Peebles noir, a photo from Scottish Borders, Scotland

Photographer's Note

Another photograph from the productive recent TE meeting in the Scottish Borders. This is the bridge across the River Tweed in Peebles, the town we stayed in for a few days last month. The sun was out for once and the Autumn colours here were wonderful. So being a contrary old cuss, I decided to post a monochrome shot. After all, there are already several beautiful colour images (Ann Jackman, John Cannon) posted from pretty much this spot. For those of you who remember and used b/w film, this is shot with a deep red filter on the camera's monochrome setting. I've still got all my filters from the old Canon T90, and occasionally still make use of them. The only editing work done was to use Nik Dfine 2 to de-noise the sky and Nik Sharpener Pro 3 RAW Presharpener on the rest. This is now part of my standard workflow on RAW files. I know you'll all wish this was in colour...

rigoletto, tyro, timecapturer, SnapRJW, holmertz, trevormoffiet, abmdsudi, annjackman, adores, macjake has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

mesutilgim (0) 2013-11-29 3:32

Hello Will,
Nice b&w capture from Peebles with very good light management and layout.
TFS and have a nice weekend
MESUT ILGIM

rigoletto (34279) 2013-11-29 3:46

hello william. after seeing john's photo from the same tweed banks, this one looks like belonging to another world. the red filter makes a rather dark sky, which definitely adds to the mood. i see hints of some overdose contrast on the cloud and foot of the bridge, but i can ignore them easily for the price of these lovely dark tones.

tyro (30513) 2013-11-29 4:23

Hello Will,

This is a very striking photograph with wonderfully deep tones and contrasts and exquisite details and sharpness. It shows that those who have been using monochrome film for many years have the ability to "see" a picture in black and white while most if us who have used colour film or modern digital cameras almost exclusively lack that hard earned ability. And how refreshing that you still use "black and white" filters rather than depending, as most of us now do, on the wonders of Photoshop to correct or change every feature and nuance of our pictures!

A very strong composition too, the diagonal of the bridge bisecting the image and the tall "open crown" tower of the Old Parish Church standing proudly against an interesting and characterful sky.

Fabulous!

Kind Regards,

John.

timecapturer (49288) 2013-11-29 6:57

Hi Will
well I for one love this in monochrome, it has amazing impact and works superbly. Post processing Will? What is the world coming too. I thought you were a shampoo and no conditioner man! Only joshing! It is a stunning piece of photography and I love it! Superb!

Have a great weekend - B.

SnapRJW (31631) 2013-11-29 7:17

Hello Will - I like B&W and here your red filter has given the shot some attractive strong contrasts and its value is very apparent in the sky. A good tonal range and fine detailing coupled with a strong composition make this one a winner in my book. Warm regards Rosemary

holmertz (101956) 2013-11-29 11:41

Hello Will,
I love these B&W tones and the robust contrasts and I have no wish to see this in colour :-). It's a good composition with a very distinct diagonal and a well placed church. I read with great interest the comment by John (tyro) who said he lacked the ability to see a picture in black and white. I realize I have the same problem. I love a good B&W picture when I see one, but watching my own photos it rarely enters my mind to get rid of the colours.
Kind regards,
Gert

trevormoffiet (3112) 2013-11-30 3:27

Hello Will,
The image certainly seems different to what would be obtained by software conversion of a coloured image to monochrome. The elements of the image seem to stand out more clearly. Great composition and good light.
Regards,
Trevor

abmdsudi (95869) 2013-11-30 8:02

Hi Will
This shot has a great effect in mono that you managed to really brings out the different tones & textures in a very well composed shot. The lighting has been handled well can't have been easy, with fabulous masses of that sky creating alot of atmosphere as strong anchor point leading to the imposing bridge and the church. I love the depth, and tonal contrasts along with superb accentuation of the main focals. You almost turn this to a retro image! Congrats
Best regards

annjackman (23019) 2013-11-30 9:11

Hi will,
Superb! I think that actually quite a lot of TE members like B/W as it can often be more artistic. The quality of this one is first class. Great contrast and fabulous light hitting the church and the underside of the bridge. The sky is also very interesting. The bridge gives the diagonal composition that makes this so much more than a picture of the church.
TFS.
Kind Regards, Ann

dekanski (9267) 2013-11-30 10:51

No specific comments, I just want to say that I like the photo!
Greetings
Saša

Nicou (193806) 2013-11-30 20:11

Hello

merci pour l'étoile c'est trop.
sueprbe pont il est comme mystérieux quel rendu sur la pierre et ce NB la perspective sueprbe iamge et ensemble fantastique.
Très beau dimanche
Nicou

dr38 (373) 2013-12-01 7:27

Hey Will.
Here is very imprresive work here. I like the B/W at the pictures. Very good composition and sharpness. And i would like too say thank you for your visiy to my last picture. She is my daughter. Thank you for your interest. And TFS.
Arzu

rychem (72187) 2013-12-01 10:17

I like this photo and the previous photo, both are excellent, vey nice low POV, great composition
regards Ryszard

fabbs99 (17179) 2013-12-01 18:06

Hello Will,

Great shot of the bridge in monochrome.I like the strong contrast.Very well done.TFS.

Regards
Farhat

mkamionka (73316) 2013-12-02 5:47

Hi Will,
I so regret that I could not come a day sooner. You had a fantastic light on that day what several photos have already indicated. You made a wonderful use of that light here. It is a real photographic masterpiece. Indeed I would prefer the color and even more I hoped to take something like this at the blue hour.
Beautiful picture: the bridge makes a pleasant diagonal, and the perspective from below the bridge allowed that. Very interesting play of the light and shadow. As a less ambitious photographer I could miss this opportunity as the shadow is predominant here, so seeing this now motivates me to keep my eyes open under less postcard like conditions.
Excellent work,
M

adores (46979) 2013-12-16 12:47

Hi Will!
It's a very good one and I like it a lot in b&w! Pov and contrasts are very good and you even had a perfect sky on that day. Interesting that he top of the tower looks like a crown!

macjake (98262) 2014-01-08 11:26

Hi Will
Its easy to see why people have enjoyed viewing this shot.
I know its stupid to say because its so obvious - but the lighting is so important!
the light that strikes the tower is the main focal point for me, and I also like the darker areas of the bridge too.
all around a fine shot. It must be a great place to go back to time and time again under different lighting conditions.
cheers
craig

tusharkmandal (3173) 2014-02-12 9:05

Great to learn u guys have been doing TE meetings. I miss here in Texas. May be I will have to search more.
Nice tones and composition. Love that line going diagonally the frame.