Visit to Dunrobin Castle

**Deemac** · 14-Oct-09, 08:22

Hi folks, its been a while since I last posted an image so here goes. Which one would you choose for a competition entry? Comments and criticism most welcome.

#1.

#2.

#3.

**Deemac** · 14-Oct-09, 08:23

#4.

#5.

**Kenn** · 14-Oct-09, 09:48

No.1 Moody,quite like it.
No 2. Definite no for me.
No 3. Would make a great jigsaw but a bit too fussy.
No 4. There is almost a Dali touch to this one as the castle looks contorted.
No 5. Reminds me of the old black/white photos that have been hand tinted with the intense coloured areas.

Interesting set of shots but none of them have a whow factor for me.

**trinkie** · 14-Oct-09, 10:55

Deemac,

Interesting set of pictures - I can see you had fun taking them. Since you ask for our opinion here goes.

1 Dont like this one - too contrived for me.
2 This is interesting, I like it best of all! The rather swirly effect takes the eye from the glorious yellow of the ferns up through the wall texture to the beautiful clouds. It's forever pointing upwards.

3 Not so good - the line of the water really divides this picture.
4 Too much water sending the picture off balance.
5 The curve of the water here spoils the picture. It doesn't give a good reflection of the castle. Try it without the water.

Good luck with the competition.
Trinkie

**Mystical Potato Head** · 14-Oct-09, 11:09

As i said on your flickr site No1 is superb with that haunted castle vibe to it.
The castle stands out realy well with the light area at the front enhanced by the dark tree and the darker left and top of the castle showing up well against the sky.

No5 is also excellent,love the overall colour and the brighter areas of colour break up the
green/brown of the trees nicely.
As for which one to enter in a comp,either No1 or 2

No2,terrific pov which makes it a very dramatic looking shot, pleasing overall colour tone with no colour being over dominant and stopping your eye from looking upwards to the castle.(who am i to comment on the use of colours

),good detail and the sky is perfect,sometimes i feel you overdo the tonal contrast or what ever it is you do with your skies that makes them way to sharp,imho.

Having scrolled through countless magazines looking at competition entries and winners to get some ideas and inspiration it seems what i respectfully call postcard type shots like No3,4 and 5,whilst being excellent shots doesn't seem to be what judges look for,in fact i sometimes wonder what is inside some of these judges heads at times.
I'll be realy decisive and say,enter No1..........................or maybe No2.

**new driver** · 14-Oct-09, 22:12

No 1 for the composition but I would like to compare the black and white with a colour version. Like the light effect on the bracken. Perhaps crop out the circular feature in the sky on the left.

**dragonfly** · 14-Oct-09, 22:23

love #1 but agree with removing the sun
#2 doesn't do anything for me sorry
#3 I really like but feel the water spouting from the fountain spoils the overall effect
#4 & 5 have really nice colours in them

of them all I would say #1 or 3 if you can remove the water fountain

**only me** · 14-Oct-09, 23:01

hi it has to be number one just brilliant

**emszxr** · 15-Oct-09, 08:18

no 1 or 4 for me. great pictures

**~~Tides~~** · 15-Oct-09, 12:06

Really nice pictures over all.

For compitition IMO, 1 or 2. Agree with whoever said the rest are a bit postcardy.

1 is my favorite, but I think I'd like to see it toned down a bit. Im not sure what effect you have used, but I seem to feel like I've seen very many of the same when browsing flickr, deviantart etc. I don't really know, but maybe just something more subtle and softer, and not overpowering what is a great composition.

Maybe...

**Deemac** · 15-Oct-09, 21:48

Thanks folks for all your comments. No.1 seems to be generally quite popular, though my own favourite is No.5. Just love all the autumn tones and colours. (3 part HDR long exposure with ND8+4 filters stacked). Until I get a tilt and shift lens I'll have to live with some of the perspective distortions though I do like the drama they sometimes imply.

**redeyedtreefrog** · 16-Oct-09, 23:24

1 is my favourite, gives the castle a sinister-ish feel. I like they way the sky looks too.

**newpark** · 17-Oct-09, 12:12

1 is my favourite love the ghostly feel to it great for this time of year. Great work

**dietcokegirl** · 17-Oct-09, 12:36

No 1 is my favourite too. Nice shots!

**kas** · 20-Oct-09, 22:43

My favs are 1 and 2 as well but I was thinking is this because they are a different slant on Dunrobin than we are used to.

All of Caithness knows Dunrobin and we always see it portrayed in books and postcards the same as in photos 3,4,5, so are we all attracted to 1,2 beacuase they are different. I would be interested to see what someone not fimiliar with Dunrobin would think.

Not trying to be awkward just curious, anyway I think they are all fantatsic and be sure to let us know which you choose.

**Deemac** · 20-Oct-09, 23:51

Originally Posted by kas

My favs are 1 and 2 as well but I was thinking is this because they are a different slant on Dunrobin than we are used to.

All of Caithness knows Dunrobin and we always see it portrayed in books and postcards the same as in photos 3,4,5, so are we all attracted to 1,2 beacuase they are different. I would be interested to see what someone not fimiliar with Dunrobin would think.

Not trying to be awkward just curious, anyway I think they are all fantatsic and be sure to let us know which you choose.

Kas, you may be very right. I'll be using No.1 for the competition (though modified), but No.3 also made it as "Photo of the day" on this site!!

Not sure where they got the text from, but it sounds good . . . . .

See: http://www.todaysphoto.org/potd/dunrobin-castle.html