Strathy bay, Sutherland.

[Daisy Mae]

Strathy Bay , Sutherland, Scottish Highlands. by Sharon Reid, on Flickr

This was my husband's 'garden' until he was 8 years old.

Lucky boy.

[Donald]

The composition is wonderful, but the whole thing is made by what happened in the digital darkroom. Proves the point, for me, that clicking the shutter is only the end of the first part of making an image.

[Shadowman]

Nice composition and conversion.

[Daisy Mae]

The dunes provide lovely contrast...but i tried to ull back on that

[Brownbear]

Hi Sharon,

Exquisite... Absolutely magical!

I especially adore the composition (ever square centimeter) but I also love the look/feel/post processing. May I ask if this is a monochrome or ? Also, why a white vignette? (which I like especially with that sky but curious to know simply for learning purposes)

Thank you.

[Digital]

Sharon, very haunting.



Bruce

[IzzieK]

Moody shot, Sharon...nice processing too...very artistic as usual...

[rpcrowe]

#1 to donald's comments!

[Rita]

Stunning. Gives me a sense of real solitude.

[Manfred M]

Sharon - while I think the shot itself is quite compelling, what doesn't work particularly well for me is the light border you've used in this piece. My eyes keep wandering there, as opposed to the moody scene you've created (unless of course, that is what you are trying to do).

[Daisy Mae]

Sharon - while I think the shot itself is quite compelling, what doesn't work particularly well for me is the light border you've used in this piece. My eyes keep wandering there, as opposed to the moody scene you've created (unless of course, that is what you are trying to do).

Okay....why the white vignette? (for Manfred and Christina)

In Caithness & Sutherland the spaces are so incredibly wide and the skies strong and low...both seem to go on and on forever and as this is just one corner of a very beautiful and extensive bay ( without a soul in sight!) I wanted to convey that by leaving all the edges open and the white vignette felt like the best way to do that. It's so vast!

Whether it works ...whether it serves this purpose...that's down to the viewer to decide.

Thank you everyone for your comments

[bnnrcn]

Loved the tones and the composition Sharon, great image

[deetheturk]

Very nice Sharon!

[Brownbear]

Hi Sharon,

Thank you for sharing why you chose a white vignette, helpful to know and I intend to try it one day. I love the look with the the sky/clouds.

I would like to ask if you could also expand a little on the tones of your image. It looks black and white with a yellow filter, sepia-like but not quite, or possibly a slivery grey monochrome (a b&w neophytes best guesses) I'm asking because I love the look of your image (dreamy) and I'm a colour person, and I hope to gain a better understanding so I might try something like this one day... Or perhaps it is just the tones/light/colour naturally present in the scene.

My apologies for the confusing question... The question is a huge compliment to your artistic PP that I'm admire.

Thank you.

Okay....why the white vignette? (for Manfred and Christina)

In Caithness & Sutherland the spaces are so incredibly wide and the skies strong and low...both seem to go on and on forever and as this is just one corner of a very beautiful and extensive bay ( without a soul in sight!) I wanted to convey that by leaving all the edges open and the white vignette felt like the best way to do that. It's so vast!

Whether it works ...whether it serves this purpose...that's down to the viewer to decide.

Thank you everyone for your comments

[Daisy Mae]

Hi Christina. I really appreciate your interest so please ask away....anything at anytime!

I used Silver Effex Pro2 on this image and I chose the lightest of the coffee tones and used it sparingly. It's a tone I prefer to sepia because of its subtlety. So your guess work is not far out!

[Brownbear]

Hi Sharon,

Thank you for sharing. Truly appreciated.

[ied]

Absolutely stunning. It has that desolate feel to it.

Irene

[Daisy Mae]

Thank you Irene.

[Donald]

The discussion about the light vignette is interesting. I think I've mentioned on here before that one of the contributors to B & W Photography magazine, to which I subscribe, was vehement in his condemnation of light vignettes. Thought they were the work of the devil.

Not at all sure I agree with that wholeheartedly. What the light vignette does in this image, for me, is make me feel I'm looking through a window to the past. And that was my reaction even before I read Sharon's accompanying narrative about her husband's early childhood.

So, for this image, I think it works.

[Daisy Mae]

I am not very fond of a light vignette...and didn't see this as a window to the past and won't pretend I was that clever....

I just wanted to leave it..'open' ..because ..it is!

The land and the sky stretch for miles and miles...spectacular and gorgeous...

I didn't want to confine them .