Ross Priory

[Donald]

This is the house that gives its name to the estate, in the grounds of which is the little cottage in which we spend a weekend every year on the south shore of Loch Lomond. Ross Priory is now owned by the University of Strathclyde as an educational and recreational centre. The grounds host lovely walks and a gorgeous little golf course.

This image was deliberately set up to be about the contrast between the solidity of the building and the natural environment in which it sits. I wanted to contrast the rock steady building with the transient nature of the natural world. Hence the movement build in through the long exposure.

There was quite a strong wind and I could see that I'd get cloud movement and a lot of movement from the trees. I got a lot from those trees on the left, but much less than I imagined from the tall pine in the background.

So that's the thinking and here's the image. What do you think?


40D, 24-70mm f/2.8L @ 34mm. ISO100. 59s@f22. Singh Ray Vari ND.

[shreds]

Love the Priory and the contrast, the sky is excellent too, but I fear the effect with the trees has failed slightly and the blurry branch in the foreground looks out of place, especially as the fir tree has remained static.

Beautiful building too!

[Benjy]

I know this place well Donald,you,ve done it proud,next weekend your there ask for Margo, double malt on me,well done.....

[Plumcrak]

Donald, I also think that the blurry branch in the foreground is slightly out of place but this is still a stunning image. The sky and the building contrast wonderfully...and you get a double malt from Bernard. Now that is a win win.

[shreds]

Bernard,

Thats almost like the old challenge / reward at the end of the Pennine Way walk!

Almost worth going and attempting to try and better Donald's wonderful shot if there is a wee dram at stake

[Benjy]

Ian,I can be there in 10 minutes and if you check out any of my threads/posts you will see I can blur branches or any subject for that matter nae bother....I can do it without trying....

[FootLoose]

Donald I think this is a powerful image. Your strategy has worked with the tree on the left and the clouds in the background, but as you note there does not seem to be much movement in the rest of the vegetation. It is a great concept, the rock solid, aged building contrasted against the vicissitudes of nature, but I guess a longer exposure might have helped a bit??

Could you give it another go ... probably better before Bernard plies you with double malts and makes everything look blurry

[Loose Canon]

I think it’s a great image Donald.

Maybe doubling up and popping a fast shutter speed exposure as well as your slow one.

In case I didn’t like the wind in the trees later it looks like it wouldn’t be too difficult to composite.

[Digital]

I like this photograph Donald.

Bruce

[dje]

Very powerful image Donald. Thumbs up from me. Love the composition and treatment you've given it.

Dave

[Donald]

Very glad to see a 'mixed bag' of opinion. Reflects my own initial thoughts about the image. I still don't understand why there is no (or very little) movement blur on the larger trees. The wind must have just been swirling at ground level.

Bernard - You're on. We agreed that we'll try and get a weekend in May next year. Need to check availability with the Uni.

Just for the curious, the bar is through the middle windows on the right hand side and looks out onto this view (this is what was behind me as I took the above photo), which I took a couple of years ago (not from the bar)! By the way, they do stock Highland Park. I know, I had a few!

[Ken Curtis]

Hi Donald. I have a somewhat different opinion than the others. The building looks overly sharpened to me. The contrast of the edges does not look natural to my eyes. I can see white around the spires. On the other hand, The movement in the trees does not detract from the image at all. I like the clouds and the sharpness of the grassy areas. My two cents worth...

[Mike Buckley]

I sure do like your thought process and creativity.

As for whether this photo successfully implements them, my thoughts are closest to Ken's. We differ only in that I think the clouds look too much as if they were caught in the middle of an explosion; I would prefer slower motion being conveyed.

[Donald]

Interesting what you say, Ken & Mike.

I wrote, here, about my discovery of the Detail Extractor in Nik's Colour Efex Pro 4 and my learning how to hold back on it. With this one I maybe let my enthusiasm go too far because I left the effect on the building and did not restrict myself to the sky. But I do also take on board your point about the sky, Mike.