Lindisfarne Castle, a photo from Northumberland, England

Photographer's Note

This is a shot of Lindisfarne Castle. I took this from the rocky beach stood amidst many of these old, weather worn, wooden posts. Theyare the remnants of what was an old pier. I included them just to give some sense of depth and scale.

The castle was built in 1550 around the time that Lindisfarne Priory went out of use, and stones from the priory were used as the building material. It is more of a fort than a castle givn it's small size, which in part is determined by the fact that it sits on the highest point of the island, a whinstone hill called Beblowe.

Lindisfarne's position in the North Sea made it vulnerable to attack from Scots and Vikings and by Tudor times it was clear there was a need for a stronger fortification. This resulted in the creation of the fort on Beblowe Crag between 1570 and 1572 which forms the basis of the present castle.

In the eighteenth century the castle was occupied briefly by Jacobite rebels, but was quickly recaptured by soldiers from Berwick. In later years the castle was used as a coastguard look-out and became something of a tourist attraction.

In 1901, it became the property of Edward Hudson, a publishing magnate and the owner of Country Life magazine. He had it refurbished in the Arts and Crafts style by Sir Edwin Lutyens. It was Lutyens who used upturned disused boats as sheds at the castle. These sheds can be seen in my previous posts. Spanish architect Enric Miralles used Lutyens' upturned herring boats as an inspiration for his design of the Scottish Parliament Building in Edinburgh.

Enjoy.

tyro, lousat, GyurMaster, ikeharel, lucasgalodoido has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Royaldevon (85932) 2016-09-23 3:27

Hello Mike,

Wow! I love this!
I love how the wooden posts stand broken but defiant on the rocky shore and lead the eye quickly to the castle.
This is one of those castles that is a photographer's dream! It looks magnificent from any direction, in its imposing position! The floating clouds add a mystical impression!

One of your best b&w shots!

Have a good day,
Bev :-)

holmertz (102800) 2016-09-23 3:57

Hello Mike,
In this B&W photo the "desert" makes this look like it could be somewhere in North Africa, or maybe India. It's a magnificent castle and the strong contrasts of the rough foreground make it look totally impenetrable. And yet Roman Polanski and his crew got in here for the shooting of Cul-de-sac in 1966 ;-). You used the wooden poles very well. I'm not sure what they could symbolize but their presence, and their texture, is quite expressive. The cloud is very nice too. This would probably not have had the same effect in colour.
Best regards,
Gert

abmdsudi (95869) 2016-09-23 5:37

Hi Mike
Looks a steep climb to the top but it's quite imposing from down there Mike! Tons of detail to absorb that looks barren and formidable buy lovely that you strike a nice balance composition by using the foreground rotting wooden poles as natural lead in lines literally anchoring the shot. This layout seems to enhance the height and 'presence' of the Castle in the landscape and combined by the wondereful clouds to make this a fascinating image. Great capture, Congrats
Best regards

Sergiom (117241) 2016-09-23 6:09

Bonjour Michael,

Un très beau cadrage vertical en noir et blanc. Le point de vue très bas ainsi que la contre plongée donnent une belle ampleur à l'ensemble. Très beau château au sommet de la colline.

Amicalement

Serge

tyro (30513) 2016-09-23 8:17

Hi Mike,

As always, a fascinating and informative note and a beautiful photograph to accompany it.

I have always suspected your groynes might be quite attractive and you have used these decaying old ones to provide a wonderful close foreground feature to add depth and interest to this distant view from a very well chosen viewpoint.

The castle stands out beautifully against a lovely sky with fluffy clouds scudding high above it. Your composition is delightful, the tones, contrasts and textures are wonderful, your exposure perfect and the details and sharpness are exquisite.

Beautiful!

Kind Regards,

John.

Energysavingelk (7834) 2016-09-23 9:02

Hello Michael,

the choice of B&W seems to convey the scene to northern Africa or some other desert, making it a target for Rommel's desert foxes :-)
Great depth of field, would have been much less without the worn posts.

Regards from Rhineland
Sven

lousat (139342) 2016-09-23 13:45

Hi Michael,another fantastic capture,i recognize your unmistakable style into this composition. A pic made in your "day after" style,very bright and in an excellent black and white,great way to show us this castle with a long and interesting history as i can read,well done! Have a nice weekend and thanks,Luciano

GyurMaster (24840) 2016-09-23 14:20

Dear Michael,

This photo earned its place among my favourites. The composition is very witty, I like how the flag pole scratches the clouds. The excellent BW conversion puts the cherry on the cake.

Best Wishes,
gy.

carlo62 (81265) 2016-09-23 15:42

Ciao Michael
magnifica foto, ottima scelta della conversione in b&w, ci offre un'atmosfera magica.
Congratulazioni per questo risultato fantastico.
Buon we
Carlo

emka (158204) 2016-09-23 22:14

Hello Mike,

This Lindisfarne has many attraction. After the lovely huts made from the old boats now the beautiful old castle on the high hill.
Superb composition in black and white. I like this old poles and how the cloud sits over the castle.

WArm regrads Malgo

jemaflor (147248) 2016-09-23 23:41

Salut Michael,
Une intéressante présentation avec ce n&b et les bons contrastes, jolie perspective accentuée par ce premier paln et ce château sur les hauteurs, c'est bien fait.

ikeharel (113453) 2016-09-25 6:10

Hello Michael,
Scaled well with the old wooden pier poles, and good view uphill's to the castle.
I can understand the variable light and the decision made to post in B&W format. Even with B&W, the rocks are shining, amazing.
Have a nice new week,
Ike

willperrett (14215) 2016-09-25 6:57

Hello Mike

For me this is pretty much the definitive monochrome shot of this iconic structure. Cloudy sky has real presence, and I agree with you about the wooden piers in the foreground. I knew about Lutyen's work here, but didn't realise his boat-sheds had been the inspiration for the Scottish Parliament building. Why do I find that amusing?

Regards

Will

lucasgalodoido (27698) 2016-10-04 16:01

Olá Michael,
outra bonita composição aqui em P&B, que aumenta bastante a dramaticidade da captura. Parece até um deserto! Gosto do contraste desse tipo de imagem também.
Parabéns e Abraço,
Lucas