Loch Shiel on a damp day

[ST1]

Taken in June this year on the way back from a trip along the "Road to the Isles" from Mallaig. Taken hand held which I think has had an impact on the overall sharpness of the first image.

As always I would welcome your thoughts/critique on these.



And for those who may wonder about the monument in the mid ground, I climb it just for you.

[Donald]

A couple of very good shots, Peter. Indeed, that is about the best shot of the statue itself that I have seen.

For those likely not to know, this is Glenfinnan and the monument commemorates the place at which Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) raised his standard at the start of the Jacobite rising in 1745, aimed at returning his father and the Stuarts to the throne of the UK. It, of course, all ended in disaster on the 16th April 1746 at the battle of Culloden, the last battle fought on British soil, when the Hanoverian army led by the Duke of Cumberland defeated the Jacobites. The bloody aftermath of the battle led to what we would now call ethnic cleansing and the destruction of a whole way of life for the highland Scots.

That is why the flower which in England is called 'Sweet William' after the Duke of Cumberland, is called 'Stinking Billy' in Scotland.

The statue is modelled on a soldier and not on Charles Stuart himself, but it represents him.

I used to play in the fields around about that monument when I was a kid. Swing 90 degrees right from Peter's viewpoint and you'd see the railway viaduct that featured in the Harry Potter films.

[wilgk]

A truly beautiful landscape it is.

[Donald]

A truly beautiful landscape it is.

It is indeed, Kay. As kids we took it for granted. Standing back now and looking with adult eyes that no longer live in the area, it is pretty spectacular.

[Kodiak]

As always I would welcome your thoughts/critique on these.

In the first picture, as in others I've so far seen from your shutter, the
greatest feature is the layered composition. Very efficient!

[IzzieK]

Very beautiful place...and yes looking at the first photo (sorry I was lingering in #1 too long I think..) I was wondering what was that thing in the middle. Good you took a closer shot of it. The wonderment is gone... Two more nice shots from you. Thanks for sharing.

[deetheturk]

Very nice Peter, two fine captures!

[dje]

I really like this shot Peter - just beautiful.

Dave

[Shadowman]

Nicely done, leading lines move the eyes inward and then out of the valley.

[wilgk]

It is indeed, Kay. As kids we took it for granted. Standing back now and looking with adult eyes that no longer live in the area, it is pretty spectacular.

And oh how I wish I found my love of photography whilst living a gumboot throw from spectacular scenery!
We do have some here, but not as dramatic as NZ & there really is a tyranny of distance.

[Donald]

And oh how I wish I found my love of photography whilst living a gumboot throw from spectacular scenery!

If we can do anything useful through our photography or through the words we use with young people, it is surely to infuse in them a passion and drive to love and care for their natural environment and appreciate what it is.

Now that sounds very grand and it's a challenge to think of how you infuse such enthusiasm into a kid living in poverty, on the edge of starvation and/or with very few life chances available to him/her, particularly in a society such as ours where the dominant right-wing political policy is to deliberately widen the gap between rich and poor. We know that release from poverty is the key that opens up all the other doors (education, good health, appreciation of the aesthetics in life., etc) and it's hugely saddening and frustrating to live under a political regime that is hell-bent on locking that door even more tightly.

[bnnrcn]

Very nice images IMO a slight clockwise rotation is needed for #1.

[ST1]

Thanks for all of your comments about these two images, I had overlooked them until yesterday. So thanks to Donald mentioning his kilt in a thread on here as that was the trigger that jolted my memory to go and do something with them.

[ST1]

A couple of very good shots, Peter. Indeed, that is about the best shot of the statue itself that I have seen.

For those likely not to know, this is Glenfinnan and the monument commemorates the place at which Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) raised his standard at the start of the Jacobite rising in 1745, aimed at returning his father and the Stuarts to the throne of the UK. It, of course, all ended in disaster on the 16th April 1746 at the battle of Culloden, the last battle fought on British soil, when the Hanoverian army led by the Duke of Cumberland defeated the Jacobites. The bloody aftermath of the battle led to what we would now call ethnic cleansing and the destruction of a whole way of life for the highland Scots.

That is why the flower which in England is called 'Sweet William' after the Duke of Cumberland, is called 'Stinking Billy' in Scotland.

The statue is modelled on a soldier and not on Charles Stuart himself, but it represents him.

I used to play in the fields around about that monument when I was a kid. Swing 90 degrees right from Peter's viewpoint and you'd see the railway viaduct that featured in the Harry Potter films.

Thank you for adding the commentary Donald which I'm sure helped to add to the responders knowledge and image experience. To continue on that approach this image is looking toward the viaduct that you mentioned taken from the top of the monument, sadly there wasn't a train on the viaduct whilst I was at the top of the monument.

[ST1]

Very nice images IMO a slight clockwise rotation is needed for #1.

Hi Binnur thanks for taking time to look and comment, I went back to the image in LR5 and tried the auto level setting in the Lens correction area but...it refused to shift the image. I suspect that what you're seeing may be caused by the meandering shoreline of the loch.

[bnnrcn]

It might be Peter, the monument looks normal. The shoreline is being a spoilsport

Hi Binnur thanks for taking time to look and comment, I went back to the image in LR5 and tried the auto level setting in the Lens correction area but...it refused to shift the image. I suspect that what you're seeing may be caused by the meandering shoreline of the loch.