EYES RE-OPENED

[FUJI]

A keen photographer mate, who I don't see very often since he married, was able to join me for a half day shoot today...the light was incredible between squally showers of rain and hail, hence the darkended skies.

 

The reason for my title is that my next door Kenilworth Castle is all too familiar to me, it is only visitors that re-open my eyes to the photographic possibilities available all around our picturesque ruin.

 

I can walk past the Castle most days and not bother about it at all....I am guessing it it's the same for the lucky members who live on or very near the Coast?

 

Warwickshire, is as far as you can get from the Sea in England, at least 150 miles whichever way, so without a vehicle or not rich enough for B&Bs or Hotels, it is a no, no currently....but if I did visit the coast I would be all agog and shooting like crazy:

 

So with, fresh eyes I saw our Castle as visitors do....I fired off over 100 frames, these are the first two to come through processing.

 

The first, is a straight shot just cropped top and bottom with very little off each end, so still well over 4000 mp longest side....the colours and light here are accurate, the local red sandstone reacts to sunlight just as Ayre's Rock does in Australia....it not only reflects the light but absorbs the colour of the sun........here it was a very beautiful Golden Yellow.

 

Catch the Castle during a real red sunset and a real treat is in store, those sandstone walls  literally glow:

 

The second shot is a CS6 made HDR, a process that I rarely use, but the opportunities were there today for multi aperture frames:

 

WE had a great pub lunch and I had a pint of local brew.......a GREAT day, even though we froze and got wet at times:

 

FUJI

 

 

[kev7d]

The light looks wonderful on the castle walls FUJI.

[FUJI]

WHOA!

 

What on earth happens to colours and saturation during compressing for posting here......sorry about that....here is a more subdued version with the saturation  reduced quite a bit.

 

Hope it works this time ;-)

 

FUJI

[kev7d]

I liked the first one. :)

[PaulT]

What a lovely doorstep you have! Stunning colours (The second looks a little too desaturated on my screen).

[FUJI]

I'm totally befuddled now :-(

I have just opened my post on the iPad, the first pics look perfectly OK ........

Strangely I calibrated my PC monitor, this evening, it had been on for a few hours so it was an ideal time.

It was after this that I processed these Castle shots, both looked absolutely fine afterwards AND when the smaller JPEGS were readied for posting here.

It was only AFTER posting that the saturation levels looked horrible ( only on my PC monitor) .......very puzzling?

FUJI

[NannyFerret]

I like the first one, Fuji.

I have one or two of the castle with the sun on it in the same direction as in your first, and mine looked warm and saturated too, but I liked them as it made the castle stand out like yours.

[Paul]

I think #1 is too saturated, the red channel.

 

Lovely old building.

 

Paul.

[Rick448]

I love number one. It may be a little oversaturated but I like that look.

[VWGolf]

I like number one as well  :-)

 

You're lucky having Kenilworth Castle so close.  Nottingham Castle isn't a castle - the original was burned down and there is an ugly not-very-stately home there now, on top of the castle rock (which was quite popular with suicide jumpers until Broad Marsh shopping centre was built).

 

Some years back, the film Robin Hood Prince of Thieves was shown at our local cinema.  They had used some castle down south in the film and when it appeared, with a caption saying Nottingham Castle, the audience fell about laughing.  Nottingham is not the prettiest county, unfortunately.

[THELONGMAN]

So true Fugi, so often some the best photographic subjects are on our doorstep and we take it for granted, nice set, well worth re visiting,

 

Geoff