Forth Bridge #3

[Coinneachmhor]

Donald, as someone who likes a lot of contrast in B&W ( since joining CIC forums I believe it may just be a phase in my digital photography childhood!) I really like the subtlety of your image here. For me it really captures the grandness of the bridge as it was intended by Messrs Baker and Fowler when they designed it. The calmness of the early morning adds to the scale and I think the sharpness in the brickwork on the LHS is fine as it is not a smooth surface and will catch shadows.

Like others, I am really inspired to explore B&W and wonder if you feel Silver Efex Pro is a wise investment alongside photoshop? Looking forward to enjoying the others from the shoot.

[Donald]

Thanks Kenny

Like others, I am really inspired to explore B&W and wonder if you feel Silver Efex Pro is a wise investment alongside photoshop? Looking forward to enjoying the others from the shoot.

As I said to someone else on here not so long ago, if you do want to get serious about B & W photography, then I think it has got to be considered as the tool to go for. Of course, B & Ws can be made and made well without SEP2, but it does open up an awful lot of options and it does things, on the surface, in very simple, straightforward ways. It is a very impressive bit of kit, because, I think, it only has one purpose - to make B & W images. So, everything about it is geared towards that end.

Have a look at some of the NIK 'on demand' video tutorials. I looked at them before buying and still go back to them as they are invaluable sources of hints and tips about how to get the best out of it.

[ucci]

Just a case of 'shear' co-incidence Donald.

[Andrew1]

I find the left side of the photo lacking the interest of the right half, which I quite like. Chopping off the first two support pillars, cropping in on the right just a touch, and re-framing to the same aspect made it more interesting and to my personal liking. Any chance you can get up on that bridge or underneath it for a longer session?

[Donald]

Interesting what you say Andrew. As you may have noticed, my preference is for 1:1 ratio shots. 16:9 ratio is more of a rarity for me nowadays. I am working on one from the same shoot that will, more of less, accord with your idea.

As for getting on to it - probably not yet, but there are plans to build a viewing platform at the top of the furthest away section of the bridge. And as for getting underneath it - Yes. We have friends who live on the far (North) shore just right underneath it. Barbecues in their garden are fun, with trains rattling overhead every few minutes. They, of course, are so used to it that they don't hear them.

[ChrisH]

I know exactly where you took this exceptional image Donald - my wife comes from Edinburgh and as a result I have visited the bridge many times.

It is of course a very fine image and the B & W treatment works well, but for me the image graphically demonstrates the height and scale of this amazing structure. Always when I see it in the flesh I stand and wonder how on earth they managed to construct such a massive undertaking back in the 1880'S

[Donald]

I know exactly where you took this exceptional image Donald - my wife comes from Edinburgh and as a result I have visited the bridge many times.

Thank you Chris.

It is interesting to trawl through the, literally, thousands of images of the bridge that you can find via a simple google search. There are a few taken from this same location, but by far the vast majority are taken from along to the left on the 'other side', so that the effect is to have the bridge going from right-to-left into the distance as opposed to my left-to-right above. That, of course, avoids the road bridge being in the background. But it also seems that people much prefer going for panorama/vista type of shot to emphasise the width.