Bolton Abbey Photo

Photographer’s Note

The land at Bolton was granted to the Augustinian Canons in 1154 by Lady Alice de Rumilly. After the dissolution of the monastries in 1539 the nave of the Priory was allowed to continue as a parish church. All the other priory buildings were stripped of their lead roofs, leaving the stone work exposed to the elements. Over time the stone structures weakened and began to fall down. Rather than leaving good stone to go to waste is was pillaged and today can be found in buildings up and down the Wharfe valley. The nave of the Priory (at the far end), is still in use today.

Composition is difficult at this venue. Several parts are bordered by trees and the whole enclosed by fencing. For this picture I had to seek out a gap between trees and climb an earthen bank to poke the lens between fencing panels and wait for brightly dressed visitors to disappear behind tombstones and masonry. My previous post shows a view of part of the grounds.

ben4321, macondo, sacavem, asajernigan, belido, Philippe has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

gigiotta (453) 2007-09-22 1:43

I really enjoy this shot for the good balance of colours, that is not so easy because of the great presence of green and of dark clouds. Perfect vertical ruins and suggestive perspective of graves . Compliments, Donatella

ben4321 (9807) 2007-09-22 1:56

We used to go here quite a lot when I was a kid, so this is an interesting shot for me. Your composition works quite well, although the abbey is a bit too central for my liking - I'd have preferred it further to the right and without the intruding twigs. Maybe that wasn't possible with the problems you mention in your note.
Exposure is excellent, but I think you pushed the saturation of the greens too far - the grass in the foreground especially looks very unnatural.
Interesting work Vic.

Cheers,
Ben

macondo (13271) 2007-09-22 2:50

Hi Vic. I see what Ben means by the saturation, but I think the capture of the lighting and shadows, and the beauty of the scene outweigh that. I like the viewpoint looking up at the abbey, and I think the few branches at the right are a nice touch. You certainly have some magnificent abbey ruins in this part of England.
Regards,
Andrew

sacavem (8519) 2007-09-22 4:04

Hello Vic,
Good composed photo. Very good colour, contrast and definition. Interesting subject and a dramatic use of wide angle that works a treat. Fortunate to have such an attractive sky.
Best Regards, and have a nice weekend,
Filipe

asajernigan (14284) 2007-09-22 5:19

Vic,
Your composition and POV are great showing the ruins from a nice angle. The angle of the shot shows nice detail and depth of the ruins allowing us to see more than just one side. The inclusions of the grave stones in the foreground add many points of interest in the foreground. The lighting and colors are great with nice sharpness and DOF. The area of sun and shadow create nice contrast and help spotlight the main subject of the shot.
TFS,
Asa

KostasKon (0) 2007-09-22 11:17

Very beautiful photo.
The colors are superb, the POV is excellent and the sharpness is perfect.
Congratulations!!!
Kostas.

belido (16813) 2007-09-22 12:33

Hi Vic,

you have a nice sequence of colorful images. Difficult to find one better than the other. I have chose this one. The ruins of the architecture are so beautiful and the green grass makes an effective contrast with warm colors those come from the main subject. I like it very much. Well done!
Regards,
Carlos
PS: thanks for your words on my last post.

fserajian (4557) 2007-09-22 15:06

Hi Vic,

This is nice, I think you have chosen the perfect POV for this monument, it really emphasises its enormity. Excellent shot and TFS

Regards,

Fara

Zelanda (5692) 2007-09-23 1:56

Hola Vic,
Excelente encuadre con esta iglesia en ruinas y el cementerio. Buen control de la luz y estupendo cielo nublado para darle más dramatismo a la imagen.
Buen trabajo.
Saludos cordiales
Ros

fotohadi (2967) 2007-09-23 10:14

Hi Vic,Very good colour,the POV ıs excellent and the shapness is perfect.Well done. Hadi

mickyg (815) 2007-09-23 11:18

Well for all your scrambling about to get this shot you pulled it off spot on , nice colours and sharp from front to back, good perspective you managed to get showing the building to be 3 dimensional .. great sky also

Philippe (11787) 2007-09-23 11:31

Hi, Vic. I really like the atmosphere in your shiot, which is typical of English abbeys. they are always wonderful buildings in beautiful natural surroundings. The foreground is good with the tombstones and the trees and branches left and right of the building. The grey sky brings out the construction very well.

jmcl (14145) 2007-10-11 21:25

hi Vic,

There is an interesting contrast of moods placed on the ruin by the dark sky and the vibrant greens .. I guess my first instinct is to pull back the greens to see if the sky would speak even more that way .. wonderful image .. moody place.

take care,

John