The old Bridge at Invermosriston

[marlunn]

I was up in Donalds country last week, we have offices in Inverness and Nairn so it was a work trip, but a good excuse to take the camera to a fantastic part of the country and sneak off in the evening to get a few landscapes - its not what I normally shoot so, if you are going to try something 'new' at least get some good areas to practice on - This is the old bridge and the other side of the 'new' road bridge at Invermoriston on the A82 as i took a drive around Loch Ness





they were both taken at sundown and have been merged with a couple of images to get the sky and the detail in the river as the river was in shadow with the sun setting behind the hills at around 6:30pm

[pnodrog]

It looks like you handled the lighting conditions well. With the bridge shot it may work well with the sky cropped out completely and the contrast of the stones and rocks increased. Mind you if you have several different exposures you can just tweak it all to add a bit more punch. Increasing the colour temperature in the shadow areas may give it just a bit more warmth. Looking at them makes me want to go and find a jumper to put on....

A great time of day to be in such an attractive area.

[Donald]

Good stuff, Mark.

My country indeed. I have travelled that road between Inverness and Fort William many, many hundreds, if not perhaps thousands, of times. Not so much now that I live in Perthshire.

[dje]

Nice shots Mark, well captured. I particularly like the second with the sunny hill in the background. With the first, I find the leafless trees on the left side a bit distracting. A significant crop off the LHS might work on this image as you could get rid of a lot of the trees and get a bit more emphasis on the bridge. You could also probably give the image a bit more "pop" with a little Local Contrast Enhancement and a lift in Structure on the bridge. It's a good candidate for Nik's Viveza plug-in if you have it.

Dave

[marlunn]

Thanks Paul, they are definitely going to be revisited in PP, I dont normally do very much in that so its play time and a bit of a learning curve, I see what you say about losing the sky but it will need more work to lift the image more then, and yes it was a tad cold !

Cheers Donald, much appreciated. I have to say its a fantastic area but the south side B862 was by far a better drive for photography - so long as you are not in a hurry !

Dave, Thank you, yes the trees being grey on grey rock add some confusing chaotic pattern that distracts, would have loved them to not be there as more of the sunset would have been visible, or been there in summer but! Again a PP revisit will happen on this one to try to improve it , nope not got Nik at all, another toolset to investigate

[marlunn]

This one was taken looking down Loch Ness from just north of Dores on the B862 - again late getting out from work, would really have liked to be here an hr earlier - it really does get in the way

[Rebel]

Wow what a beautiful place and great shots too Mark! That last one with the hills is awesome!

[marlunn]

Thanks Matt, it is fantastic, I regret not getting out more. If I go back again with work (I will be dropping v strong hints to the boss on the need to do so) I will book a couple of days leave on the end of the work time and stay longer so as to get some quality time with the camera. - Have to say the last one looks good as a A3 pano printed on Fotospeed Platinum Etching paper

[Marie Hass]

Your last image does so speak to me. Love the color and the hills and the peacefulness of the scene.

Marie

[bnnrcn]

Hi Mark . #2 and #3 for me

[marlunn]

Thank you Marie and Binnur, appreciated.

[IzzieK]

I love #2 and #3 -- particularly #3 with the colour temperature and the calmness of the place. #1 looks good too but I do not know why I am trying to strain my eyes looking for something I cannot find. It is a sort of 'heavy' shot.

[marlunn]

Thanks Izzie, I know what you mean about #1 - the bridge should be the focus but I also find myself looking for 'something' part of me wants a person on the bridge or an angler down in the river on the rocks to the right - but at the same time I wanted and like it 'clean' as a landscape - argghhhh #2 just feels complete - I cant work it out.

I will say #3 was gobsmacking to just stand there and take in the view - a seriously lovely part of Scotland (and nessie is in the other shot )

[Wavelength]

All are classic; yet I liked the last one more for its peaceful atmosphere