Castlerigg Stone Circle, a photo from Cumbria, England

Photographer's Note

Good Morning Everyone,

I have just recently returned from a most enjoyable TE meeting in The Lake District.

Viviane (Porteplume) and her husband Chris were travelling around the north of England and invited us to meet up at a convenient venue. The North Lakes seemed perfect for myself and my husband Len, John, Mariusz, Mike and Will.

Viviane and Chris were a most amiable and hospitable couple, whom we liked immediately, and treated us to a mouthwatering meal at their caravan. (My husband was certain Viviane had access to a ready meal service, the selection and quality of the food was so good!)

After drinks and lots of good natured banter, and with the light quickly fading, we decided to quickly visit Castlerigg Stone Circle for some evening shots. There was a suggestion of 'sunsets' and 'red skies' but the clouds were thick and there was no such chance!

The stone circle at Castlerigg near Keswick in Cumbria, is one of the 1,300 stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany. It was constructed as a part of a megalithic tradition that lasted from 3,300 to 900 BC, during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Ages.

Various archaeologists have commented positively on the beauty and romance of the Castlerigg ring and its natural environment. In his study of the stone circles of Cumbria, archaeologist John Waterhouse commented that the site was "one of the most visually impressive prehistoric monuments in Britain." -from Wikipedia.

The evening light certainly added mood to the photographs and I decided to present my main post in black and white. I will add a coloured shot, showing a wider aspect of the circle and its location, as a workshop.

Thank you for your interest, I wish you a happy day, Bev :-)

COSTANTINO, pajaran, tyro, snunney, holmertz, ikeharel, jhm, jean113, PiotrF, bukitgolfb301, Porteplume has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

COSTANTINO (117884) 2016-08-08 23:46

Hello Beverley Robinson
wild and dynamic landscape by Nature
original composition
regards
Costantino

tyro (30513) 2016-08-09 0:09

Good morning Bev,

I remember visiting this place in June, 2011 during my first ever TE meeting and the light on that late spring morning was utterly divine. And you chose to come here of an evening - just a pity there was no evidence of any sunset. Sadly, of the little group of us who were here five years ago, Malgo is the only other TE member who remains active on TE.

Your composition here is good and the tones and contrasts are excellent though it's perhaps just a pity that the white sheep seem to stand out more in the picture than do these remarkable standing stones. Your exposure is perfect and the tones and contrasts are delightful. Excellent details and sharpness as well as superb depth of field.

And your workshop photograph "sets the scene" perfectly with the low cloud approaching over the hills.

Excellent!

Have a lovely day - I suspect it will be a lot better than poor Mike's! :(

Kind Regards,

John.

snunney (130967) 2016-08-09 1:34

Hello Bev,
Unusual to see black and white in your TE gallery. But, this was exactly the right choice here; perfectly appropriate to the subject as well as creating the 'right' mood. Very well composed and nicely realised. The white sheep are well included, offering some counterpoints of contrasting tone. Thanks also for the very interesting notes, I have to confess I have never heard of these particular standing stones before.

holmertz (103694) 2016-08-09 2:40

Hello Bev,
It sounds like you had a very good meeting, and you must have had a well chosen place if you could make a quick journey to an area as fascinating as this. If only we knew for sure what those ancient people intended when making such huge effort to create these circles. And what influenced them to build similar circles in countries far apart? The dark clouds fit this mysterious atmosphere very well, and although the colour WS is also a fine photo that special atmosphere is underscored by the B&W treatment.
Kind regards,
Gert

ikeharel (114691) 2016-08-09 3:11

Hi Beverley,
Besides yet another TE meeting attended (which of course I am so envy about), you headed to a magnificent stones site, that both photos worth being main posts. Personally, I prefer the wider view in colors, an amazing ancient-wisdom of people to put up such a magnificent and imposing rocks in a formation.
The sheep seem so indifferent... just beautiful place, rendered marvelously.
My best regards,
Ike

Tue (93530) 2016-08-09 4:56

Hello Beverley,
So nice to hear about another TE-meeting! And what a beautiful first photo with these impressive stones, seen here against a beautiful backgound of beautiful hills. The sheep are a very nice detail as well. Perfect composition!
Lars

Nicou (193814) 2016-08-09 5:10

Hlelo

Fantastique vue et image de ces ancienne pierres quels dolmen quel rendu en NB et les montons en fond dont celui tout en blanc qui ressort et quel rendu sur ce pierres fantastique
Bravo et amiti�
Nicou

Sergiom (117241) 2016-08-09 5:45

Bonjour Beverly

Cela fait assez dr鬺e de voir ce rocher nous faire ce qui ressemble � un doigt d'honneur et ce en noir et blanc. Dr鬺e aussi de voir les moutons dans le cadre qui semblent s'en foutre compl鑤ement.

Amicalement

Serge

mjw364 (1466) 2016-08-09 9:24

Hello Bev

Well I'm home... at last! Long story today - I'll email you to fill you in soon. I have just posted a pic of the same circle only in colour! I was up with the larks to catch the sun to get it. Your note is much more informative than mine though.

I'm surprised you didn't include the young romantic Wordsworth sat reading his book when you took a shot here!

You use the stones as FG and a line and the white sheep add a fine focal point for the eye to rest upon having travelled left to right through the shot. Well composed.

I don't know about sunsets - it was cold and a bit wet! Thank God for Jack Daniels!

Have a good evening.

Mike

Silvio1953 (223027) 2016-08-09 10:40

Ciso cara Bev, lovely B&W composition with fantastic old stones, excellent clarity, fine details and splendid light, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

jean113 (28321) 2016-08-09 11:20

Hello Beverley,an interesting decision to post in b/w.A good point of view, getting down quite low so that the texture of the stones can be appreciated.
The bg hills of the Lake District add to the composition.And the sheep complete the scene.
Thanks for the workshop picture, another lovely shot.
Regards Jean.

lousat (140046) 2016-08-09 11:57

Hi Bev,a tale of a beautiful weekend with TE friends,and a lovely pic too about this signs of the past,i'm not a black and white pics fan but i agree with your choice this time,excellent capture with perfect sharpness on the stones and a lovely scnery in the blurred background.Have a nice evening and thanks,Luciano

carlo62 (81265) 2016-08-09 15:23

Ciao Bev
l'incontro tra membri di TE e in generale tra persone di diverse nazionalit� e con la stessa passione mi piace molto, sarei felice di incontrare ogni membro.
Molto bello e suggestivo il luogo che avete visitato e fotografato. Solo le pecore non sembrano interessare al misticismo che � legato a questi cerchi di pietre.
Saluti
Carlo

PiotrF (56116) 2016-08-09 16:40

Hello Beverley,
Beautiful photo with these impressive stones.
Beautiful details, exactly shown in the photograph.
Great composition, nice B&W picture.
Regards
Piotr

bukitgolfb301 (54014) 2016-08-09 17:48

Hi dear Beverley

So impressive image posting and intersting note.
Te choice of B&W is maybe sucess in order to enhance the deserted mood more and more. So well considerd and balanced proportion.

All the best and have a good day! Takero

emka (158932) 2016-08-09 23:06

Hi Bev, We were also in Casgtlerigg in our meeting five years ago! fantastic place. Nice picture in black and white but I prefer o see it with a lot of green. The TE-meeting is the unique feature of this site. I read about them with great pleasure and of course I love meet people when I have such an opportunity.

Warm regards MAlgo

Cricri (176) 2016-08-10 23:49

Hi Beverley
Nettet� excellente sur les roches certains aux formes incroyables, le graphisme des montagnes a horizon l間鑢ement flout�, le ciel gris , bon choix du N/B avec les vaches blanches , belle r閍lisation
belle journ閑
cricri

willperrett (14215) 2016-08-12 13:04

Hello Bev

An unusual monochrome from you, but remembering how late in the day it was, and how overcast and gloomy, the black and white was the sensible way to go. Nicely-balanced composition, with the sheep doing their bit. What a nice weekend!

Kind regards

Will

Porteplume (4036) 2016-08-30 23:07

Hello Bev!

I am very sorry because I am quite late critiquing the many photos taken during our fantastic meeting!
I have just read the critiques here under your photo and I hope your knowledge of French was enough to understand Sergiom's one:
Cela fait assez dr鬺e de voir ce rocher nous faire ce qui ressemble � un doigt d'honneur et ce en noir et blanc. Dr鬺e aussi de voir les moutons dans le cadre qui semblent s'en foutre compl鑤ement. and now I see what he meant... Indeed the third stone in the foreground looks like ... ;) Hi hi...

But now a serious note... I like the gray tones very much and remembering the weather that evening I can tell you succeeded in translating that atmospheric mood quite well! It adds to the mysterious feeling you can get thinking of the history behind those circles of stones. Very well achieved!

Friendly greetings,
Viviane