First time C&C - be gentle!

pullandbang

I've posted loads in the random thread but I've never had the goolies to put some up on their own thread for C & C. So now it's time to bite the bullet :eek:

I took these early one foggy morning around Trim Castle.

1. B & W from behind the Sheep Gate across the river.


2. The Yellow Steeple.


3. Trim Castle & the river.

Not doing much for me I'm afraid, they seem to be a little stale.

What were you going for though?

AnimalRights

Landscapes are not my expertise but I will say #1 and #3 with some work by one of the specialists here would be good.
I especially love #3 but would crop out about 1/3 of the water, love the soft look on it.
Would also crop to the right and a fair bit of the top.

FX Meister

First one doesn't work in black and white I think. For the second one I'd prefer a tighter crop on the steeple against the sky

Chorcai

I like them, but they seem a bit flat colour wise. The B&W one looks a bit lost, have you got any later shots of it when the catle was in view a bit more ?

*eadaoin

have to say i really like the first photograph. i'm a big fan of images that look otherwordly and i really think you've captured something like that here. the hint of a ruined castle behind the fog has a beautiful sense of mystery to it and something nostalgic, perhaps mournful, for what is now in the past. the grain really adds to the feeling & i think black and white was the right choice.

from a technical point of view i guess it's not perfect, but artistically speaking this photo has feeling and thought behind it and stirs something in my chest when i look at it, it's not just another pretty shot of a ruin in the fog.

i think the in second & third ones the colour is a little bit lacking, do you ever experiment with curves or colour balance? fog can be difficult as in my experience everything seems to have a blueish cast unless you managed to shoot when the sun was just breaking through, but a little experimentation can really draw colour out from the images. i guess colour is a personal thing too though, some people might prefer the bluish tones.

fog is great to work with though isn't it?? i spent about 3 hours out in it last weekend and love the kind of shots you get with it

lu1980

awesome photos

pullandbang

zaraba

Not doing much for me I'm afraid, they seem to be a little stale.
What were you going for though?

I wasn't really going for anything in particular other than taking the castle in the fog. I've seen dozens of clear pics of the castle - even taken some myself, but I took the opportunity to shoot in the fog. Didn't have far to go, it is on my doorstep.

AR

I especially love #3 but would crop out about 1/3 of the water, love the soft look on it.
Would also crop to the right and a fair bit of the top.

The soft look is the mist which at that point was rising and falling like the proverbial fiddler's elbow. I think I'd agree with you on the cropping (these pics are straight out of camera).

FX M

First one doesn't work in black and white I think. For the second one I'd prefer a tighter crop on the steeple against the sky

Think I'd agree with you too. The colour version is better but I feel there is a good B&W in there somewhere. Maybe the mist doesn't lend itself to making a punchy, contrasty B&W.
I reckon the steeple has way too much foreground, although I was hoping the path would lead you into the shot!

Chorcai

I like them, but they seem a bit flat colour wise. The B&W one looks a bit lost, have you got any later shots of it when the catle was in view a bit more ?

I've lots of them in colour but as I said, I suspect the mist has something to do with the flatness. Shooting in the fog was meant to show the castle shrouded in fog so it wasn't meant to be clearly seen.

*eadaoin

have to say i really like the first photograph. i'm a big fan of images that look otherwordly and i really think you've captured something like that here. the hint of a ruined castle behind the fog has a beautiful sense of mystery to it and something nostalgic, perhaps mournful, for what is now in the past. the grain really adds to the feeling & i think black and white was the right choice.
from a technical point of view i guess it's not perfect, but artistically speaking this photo has feeling and thought behind it and stirs something in my chest when i look at it, it's not just another pretty shot of a ruin in the fog.
i think the in second & third ones the colour is a little bit lacking, do you ever experiment with curves or colour balance? fog can be difficult as in my experience everything seems to have a blueish cast unless you managed to shoot when the sun was just breaking through, but a little experimentation can really draw colour out from the images. i guess colour is a personal thing too though, some people might prefer the bluish tones.

My experience with PP is limited and I'm still only learning. I'll play around with the curves and see if I can't get something more out of them.

lu1980

awesome photos

What can I say to that?

Thanks everyone for your comments and hopefully I've learned something new. I was apprehensive about submitting something for C&C but it was ok in the end.

jaffa20

Love the first photo. Very eerie and works well in b and w imo.

Ruu_Old

I don't have an area of "expertise" but I love the first one, it looks fine as it is to me. Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing.

Chorcai

Is there a filter to use in fog ?

AnCatDubh

right, late to the party on this one - the following without reading anyone else's;

#1 - Something eerie and ominous to this one. Only thing is i'd like a little more of the scene - either zoom out or move back with the feet. The crop on the right hand side is very tight altogether imo. I do think its the right idea though - the angle and the perspective. Maybe try bring up the highlights a little in the curves / levels. A bit more contrast to it will enhance the mood (which to my eye is already good).

#2 - The yellow steeple is a tremendous old wreck of a thing but I was just commenting today on it that it would be better if they moved it I haven't yet found a really nice angle to it. Although that's my problems - your take on it isn't bad at all. The lower angle though does yield a slightly odd perspective to my eye. Is there possibly too much pathway / cropping the lower portion of it might make sense. To my eye its a little wide, a little near at that particular point - probably exaggerated somewhat with the focal length used.

#3 - Actually liking this. Could be a scene from braveheart. Wait a minute, it is a scene from braveheart

The swans (prepare for people to chuk) ) defo add to the composition and are an additional point of interest. Although you took this on digital, I'm getting a film vibe to it. Perhaps its the effect of the foggy morning muting the colours of the scene. Eitherways i'm linking it.

Good stuff.

Borderfox

Number 3 is superb, a bit of work as said above and it will be fantastic. Well done

pullandbang

AnCatDubh wrote: »

#1 - Something eerie and ominous to this one. Only thing is i'd like a little more of the scene - either zoom out or move back with the feet. The crop on the right hand side is very tight altogether imo. I do think its the right idea though - the angle and the perspective. Maybe try bring up the highlights a little in the curves / levels. A bit more contrast to it will enhance the mood (which to my eye is already good).

I'll have to play around with levels etc. a bit more. I could probably have lost a bit more of the wall rather than show more of it, because I was trying to use it as a frame along with the Sheep Gate. Obviously the Castle itself was going to be hidden in the mist but it does look a little too misty!

#2 - The yellow steeple is a tremendous old wreck of a thing but I was just commenting today on it that it would be better if they moved it I haven't yet found a really nice angle to it. Although that's my problems - your take on it isn't bad at all. The lower angle though does yield a slightly odd perspective to my eye. Is there possibly too much pathway / cropping the lower portion of it might make sense. To my eye its a little wide, a little near at that particular point - probably exaggerated somewhat with the focal length used.

The camera was very close to the ground which didn't help with the width of the path - and yes, I could lose a fair lump of tarmac from the foreground.

#3 - Actually liking this. Could be a scene from braveheart. Wait a minute, it is a scene from braveheart
The swans (prepare for people to chuk) ) defo add to the composition and are an additional point of interest. Although you took this on digital, I'm getting a film vibe to it. Perhaps its the effect of the foggy morning muting the colours of the scene. Eitherways i'm linking it.
Good stuff.

It's my first time to shoot in fog (with a camera ) and it certainly seems to change the "feel" of a picture big time. I love the effect it gives although it does seem to flatten things a bit. The one thing I do like about the fog in #3 is that the hotel and the rest of the town is missing from the shot. You just wouldn't know what was behind the castle.

Thanks for the comments folks. Nice to get feedback rather then just popping them into the random thread and running a mile!

BTW - The Pick & Post is a great thread.

Valentia

They all have their good points I think.

I'd pull back a bit in the first. Include a little more sky on the second and leave the path as it is. I like the way it leads the eye into the scene. I can see where you were keeping the reflection of the castle in the third but I think it would look better cropped just below the swans.

I like them though. Lovely velvety feel with the fog in the last one.

swingking

I love all these shots. My favourite being the first one. The contrast makes it real scary and eerie.

Thanks for sharing

democrates

#1 I'd like to see a version panned left and down and closer, so at the expense of the highest part of the wall the nearest ruin would be just left of centre and the big far away ruin towering toward the top right. That said if I saw what I was talking about I might then prefer the first one!

#2 Like the way the path engages you like you're walking up to it. The tall wall is amazing, and I wonder what a closer wide (still portrait) shot would be like, maybe reminiscent of the wtc...

#3 I'd crop off the top fifth and from the bottom a smidge of the water (keeping the reflection and the first bit of near black). I actually like that the colours are subdued, for me it adds to the tension between life and the reminder of death.

Well done!