Heart of Stone ( View Large )

There wasnt a great deal of colour in the sky, so I boosted what

there was with a bit more saturation than I would normally have

used. Your thoughts and comments are always appreciated. Thank

You

If you've boosted the color, you haven't gone over the top -- I can still imagine myself standing here viewing this.  You had a great evening here -- the B&W version (different photo) is great.  I'd have difficulty identifying a favorite -- both have their strengths.  I may lean toward the B&W simply because I have a personal preference for darker tones, and I like the amount of foreground rock showing in that version.  Wonderful location, and excellent work with both.

Dramatic and mysterious motif by itself, plus the processing and the sky lighting! I'm very pleased Alf!

 

Best regards

 

PDE

An interesting and, from what I read, totally appropriate view of Dunstanburgh Castle and it's troubled history.  A magnificent edifice that, relative to it's long life, has had very little human use and you've captured a stark loneliness here that is tangible.  Very well done!... Mike

The golden color is great as it conveys a warm feeling. The composition and contrast are fantastic as well. Well done.

Hello Alf, This has a dark and somber mood to it. The PP is very effective. The sky has some warmth and balances the image IMHO. I just love the dark distant castle. Very good work.

Best,

Holger

Alf,

  I love the processing of this one.  Dramatic colors & softness.  Take care, Patsy

good capture and managing of low light...

I like both versions. The tones and the water are lovely and to my eye, the amount of colour in the sky in perfect with the rest of the scene.

By the way, was that you I saw doing well in the Amateur Photographer APOY? If so, well done!

Normally I'm a black and white guy, but after looking at both carefully, I'm sticking with this one.  I really like the hint of color in the luminosity of the foreground, it has a nice warm glow and it really balances with the lighting conditions of the sky.  Beautiful composition too.  Very successful image, Alf.  Cheers!  Chris

I personally like your color version better, Alf -- Feels softer, less 'graphic' & stark, and more atmospheric to me for some reason.. However, like the inclusion of some more boulders below perhaps, composition-wise...(as pictured in the B&W photo). In addition , I wonder what this would look like a (tiny) tad lighter, & with slightly more details showing in the darker grasses at the LHS..? (= not a nit, just an observation, Alf -- I like it as is already :-)

This has almost a mythological feeling that triggers a sense of yearning in me (as do all truly good stories). Sometimes I think modern man has lost touch with the old stories and the roots of his being which stretch back through time. Thus he finds himself wandering without any sort of spiritual or moral compass. Novelty is king. Nice to see something that feels so eternally real.

Hi Alf, Not overly saturated. This has sort of a fantasy movie feel to it and I could see men on horseback riding in from the left of the frame on the castle in the distance. The long exposure on the water is excellent and composition is well considered as usual. I enjoy what the rocks in the foreground bring without overpowering the other aspects of the photograph.

joe

HI, Alf! It is a very pleasant for an eye picture! The lines on the sky lead all the attention to the castle, proving that it is a heart of the picture. But I like very much the misty water - all together it makes what Patsy said already. Great picture, Alf. Warm regards, Tamara

I am a bit cautious these days of over saturation, I view some of the early photographs I processed from about 5 years ago and shudder : - ) But I guess its all a learning curve, and maybe in another 5 years I'll shudder at this one!

It was indeed a great evening, (though it did rain a bit later on for about 20 minutes)  not least because of the ever changing sky and the various rocky ledges from where I could take the photo's. I can appreciate your views on darker tones, they occur naturally to the eye and given the subject matter here they seem most fitting to the B & W version.  This particular part of the British East Coast is dotted with castles and fantastic beaches, I'd love to have spent longer there, but a week was all I had.

 

Many Thanks for your thoughts and positive feedback Stephen.

 

Best Regards

 

Alf

 

PIERRE

 

If you are pleased then I am too!  It does have a kind of "World of Warcraft" style about it, that fits your Dramatic & Mysterious description very well.

Sincere Thanks & Best Regards

 

Alf

 

MIKE

 

I looked at this place close up, and how anyone managed to breach it with primitive weapons is beyond me, in the part I studied the walls were about 9ft thick!  And from three sides it would be almost impossible to approach.

As you have rightly noted it hasn't seen any human use for centuries but what an impressive ruin it is!

Many Thanks for your thoughts and positive comments Mike!

 

Best Regards

 

Alf

 

BOBBY

 

Sincere Thanks for your thoughts and positive feedback. It was something of a stormy evening with very little colour in the sky, I just took advantage of the bit that was fleetingly there.

Best Regards

 

Alf

 

HOLGER

 

I was very fortunate to have a dark stormy sky on this particular evening as it does seem to suit the subject matter of the castle and the low light also helped with the long exposure.  I took about 15 different shots of this scene, some of them in portrait mode that I might get to post at a later date.

Many Thanks for your encouraging feedback!

Best Regards

 

Alf

 

PATSY

 

"Dramatic" I think that kind of sums it up, like something out of a King Arthur film : - )

Many Thanks & Best Regards

 

Alf

 

SLAVOMIR

 

The low light was in this case a blessing, that being said I still had to use a 6 stop filter in order to get the expoure times I wanted.

Sincere Thanks & Best Regards

 

Alf

 

PAT

 

Sincere Thanks for your thoughts and positive feedback.  Particularly those relating to the colour as it can be a fine line between balance and over-saturation.

Yes it is me that come second last month in the Amateur Photographer APOY competition. And I think I'm something like 4th in the overall leader board.  I won a nice little Samsung camera, and I have to say some of the things its capable of are most impressive, so much so that I can see a day in the not too distant future when DSLRs will become...........well not entirely redundant as there will always be sentimentalists ...but certainly out dated.

Thanks again Pat!

Best Regards

 

Alf

 

CHRIS

Sincere Thanks!

You have picked up on an area of the photograph that also appealed to me. And your description as "luminosity" is the word I would have used myself (If I'd thought of it)  I chose this particular rocky ledge after watching the surf for a while, in order to determine where the sea the lashed the rocks the most, and it seems to have worked in with the rest of the composition.

Cheers Chris!

 

Alf

 

 

MARJOLEIN

 

I think the colour version is softer, though I can't give you any technical explanation as to why that would be so, as the settings I used were identical. Perhaps it is the more prevalent movement of the sea that allows this impression. It would be relatively easy to make it lighter and indeed reveal a bit more detail the darker shadowed areas to the left, but in this case I think the subject matter lends itself more to the darker side (I sounded like Darth Vader then) Come over to the darker side Marjolein : - )

Sincere Thanks for your thoughtful comments and observations, much appreciated!

Best Regards

 

Alf

 

JACK

 

Yes it does conjure up those images of Dungeons, Bold Knights and Damsels in distress that relate to castles and dark satanic looking fortresses.  I think you have touched on a good point though, there is an art to telling stories verbally that has to a great degree been lost. Perhaps more alarmingly the very under rated art of "listening" seems to be  a rapidly dissapearing life skill.  Religion (be the views of many as it may be a good or bad or indifferent entitiy) did / does a very good job of telling stories that gives a basic moral fibre to our being.  I'm glad you like this one Jack, I think you'd enjoy touching the stones of the castle and wondering at the hands that touched them before.

Many Thanks & Best Regards

 

Alf

 

 

JOE

 

Yes I can fully empathise with the fantasy movie viewpoint, or perhaps the historical epic.  Maybe a kind of "Lord of The Rings"  battleground scenario, I could just see myself as  "Gandalf"  : - )

I quite like the foreground water / rocks too, I think Chris described them as having "luminosity" which I thought was a most befitting description.

 

Many Thanks for your thoughts and well considered coments Joe, it's reassuring to read it doesn't appear over saturated too!

 

Best Regards

 

Alf

 

TAMARA

 

Many Thanks for your thoughts and observations, much appreciated! 

I was very fortunate to get a cloudy stormy looking evening, not only did it give  the scene a sense of drama, but it also helped achieve the longer exposures for the water.  And to think I was cursing the rain clouds, sometimes you don't know how blessed you are, even when its staring you right in the face : - )

 

Warm Regards

 

Alf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

do i see Lancaster in the distance, Alf? these golden tones work beautifully to create of feeling of the Medieval. yet again you give us the true England! ;-} dp 

Beautiful image Alf. The dramatic sky and low lighting gives me a feeling of foreboding, which is to say each one can see something different in an image, and that is a sign of a truly good image.  I'm attaching another option in B&W which i think may also have some value as a second image not to replace this beautiful one. Regards always - michel

I have always found it odd when I feel that I 'identify' with an image, yet I have never seen or been there. Perhaps it is my love of history, or the countries where my grandparents came from. Or maybe not. Mystery, History, Epic Battles, and while they all seem to connect to what great stories and movies are made of, while in reality, I am sure there were conditions that were quite 'brutal' during the course of History. This coastline as you describe it Alf would be fantastic to explore. Both versions have their merits. This one seems more 'Mystical' as I see it in my little 'dreamworld'. Beautifully edited and presented Alf, as only you can do. An 'inspiring' image on so many levels.

Most sincerely, Gail

Hi Alf,

There is a real feeling of history and time to this capture, a wonderful atmosphere too, which you capture so well in your works. Beautifully composed with excellent light and detail. Wonderful work!

Best wishes. Sarah

The town of Lancaster is actually situated on the West coast of England, but there is a link with that name "Lancaster"

There has been some recent evidence to suggest that this site was occupied in pre-historic times, but for the most part the castle started construction in 1313 by Earl Thomas of Lancaster and later in the 14th Century it was improved by John Gaunt (Duke of Lancaster) It did sustain damage in the dynastic War of the Roses between the Houses of York & Lancaster who were represented by the Red Rose and White Rose respectively.  The damage was not made good and the castle fell into decay..........The walls, if they could talk.....would tell some interesting stories.

I'm so glad the medieval mood was communicated, thats what I was hoping for!

 

Sincere Thanks & Warm Regards

 

Alf

 

MICHEL

 

It must have been a most "foreboding" place to visit for any invader, the place still looks imposing in decay and ruin,  it would be a really fearsome place in times of war. It's good to get a cross section of the thoughts and impressions, for some its a mystical place, whilst others can see a darker more sinister image.  I like the B & W version you have kindly provided. Its much more dramatic than my B & W attempt, and lends itself to tales of Knights and damsels in distress.

Sincere thanks for your thoughts and providing alternative views Michel, very much appreciated!

Best Regards

 

Alf

 

GAIL

 

I think you probably look at this and recognise different aspects of the image much as I do when I see photo's of Canada and USA, most of the places I've never been to, but I've lived a thousand lives in the movies I've watched over the years. Particularly for me the older westerns I used to watch, I couldn't get enough of them. The settings were so spectacular they were indelibly etched upon my memory forever.  I would "ride" out of my house in Liverpool from a row of terraced houses, slapping my thigh (my imaginary horse) two six guns in my holsters, and my hat pulled at a rakish angle .......I would ride over the hill in the great desert,(the old lorry park) and shoot the indians or mexican bandits (probably the post man or whoever ese happened to be passing at the time) with my cap guns.  If any of them happened to shoot back (by making a gun shape with thier fingers) I'd make a great deal of falling off my imaginary horse and dying........when I think back I should have got an Oscar for my performances : - )

So yes you right Gail, the reality of the place and its history would be very bloody and brutal,..........but I can see just where you are coming from with the "Mystical" outlook, the place invites that kind of fantasy world.

Sincere Thanks for your thoughts and positive feedback Gail, very much appreciated!

 

Best Regards

 

Alf

 

SARAH

 

Many Thanks for your interest and thoughtful comments, very much appreciated!

If you ever get a chance to visit this North East corner of England, its well worth a visit, the place is steeped in historical castles and structures, and there are some wonderful botanical gardens too which I'm sure you would love, and also fantastic uncrowded beaches!

Cheers Sarah!

 

Alf

 

 

 

I was hesitant to comment on the smaller view but as soon as I saw the larger version it looked so much better. Congrats on a fine job!

A not heavy difference between the two shots but I have not my prefered, both have their beauty and different emotions: always "bravo" my dear Alf. Ciao, Maurizio.

Hi Alf

 

Viewed large,  this image is stunning..... The Heart of Stone surrounded by that spectacular sky and choppy but calm looking sea is just a visual delight!  A beautiful location steeped in history,  as always I feel like I can step right into your images and feel the atmosphere..... well done Alf!

 

Warm regards

Jacqueline

The long time exposure works: clouds  and water married each other. BR JV

A superb long exposure Alf! Beautiful color, and detail, I think my preference would still be the B&W. I like the textures, and composition better in the B&W. Superb work!

All the best,
Neil