Life Through A Lens
Leaning
Posted by Stu (Scotland | Residing in Kyoto, Japan) on 8 April 2008 in Landscape & Rural and Portfolio.
Another from my trip to Scotland last year. This is a 5000 year old standing stone on the Isle of Arran, with the West coast of Scotland visible in the distance. Must get pretty windy and rainy up there judging by the tree on the right and the way the stone has weathered.
I'm still in b&w mood.
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GJC from Kyoto, Japan
Separated by great distance and time, still I find interesting parallels between this and yesterday's photo. Namely, the tones give us a sense of texture, and it's again the weight of old, weary stone that dominates, if not spatially then at least conceptually. I like how the rock and the tree on the right echo each other, making me wonder if an additional (not a replacement) photo might be to crop the left side right about where the bigger tree on the left is, and to isolate the rock and that tree on the right. I'm really enjoying the b&w mood.
8 Apr 2008 8:53am
Henry from Boston, United States
There's a lot of good stuff going on in this shot. Texture, tone, composition and that tiny little tree to the right in the distance that for me really gives the stone a towering and commanding presence. Great shot.
8 Apr 2008 12:21pm
Garibaldi from Sala al Barro, Italy
Can't add anything else to what GJC and Henry said, just that it's a wonderful b&w view. Excellent really!
8 Apr 2008 3:42pm
Ian Bramham from Manchester, United Kingdom
It's a great photo Stu!....you asked me what method I use for converting my own photos to B&W but I'm not sure that you need any help from me as this one and your other B&Ws look really great!
What method do you use......is it Elements?
The only thing that I can think of that might help you wring something extra from your B&W work is the curves tool which I've only started using myself just recently since converting to using CS3.
8 Apr 2008 6:22pm
Ian Bramham from Manchester, United Kingdom
Sorry Stu!
I should have taken the trouble of reading your profile before asking stupid questions as I see now that you use CS3. As I've only been using it myself for a couple of weeks you'll be more expert at this than me but have you been using the curves tool?
8 Apr 2008 6:31pm
@Ian Bramham: Thx Ian. I've been using a method I recently found using Lab colour. Here's a link to the tutorial I used, and I just played around with it till I got something I liked. I usually add a curves layer too depending how dark the image is already.
Thx for the VFXY vote too!
DaveB from Exeter, United Kingdom
Wicked B&W shot, love the way it's framed on either side by weathered trees!
8 Apr 2008 7:31pm
amy from Rocky Mountain House, Canada
This is... sigh... pretty amazing. The solitary mood on a wind-swept vista with that standing stone speaking of ancient times. Yep, pretty damn amazing. Extraordinary, quite frankly.
But it took me a minute to get to the aforementioned description because of that phallic symbol... ahem... hee hee hee... couldn't resist Stu! Honest! I couldn't! LMAO!! But the description still stands.. ;-)
9 Apr 2008 2:13am
danthro from Suburbia, United States
nice shot! great composition, detail and atmosphere. especially like the detail in the grass.
9 Apr 2008 3:13am
drphoto from Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
This is a wonderful shot. I love photographing scotland, although it sounds like you got lucky and missed the rain and winds; the weather is usually quite unforgiving.
I love the framing of this, how you have incuded that tree to the right, and I love the tones and texture. Nice work.
Dan
10 Apr 2008 12:05pm
Amr Tahtawi from Cairo, Egypt
you can feel the stone breathing with ease. astonishing B&W theme here.
22 Apr 2008 1:59pm
Canon EOS Kiss X
1/200 second
F/10.0
ISO 200
40 mm