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Uley
#1

A local view over the River Severn taken in westering light yesterday.
Uley is the name of the nearest village: it is a very old word, from the Celtic group of languages...this place has been in continual use for 5000 years and the place is heaving with neolithic and bronze age graves.
Uley means "bend" or "elbow", as the land bends in a dog-leg; there's an Old English word "ell"(a yard) that's derived from this word...more notably, there are in Ireland the "uillean pipes", so called, as they're played with the elbow..quite a remarkable thing to have a place-name essentially unchanged for several thousand years...

Anyway, the shot:
50mm f1.4 at f5, ISO 400...I was wrestling with the light this late in the afternoon and keeping handheld; this gave me 1/64s, which I knew would just do; I didn't fancy opening up the diaphragm(oo-er missis) and losing definition or depth of field.

[Image: 1692uley1.jpg]

All my stuff is here: www.doverow.com
(Just click on the TOP RIGHT buttons to take you to my Image Galleries or Music Rooms!)
My band TRASHVILLE, in which I'm lead guitarist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6mU6qaNx08
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#2

As always, the detail that you manage to wrestle out of these scenes is incredible. You can look at any spot and find something to spark your interest. In particular, the central house and and the path in the foreground grab my interest, although the more I look, the more my eyes are drawn to the details of the plain beyond. Your processing seems very appropriate for the material as the light and dark are nicely in balance and the B&W has sufficient range to allow the viewer to fill in the color details - it isn't missed.

The tone of the photo suggests a certain melancholy or perhaps a sense of loss - although I may just be projecting here. This is a very well done piece. Thanks for taking the effort to post it.
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#3

This is one of my best in all White & Black Smile It seems like a painting... so beautiful. You did great dear Zig,

Thank you,
with my love,
nia

“There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.”

Ansel Adams



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#4

I have to agree with Nia that this really does give the impression of a painting – but in the super-realist school that tries to outdo photography at its own game. The details and contrast on a small level really combines well with the dramatic tones in the sky; there's a lot to look at in the foreground and there's a lot to pull my attention into the distance. I find that every time I open this thread to reply to it I end up just looking into the photo, and end up without enough time to say anything sensible. I often like to take a day to get used to a photo before I comment, but this time it got away from me.

I also see an uncertainty, almost a sense of longing to this photo. I see the path entering from the bottom of the frame and following into the photo, but it neither exits the frame (brilliant, BTW) nor joins with the scene in the middle distance. There's light on the horizon, but I don't know if that's where I'm going; it's dark and wintery here, and I have an uncertain future. But I also associate travel with 'being away' rather than 'getting to', so I may be unusually maudlin when seeing an image with these tones and a path.

matthewpiers.com • @matthewpiers | robertsonphoto.blogspot.com | @thewsreviews • thewsreviews.com
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#5

Spectacular!
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#6

Am quite struck and humbled by your responses. Matthew: preternaturally perceptive and discerning. Goodness me.
The house is the thing...and , er, figuratively where I've been trying to get to for a long time. In fact, I'll shut up, as if I comment further it'll no longer be about the photo.

All my stuff is here: www.doverow.com
(Just click on the TOP RIGHT buttons to take you to my Image Galleries or Music Rooms!)
My band TRASHVILLE, in which I'm lead guitarist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6mU6qaNx08
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