Challenging the Sky, a photo from Falkirk, Scotland

Photographer's Note

Good Morning Everyone,

When you visit a well known site, one that has been photographed many times, you have a desire to record what you see but also, add a little of your own artistry.

If you don't view in Beta, please click here . I assure you it looks much clearer and more dramatic large size.

The Kelpies are an amazing 30 metre tall structure. I took lots of photographs of them, some showing the whole and sometimes just expressive sections.

I really liked this view of the Kelpie's head fiercely facing the sky.

The weather was windy and cloudy so I felt that the b&w version reflected the challenge of the conditions, too.

I will add the coloured version of this photograph and a more conventional view of the Kelpies as workshops.

Have a good day, Bev :-)

Fis2, holmertz, jean113, jhm, PiotrF, alvaraalto, paura, mcmtanyel, papagolf21, sacimar, macjake has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Fis2 (171789) 2019-09-30 1:57

Witaj Bev!
Good idea, interesting effect.
Nice B&W work.
I like composition and framing.
Good morning.
Krzysztof

Silvio1953 (222747) 2019-09-30 2:11

Ciao cara Bev, lovely composition with beautiful artwork, fine details, splendid light and excellent clarity, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

holmertz (103520) 2019-09-30 2:19

Hello Bev,
B&W worked well here, and the conversion makes the weather look more dramatic than it actually was, according to the colour version. There's nothing wrong with some exaggeration now and then for a better effect. ;-) The other WS is perfect for explaining the dimensions of these remarkable horses.
Kind regards,
Gert

everlasting (19978) 2019-09-30 4:22

I wasn't viewing in beta but I am now, what a difference it makes. I know what you mean about trying to capture something a little different, and I think you have achieved it here. The clever cropping gives so much detail and the dramatic sky actually helps

Sergiom (117241) 2019-09-30 6:19

Bonjour Bev,

J'aime beaucoup la construction de cette image.Le point de vue est remarquable un petit peu comme si on lui flattait l'encolure. Le noir et blanc est une très bonne idée.

Amicalement

Serge

BennyV (34748) 2019-09-30 7:04

This is a great shot, Bev. Good bl/w conversion, good pov & composition. This one ticks all the boxes. Thumbs up!

Benny

rychem (72187) 2019-09-30 8:23

I like both photos, the previous photo is a classic postcard and todays photo is more creative and interesting, I like this close up capture
regards Ryszard

jean113 (28221) 2019-09-30 8:53

Hello Beverley, I can understand why you made this your main picture, although I do like the colour version.
The other W/S picture really does help us to understand the scale of these fine animals.
It is always interesting to see how other fellow photographers will compose/interpret a scene.
Thanks for sharing, regards Jean.

jhm (211738) 2019-09-30 9:29

Hello Bev,

Three excellent pictures, maybe through the bad weather on your main picture get we a soft contrast.
The black and white image gives a nice experience with this image.
Very well done, TFS.

Lovely evening,
John

Tue (93296) 2019-09-30 9:49

Hello Beverley,
Wow, I can imagine that this huge work of art offers thousands of photo opportunities and this has got to be one of the best. A great shot of the horse's head looking up into the sky. Excellent contrast and a good choice for black and white. Great work!
Lars

PiotrF (55822) 2019-09-30 12:36

Hello Beverley,
Interesting capture of monumental horse-head sculpture.
I like nice composition and good quality.
Thank you for interesting and informative notes.
Fine presentation.
Regards
Piotr

lousat (139906) 2019-09-30 12:53

Hi Bev,another great post dedicated to the big horse and made in different and original ways,2 different solutions of the same pic,and i like your main,and perfect full view in the other WS,well done! Have a nice evening and thanks,Luciano

alvaraalto (42804) 2019-09-30 13:55

Hello Bev,
You have taken up the challenge beautifully. Artistry is needed to further expose the character of an object that is often photographed and your dark silhouette against the grey sky devoid of colour is a successful result.
Excellent presentation
Have a nice day. Groet Rob

paura (25802) 2019-09-30 14:11

Bev,
Os pequenos orifícios permitindo a passagem da luz propiciou um efeito muito incomum e interessante à sua fotografia. O enquadramento foi decisivo para tanto.

Abraço

Paulo

Nicou (193814) 2019-09-30 20:39

Hello

Fantastique NB et vue quelle tête de cheval de cette statue quel détail avec le petites ouvertures qui ressortent dans ce sombre très très bien vu
Bravo et amitié
Nicou

mcmtanyel (69063) 2019-09-30 21:09

Hello Beverly,
You are right, it looks much nicer in the bigger version. It is a well composed, well framed photo, congrats! 👍🏻👍🏻
Regards,
MT

jemaflor (148094) 2019-09-30 23:31

Hi Bev,
Excellent presentation with the good contrast in b&w, well framed with this angle of view, tfs.

papagolf21 (152607) 2019-09-30 23:52

Bonjour, chère Bev,
Deux prises de vue, deux réussites.
J'aime beaucoup celle présentée en image principale.
Une originalité qui fait merveille.
Amitiés.
Philippe

ifege (49257) 2019-10-01 0:31

Hi Bev
Not having been to Falkirk I don't no what the challengers were but this is a very effective monochrome photo - simple but spectacular.
cheers
Ian

abmdsudi (95869) 2019-10-01 2:30

Hi Beverley
Beautiful design of the kelpie on a grey day taken from an excellent angle, well composed and recorded in mono version.
Best regards

emka (158672) 2019-10-01 23:36

Hello Bev, it is a problem - you are very excited to visit a well-known place, finally, you go there, you take a lot of photos, but what to choose then? You succeeded here to how the head of this giant horse in an original way. Excellent composition.

Kind regards MAlgo

mkamionka (75009) 2019-10-02 1:14

Hi Bev,
great reportage from this extraordinary place.
Nice collection of both postcard like presentations which allow us to better imagine the scale and context of the installation and your creative view of the work of art.
Indeed there is something very dramatic in the horse screaming into the dark appearing sky,
Excellent work!!
M

sacimar (38173) 2019-10-04 6:02

Hello Bev,

this is an interesting sculpture and an interesting photographic exercise, I like the visual result you got here with the horse head, it is a dramatic composition, well done,

Best regards,

Sergio

gervaso (28381) 2019-10-09 4:08

Hello, Bev!

This is really an original capture of this giant horse, and I like the black and white here, it makes it somehow more dramatic! Excellent sharpness! Wonderful composition!

macjake (98544) 2019-10-22 14:33

Hi Bev
I have to admit, I prefer the WS #1 the most, with the couple in the lower fg, that one has so much power to it because of the scale factor. Having said that though, honestly Bev, they're all excellent shots, seriously, if we could post more than 1 main per day they would all be main posts.
And I get it 100%, you want to come up with your own artistic impressions as well, so its great to see this one. Its as if the Horse is trying to blow the dark clouds away haha. I've really enjoyed this series, I'm jealous :)
cheers
Craig

jmdias (116307) 2019-10-24 8:52

bev

my Scottish guide didn't want to stop here, he said it was an idiot idea because you can see a copy in edinburgh and he hated the monument. of course I took some bad images from the window and became furious, I only gave him a tip because he stopped in the bridges and we got some nice images there.I have no good memories of tourist guides in UK.
very beautiful this detail of the texture of the monument. I liked a lot your compo.

take care

jorge

ikeharel (114435) 2019-12-08 1:53

What a great close-up to the known horses-statue, Beverley.
Rightly chosen a B&W format for this one, the grey sky aloft has such an effect that otherwise you may loose the whole.
Good afternoon,
Ike