The township of Achnahaird

[Donald]

This, I think (hope), will appeal to some people. Many others will react with 'What does he think he's doing?'

Anyway, I present it as is, for your comment and criticism. Am always keen to hear the reactions of others to things I produce.

[ST1]

I'll come back to this Donald when Im in front of a monitor rather than a phone. I hope that's ok

[Shadowman]

I like the tonality, however it feels compressed, mostly because of the size ratio of land to the overall composition.

[marlunn]

I like it - strong reflections of my memories of the Falklands - it puts the human mark on the land into perspective I feel, from it I can understand the way it creates a mindset in the people who live there of being within the land and of the land and a tight community against the elements. Photographically it balances for me with the central dip in the land leading to the shore, the huge expanse of the sky and brooding clouds works where a plain sky would not have, thats just my view y'ken

[Donald]

...thats just my view y'ken

Ah ken, Mark.

[Daisy Mae]

I like it!

I think it's a brave and bold move aspect wise...and I think that is precisely the very reason why it works.

[bnnrcn]

The image works very well for me but I'm really fed up with the lightbox issue as it is impossible to see the images properly

[Donald]

The image works very well for me but I'm really fed up with the lightbox issue as it is impossible to see the images properly

I know. It's frustrating. But Sean has advised us that it is now his priority. He hopes he knows what the problem is and he hopes to be able to fix it within a week.

[wilgk]

I usually look for foreground interest in a landscape image, so that I feel I am part of the scene, I was there seeing it, as opposed to viewing from afar what the photographer saw.
In this case however, the exact opposite is true, the vastness of space in the foreground, only serves to make me keep looking & wondering what is going on in the houses/village seen in the distance.
It evokes a feel of someone on a journey who sees what they hope as sanctuary.....
& my apology if I'm making no sense at all, but remember I'm from NZ & it's Rugby World Cup season, I'm stressed

[Donald]

& my apology if I'm making no sense at all, but remember I'm from NZ & it's Rugby World Cup season, I'm stressed

Don't worry, Scotland will put you out of your misery is due course ... once we deal with the 'boks this weekend! And, yes, I am an optimist. You've got to be if you support Scottish national sports teams.

[IzzieK]

There is hope yet in Lytebox, I suppose...

Anyway, I like it too...it pretty much represent some of your past images with a lot of room at the top...it can be made stronger by cropping a little bit as I had suggested in the past, but this is your style...and it works for me...

[Donald]

Thank you for all your comments

I think it's a brave and bold move aspect wise...and I think that is precisely the very reason why it works.

I usually look for foreground interest in a landscape image, so that I feel I am part of the scene, I was there seeing it, as opposed to viewing from afar what the photographer saw.
In this case however, the exact opposite is true, the vastness of space in the foreground, only serves to make me keep looking & wondering what is going on in the houses/village seen in the distance.

There is indeed so much that is 'wrong' with this image. Mark, at post#4 above captured everything that I felt and feel. As Ansel Adams said - You either get it or your don't. There's nothing written on the back telling you what you're meant to get.

As I saw this scene developing (sorry) as I drove along, then got out of the car and wandered about looking at angles of view and then saw the composition on the back screen (shooting in LiveView), I just knew it was an image that I liked and which captured what I wanted to say about the place.

[Saorsa]

I like images like this because they show the place of man in the world. Small villages can be overly intimate in day to day life and overpowering to some who live there. This sort of shot shows how small man is in even a small part of the world.

From time to time I enjoy going places where the world is large and I am small.

I this case, I think a bit more texture of some sort in the sky would help this but, leaden grey is often the reality.

[Ndukes]

I like the use of (almost) negative space to set the scale of the subject and the bold underline across the bottom really helps the composition. There's some think harmonic about the gentle curves of the terrain. You have 'painted' a picture of a small isolated peaceful township exposed to and surviving the rigours of nature. Hope that's what you intended. Love it!

[KeithH]

I just love this for all reasons previously stated, it's terrific. By the way, having just returned to the forum after a long absence can someone enlighten me regards the lightbox issue?

[bnnrcn]

Glad to hear this

I know. It's frustrating. But Sean has advised us that it is now his priority. He hopes he knows what the problem is and he hopes to be able to fix it within a week.

[John 2]

.......................I just knew it was an image that I liked and which captured what I wanted to say about the place.

I think that is the point. It may not conform but it does speak of remoteness and the land in which the village is set. So it works at that level.

[Donald]

I just love this for all reasons previously stated, it's terrific. By the way, having just returned to the forum after a long absence can someone enlighten me regards the lightbox issue?

Keith If you click on an image in a post it is meant to open up so that you see the image with a dark background. That is the lightbox/Lytebox. Unfortunately and for some reason we don't quite understand, but Sean (site owner) thinks he knows what it's likely to be.

He's trying to fix this whilst at the same time doing his full-time job.

You have 'painted' a picture of a small isolated peaceful township exposed to and surviving the rigours of nature. Hope that's what you intended.

Thank you, Neville. That's exactly it.

[kdoc856]

I think your inclusion of water, earth, and sky serves beautifully to amplify the isolation, and perhaps the defiance against the elements of this little community. It totally appeals to me.

[Donald]

Thank you. I'm very glad that people saw/felt what I was trying to say with this image. When I see what I think is a picture and I try and work out a best composition so that I can make an image that expresses my emotion at the time of the capture, and see it coming together in the viewfinder or on the screen - That is, for me, one of the most exciting parts of photography.