And One for Bev.... Photo

Photographer's Note

I was honoured and delighted that Bev (Royaldevon) dedicated her last photograph to me, so this one is for Bev.

It so happened that Bev and her husband, Len, had travelled up to Sanquhar in Dumfriesshire for a short holiday and Bev had asked if I could join them one day. So what better way to travel on this glorious day than in my little 80 year old friend, my 1935 Austin Ten saloon?

This is me on my way to Sanquhar (well I was actually behind the camera) just having travelled over the Mennock Pass, one of the steepest passes in Scotland, and having travelled through Wanlockhead, the highest village in Scotland. Curiously, at 1,531 feet (467 m), Wanlockhead in the Lowlands is actually considerably higher than Tomintoul which is renowned as being the highest village in the Scottish Highlands at only 1,132 feet (345 m).

I'm pleased to report that myself and my little friend coped with the 70 mile round trip and several 25% hills without any problems. A most enjoyable outing of which the highlight was to visit Bev and Len and have a nice lunch with them in a friendly pub in Sanquhar!

You can see a larger version of this photograph on "beta" TE here.

After I had uploaded this photograph I was annoyed with myself because the light seemed not quite right and, when I looked at it again in Photoshop, I saw that the Levels were all over the place. I've therefore re-edited the image which you can see in this workshop.

Also, Jean (jemaflor) was kind enough to write a very nice critique and wondered what the image would look like in black and white. So, for Jean, I have uploaded a second (black and white) workshop picture.

Royaldevon, holmertz, snunney, macjake, ikeharel, delpeoples, lousat, ktanska, ourania has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Royaldevon (85862) 2015-10-26 15:19

Ha! Ha! John, I've just popped my computer on and saw your lovely little Austin, peeping back.
Thank you so much for your dedication.
It was a great day and your little car was a star in every way!
I will add a side view of her as a w/s. (I say 'her' though you always say friend, without gender!)

It's a wonderful photograph of your lovely, little Austin.
There is great pride in evidence at having climbed that extremely steep hill, especially as an 80 year old!
The exposure is sharp, showing all the details clearly and the composition is spot on.
The overlapping slopes, in the b/g, give a very good impression of the steepness of the terrain, which looks quite formidable!

My warm regards,
Bev :-)

[workshop] [compare] +

Gerrit (62042) 2015-10-26 18:26

Hello John,
great shot of this magnificent old-timer in this fantastic sunny Scottish landscape.
great work,
thanks and regards,
Gerrit

jemaflor (147018) 2015-10-27 0:26

Hi John,
An interesting mood with this old car in this beautiful landscape, good depth with this sinuous road, In b&w version the result would be also interesting, I suppose.

dkmurphys (79209) 2015-10-27 1:11

Hello,
Superb scene with this old beautiful car on a mountain road in Scotland. Great shot!

Daniel

holmertz (102604) 2015-10-27 2:41

Hello John,
It's wonderful photo, regarding the car and the hills alike. But are pets and family members really allowed on TE? ;-)
Kind regards,
Gert

snunney (130967) 2015-10-27 3:43

Hello John,
A delightful capture of your little friend in all its glory. Perfectly framed to allow us a view of the wonderful Scottish mountain scenery. Ideally exposed with excellent colours and clarity. Lovely to hear it is still going strong at the grand old age of eighty.

CLODO (45116) 2015-10-27 3:47

Hi John

Thank you for introducing your family, with your 80 years old Austin, so neat and still able to go up the Stland steep hills at the beginning of autumn. She feel a little exhausted after the climbing and need a few minutes break to recover
Cheers
CLODO

macjake (98402) 2015-10-27 5:09

Hi John
you know we're not supposed to post photos of Family right John? Because I bet this car IS family to you
haha

you picked a sweet spot to get this photo too, with the long road, the angled hillsides, the lighting and shadows, its a super scene.

How long have you had this car for, and how'd you get to own it? beautiful, I find myself looking at the car more so than the landscape :)
cheers
craig

delpeoples (60342) 2015-10-28 1:56

Ciao caro Giovanni

You know, I don't think there's much wrong with the Original posting. However, looking at the Workshop, the latter photo is certainly more eye-popping, especially the details on your little car. Wonderful light, composition and contrast. The background is so very Scotland and I love how the road starts on the diagonal of the left FG corner and leads the eye over and away to the, thar hills. Beautiful work, thanks for sharing.

Un abbraccio
Lisa

lousat (139170) 2015-10-28 2:14

Hi John,i'm very curious and i use the transaltor to understand your adventure there,because as you know my english is very bad....ehehe...the pic is very good,i like the main post,the quality is enough for me but the other view too of the car is interesting.And the scenery of the Highlands is always attractive,no doubts.have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

Nicou (193806) 2015-10-28 3:03

Hello

;Merveilleuse vue et image de cette ancienne voiture une old timer une Austrin quelle image superbe tout la nostalgie de la belle mécanique dans un décor de rêve.
Bravo et amitié
Nicou

jhm (211736) 2015-10-28 6:22

Hello john,

Bev are very happiness with the picture of your old car and best friend.
I have also photographed old cars, I send you next week the most beautiful.
You placed the nice car beside the road this gives the road and the mountains a lovely place on the picture.
Thank you very much for your interesting note.
We see excellent details and very nice nature picture, but your car is a beauty.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John.

rogerl (1632) 2015-10-28 6:23

John, you chose a wonderful location for this shot (and apparently had one of those rare glorious weather days in Scotland). The placement of the car in the frame, with the road going off into the distance between the hills, is quite striking.

The workshop photo does indeed have more "pop". I'm curious, though - when you say the levels were "all over the place", what exactly do you mean? Do you mean that you didn't use the full range of light in the original post, or something more complicated? Thanks.

Roger

ktanska (44714) 2015-10-28 12:03

Hi John,
Beautiful old Austin and magnificient Scottish hill landscape. Sidelight gives contrasty result. I'm currently working on my model railway building a hilly landscape and certainly watch carefully those colour variations on hillsides.
Kari

jean113 (27819) 2015-10-30 7:56

Hello John, what a star! 1 in 4 hills? That is quite something.
Comparing the two, I do prefer the colour version,there are some lovely subtle colours on the hillsides.
Excellent composition and sharp quality.
Interesting notes, thank you.
Regards Jean.

emka (158030) 2015-10-31 15:29

Hello John, You know how I am always excited seeing your old car. And I am so jealous that Bev and her husband could see it in real. I do not care about the levels, I like this picture as it is. I like to see the series of Poirot (with Suchet) and it seems they ride similar car. Fabulous picture, I like the curvy road in the mountains.
And of course, nice to see you in the Bev Workshop.

WArm regard s MAlgo

casperduppy (1794) 2015-11-02 12:35

Fantastic! John, that is absolutely brilliant. I don't care if the light was here and I don't care if the colours were there - the fact is you keep HSK 968 running - and you don't just keep her running, you use her to mountain climb!!!! MAGNIFICENT! Cool as a cucumber. You can't get better than that. Long may you two run the gauntlet and climb the hills. Wonderful! History today. Casper ;)

ourania (51103) 2015-11-08 6:24

Hello John,
I'm very glad to see your beautiful car and travel companion once again, it's a great idea to include her in your landscape photos every now and then and maybe even make a series of her portraits in lovely and significant sceneries. This portrait has an air of contentment, I like very much the depth and graphism offered by the road as well as the fine, textured slopes filling the whole of the background. The light and the colours confirm what an agreeable day that was. Congratulations and thank you!
All the best, have a great afternoon,
Ourania

Matyas (0) 2015-11-22 1:29

Hello John! Amazing old car. Wonderful scenery, excellent background. Good POV and DOF. Perfect exposure and capture. Nice lightness and colours. Ideal frame. Regards!