail.

If you get a chance, visit Scotland......I can't veven begin to tell you how beautiiful it is, the light changes constantly and with every turn of the road there is a new landscape. Ireland is very beautiful too of course but Scotland is breathtaking! As for Canada, ....well suffice to say it remains my dream destination.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Jim, very much appreciated!

Best Regards

Alf

PATSY

Thank you for your encouraging words and feedback, much appreciated! Theres lots more to come, when I finally get round to processing them and uploading them. : - )

Best Wishes

Alf

NEIL

Many thanks for your thoughtful words and feedback, much appreciated. The composition was a bit tricky, it's not so much what elements to get into the shot but what to leave out, as for the level, I'd love to say I struggled until I go it right ..........but in reality I just used the "Virtual Horizon" from the setup menuon the D700. If you haven't tried it yet Neil, its well worth remembering it when your faced with your next "level" challenge.

Cheers Neil!

Alf

HARRY

Great to hear from you!

I just felt compelled to make it 1,000,000,014 : - ) But yes you are right it has become an iconic scene, the strange thing was that last year we believed we photographed "Black Rock Cottage" only to find out this year we were about 3 miles away from the correct location : - ) Still I liked the other cottage we photographed, and we took a few more for good measure.

Your right about the tricky exposure I was altering the exposure compensation by the minute to allow for the ever changing light that was coming from the gaps in the clouds behind us.

Sincere Thanks for your interest and feedback Harry!

Best Regards

Alf

RICHARD

Many thanks for sharing your thoughts and observations, much appreciated!

 It was surprisngly a tricky one to compose, but I think that was more to do with my desire to get as much of the surrounding environment into the frame as possible. I will be posting a couple of others though that have alternative compositions.

Best Regards

Alf

JAMIE

<Shock Horror>  now go and wash your mouth out! The purist not so pure I'm mortified : - )

I didn't use any fill light in this one, but on reflection.......well yeah it could have been justified. I will be posting some with a far more even light balance.

Your thoughts and feedback is always very much appreciated!  Thank you!

Best Regards

Alf

HAMID

Sincere Thanks for your thoughtful observations and valued feedback, much appreciated.

The bright sunlight was challenge and constant adjustments had to be made to the exposure compansation in order to deal with reflected highlights. I will be posting at least one other image froma previous day when the lighting conditions are entirely different, by way of a comparison.

Best Regards

Alf

BEN

Good to hear from you! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and  observations much appreciated!

I think it would be rather difficult to crop the bottom of the image without upsetting the balance achieved with the foreground rock and illuminated grasses to the right. However I could have easilly made the foreground lighter, but in all honesty I don't consider it too dark, I can see every detail and it represents the scene pretty much as it was. But I can appreciate your views, perhaps it appears more dull than dark? I will be posting more that has a more moody backdrop and even lighting, it might be worth comparing.

Cheers Ben!

Alf

TONY

Sincere Thanks for your interest and observations, much appreciated!

The light when it broke through the clouds behind us did paint everyting it touched with a warm vibrant light, even the rock looks warm. I suppose everyone has thier own ideas of "too dark", for me its when I can't see the detail, but again it depends on the scene. But in this case for me it doesn't appear too dark either. The composition was a bit tricky, but I'm glad it works for you.

Cheers Tony!

Alf

 

 

 

 

A work of art, awesome capture of nature at its best, lovely contrast, texture, light, bravisimo, Alf! Mari

An iconic British view beautifully captured. The lighting is exquisite enhancing  the landscape. Well captured my friend.

Regards......John

Well composed.  Great work.  Best regards,

WOW! I love it just the way it is. A tack sharp image with excellent colors, excellent composition and a interesting story. Very beautifull.

I can't wait for the other 500+ as Michael said before me. 

Congratulations. My best regards. Cosmin