Old Stones

So yesterday I shared a picture from inside the stone circle at Castlerigg looking out towards Helvellyn. It is such a mysterious and magical place.

Today I have chosen another shot from inside the circle, focusing on four of the stones but giving the image different treatments in post processing.

One of the great things about digital photography is the range of tools that are available that mean you can turn a photo from a simple record into a piece of art. I do always try to get the image a close to what I want in camera but then I will use Lightroom or photoshop to make some minor adjustments to get the scene as close to what I saw on the day. 

In the first image I have tried to stay faithful to the scene although I have adjusted the contrast slightly and emphasised the dramatic sky.

For the second image I have converted the original to black and white and used a pre-set in Lightroom to create a more punchy image.

For the final picture I have used masks in photoshop. Originally I used the mask to show the background in colour and leave the stones in black and white but while that was quite effective the stones just looked grey and that could have been taken for their natural colour so I chose to highlight the stones against a monochrome background for what I think is a really striking image.

Prehistoric!

 

Yesterday I was able to take an unexpected but very much needed day off work and I headed up to the lake district for a scenic drive and a few hours of photo therapy.

I stopped off at a few of my favourite spots and I managed to get some really good shots and I am pleased to share one today.

This is Castlerigg, a 4,500 year old stone circle high on the fells above Keswick in the shadow of Blencathra, Skiddaw and as can be seen in this image Helvellyn. The low cloud provides heaps of atmosphere and the sun breaking through lighting up the distant fells lifts what would have been a sombre scene.

I will post a different view from here tomorrow so look out for that...

For Ben and Cat

So yesterday's post was a bit on the serious side and I promised that today I would share something a little more upbeat. When I said that I had no idea what I would choose but as things turned out the perfect opportunity came up right at the start of my photo shoot today.

With the promise of clear skies and knowing that there would be plenty of snow on the lakeland fells I decided to head up to Castlerigg in the hope of capturing a beautiful sunrise. I nearly abandoned this plan on the journey up due to really hard driving rain but I was so keen to get some good pictures I carried on.

I arrived at Castlerigg shortly after sunrise but as you can see from these pictures it was grey and overcast with no sign of the sun so I chose to shoot in Black and White as it better captures the mood of this wonderful site.

When I arrived I was greeted by a young couple Ben and Cat who had travelled up from London to see some snow and they had gone to Castlerigg just as I had to experience the sunrise. They were clearly taken by the magical atmosphere of this 5,000 year old stone circle standing in the shadow of the majestic fells and in spite of the damp and cold, and  the lack of sun they were happy to sit within the stones and absorb the essence and the history that can be felt here especially when you have the place to yourself.

Ben and Cat were so open and friendly and chatting with them was the perfect start to my day. I promised them that I would dedicate my blog post to them and that is what I have done. Thank you both for such a friendly greeting.

I took a number of shots of the stones from different angles and I have picked two for today. With Ben and Cat in the circle I picked angles that would have them out of the frame but as I was finishing up I noticed that from a certain angle this lovely couple appeared to have become part of the circle and if you look at the second image closely you will see that one of the stones is not a stone but is in fact Ben and Cat.

Later in the day the sun did come out and after spending time elsewhere I returned to Castlerigg for a few more shots which I will share another day.