Whitby Abbey

All comments welcome!

beautiful...very nice!...I like the pond in the front and then the castle/church in the background 7-6

Hello Colin, the graduated filter seems to be have been very used on this trip.

 

The choice of angle is very good and I like the pond as foreground in this, it makes the Abbey loom up out of the ground. I think the shot is a bit on the low key side given the bright sky, but I suppose it's in keeping with the ruins.

 

Was this on the same day as Robin Hood's Bay?

 

Best wishes. Peter

Very beautiful, good composition. 5/5

Thanks Eero, Peter and Axel!

 

Peter, yes, as you say, the ND grad was used to darken the sky but this was not the same day as Robin Hoods bay. I found getting the brightness and contrast right quite difficult on this one and I'm not entirely happy with the result. So all reactions and thoughts are useful to me.

Very nice capture. Only nit would be the building and the sky to the right seem a bit dark. Still, very effective image.

Colin, that is again a very nice landscape , I only wonder why the bg. on the left hs. is blured( and not the right hs one) while the abbey is quite sharp....?

Aside from that I like the composition, the colors and reflections, and your work with wide lens in general. Pnina

Beautiful landscape, Colin, I like the pond in the foreground and the sky is nice too. Cheers, Sondra

Enchanting atmosphere of and arround the pond. like to use the word, I learned from You,egnimatic.Also how You got the gras and the light in between. The abby has its function,but the pond is, what fascinates me.

I love the impact, Colin, the Abbey and its reflection in the pond: very nicely composed. Like Pnina, I noticed the more blurred side, the left one.

Ooh, only just noticed this one, love the composition, I was at this very place and never even noticed this pond - shame one me. I'm growing increasingly fond of that 10-22 you're using - I'm trying to concentrate on wider shots myself at the moment, hoping to get the max out of my EF 24. I think I'm doing OK so far, there's a couple of new shots in my folio.

 

But back to your work, this is another wonderful image Colin. Well done.

Very good, I like the low key application, nice comp.

Thanks Ken, Pnina, Sondra, Alexandra, Ben, Paula, and Michael - I appreciate your kind comments and thoughts.

 

Ken, this shot has a dark atmosphere partly as the reflection from the pond was bright and also Because the Abbey itself is dark both in colour and also somewhat in feeling.

 

Pnina, Paula, I did not notice the left side until you mentioned it. I have done some sharpening to the left side to keep the appearance the same.

 

Alex, yes I liked the pond, it really added a lot to the shot. Enigmatic is a good word - puzzling, hidden, strange. This shot does not show it but the Abbey sits, a dark ruin, on a high cliff above the town - so 'enigmatic'is right!

 

Ben, I find the 10-22 a very versatile lens and essential for the sort of shots I tend to do. Next comes the 70-200 range and I am thinking about a new standard zoom lens to in the range of 24-70 or thereabouts.

 

To get to the pond you need to walk up to the abbey from the visitor centre and keep going uphill. I only found it by looking at the English heritage guidebooks which all have it on the front cover . (Don't tell anyone though as my 'Originality' ratings will tank!)

 

Michael thanks, I thought the low key effect suited the atmosphere of the dark stone.

Beautiful shot and well composed. I have seen some photos of this abbey but I like your version best. Thanks for posting.

I agree with the comment above. Beautiful shot and well composed. Baldur

Thanks Richard and Baldur! Richard I am surprised you have seen more than one shot of this place considering how relatively obscure it is!

wow. wow. bravo dear Colin :)

so wonderful scenery and land and details and mysteriuos atmosphere. love it!

Biliana

Wasn't sure about this one at first, but its grown on me. With the scale of the pond, the abby looks almost like a headstone by an open, flooded grave(I won't mention a certain 'D'). Although because of this, I'd probably prefer B&W.

 

There's a visible line to the right of the abby where things become darker. PS work?

Thanks Biliana and Stephen!

 

Stephen, thanks for not mentioning 'D' - when we were at Whitby this summer we had a flat above a shop that sold 'D' type gear - strange people! The line to the right of the abbey is the sea.

jeez, i don't know colin, i'd like to say something critical just to show i can. okay, a little too dark upper right.

 

but mostly, i look at your stuff and try to learn, try to burn into my memory cells what i see. here, your depth of field is incredible (i am assuming two different shots merged together), and your coloring is so darn elegant, there's this jusxtaposition of restraint and compelllingness in it to me, and your tones so well rendered, without blow outs or unncessary muddy darkness, i can almost always tell your work from these things. the lines of clarity are as usual very clean too, and the lighting right where i would want it, on the left side of the structure.

 

and the subject matter -- we are a puppy culure out here in california. we have no structures older than about 160 years old. so i so admire your stunning documentation of the ancient world that preceded.

 

but you never stop at documntation. here you are again, lying on your stomach or bent down at the knees, getting that structure just right in the pond, making sure the shrubbery on the right is still in the frame, getting the foreground vegetation just right.

 

really, in spirit, in subject matter, in talent, in commitment, in light-heartedness -- man, you are an inspiration.

Colin, you use the wide angle focal length effectively. I see that the forground vegetations establish a reference point, the lake leads you into the image and finally the abbey in the horizon. Sure, it's tough to get brightness & contrast right in the sky with the wide, but I for one don't think it's that bad at all. Only one wish is to see it larger. Nicely done, Colin. ^_^

Great photo! The presence of a cathedral in such a landscape is very impressive. It reminds me the Abbaye of the Chateliers on the island of Re (France). Excellent idea to shot it in reflection in this pond.

Yes, Colin, definitely better.

Wonderful photo! Just makes me want to pack my bags and go wandering in the hills in the UK. Not to try and take this shot, but merely to go up into the history and magic of this wonderful surrounding...

bummer about the computer! hang in there. let me know if you want me to do any internet research for you.