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Author Topic: Old stones in France  (Read 15618 times)

Blue439

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Old stones in France
« on: March 05, 2017, 01:14:52 pm »

“Old stones” are one of my favorite photographic subjects. They often are “landscape-y”, but sometimes not really. They always have a documentary interest, and, I hope, sometimes an artistic one as well. I hope your will enjoy these photos, and of course don't hesitate to critique them, as this is the section for it, and everyone can always benefit from constructive criticism. Thank you very much in advance.

Let me just add that, for me, “old stones” mean “older than 15th century”. Therefore, most of what I will upload will be Mediæval.

The first photo of the series, below, is of the castle of Alleuze in Auvergne (central France). This 12-14th century castle is probably the most romantic ruin of Auvergne.

I upload those photos in 1,000 pixels in their longest dimension, I expect that this will enable you to enjoy them, but let me know if that is too large or too small.
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luxborealis

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Re: Old stones in France
« Reply #1 on: March 05, 2017, 05:55:34 pm »

Great choice of subject, Dominique. There's a lot of character in "old stones".

I like this photograph. The castle ruins are central, which creates a more static image, but the overcast sky adds to the mood.
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RSL

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Re: Old stones in France
« Reply #2 on: March 05, 2017, 07:49:47 pm »

Doesn't look like a comfortable place to live. Interesting stones though.
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francois

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Re: Old stones in France
« Reply #3 on: March 06, 2017, 05:57:42 am »

Yes, keep them coming! I like those old buildings with a lot of character.
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Francois

Blue439

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Re: Old stones in France
« Reply #4 on: March 07, 2017, 05:58:33 am »

Thank you all for your comments. Here is a photo of the Largoët fortress, which lies deep into a forest in Brittany that was once part of the vast Brocéliande forest, of Arthurian fame. Of course, there is a deep black lake, which in days of yore used to feed water into the castle's moat... An ideal setting or Grail and Round Table legends.
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Blue439

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Re: Old stones in France
« Reply #5 on: March 09, 2017, 01:08:55 pm »

And this is the castle of Montbrun. The genuine article as well, but fully restored and modernized inside, with central heating, wifi, jacuzzis and all modern amenities, where Largoët is mostly a ruin (only one tower is partly inhabitable).
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Jeremy Roussak

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Re: Old stones in France
« Reply #6 on: March 09, 2017, 01:55:00 pm »

And this is the castle of Montbrun. The genuine article as well, but fully restored and modernized inside, with central heating, wifi, jacuzzis and all modern amenities, where Largoët is mostly a ruin (only one tower is partly inhabitable).

I very much like that one. It has the best light.

Jeremy
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Blue439

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Re: Old stones in France
« Reply #7 on: March 09, 2017, 03:56:31 pm »

I very much like that one. It has the best light.

Thank you, and I would tend to agree with you, but it's also the "easy" light, the golden light that's immediately appealing to most people... and as a photographer, I will not refuse to use it, obviously, but still I'm fully aware that it's also a bit of an el cheapo charm...
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francois

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Re: Old stones in France
« Reply #8 on: March 10, 2017, 06:45:51 am »

El cheapo charm is not always bad!  ;)
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Francois

Blue439

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Re: Old stones in France
« Reply #9 on: March 11, 2017, 05:33:29 am »

You're right, François, of course. It's just that it's so "easy"... (as in “I don't deserve this: all I have to do is point and click!”).

Below is a photograph of the magnificent ruins of the Couzan fortress in Auvergne (central France), one of my favorite Midiæval castles in France. The light then and there was a lot more challenging...
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David Eckels

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Re: Old stones in France
« Reply #10 on: March 11, 2017, 09:02:58 am »

Great idea for a series, but a little heavy on the green saturation on this last one?

Blue439

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Re: Old stones in France
« Reply #11 on: March 11, 2017, 09:29:06 am »

Great idea for a series, but a little heavy on the green saturation on this last one?

You're quite right, David. I realize this now. I will try to fix it and propose a better version, thank you.

EDIT :
Here it is, I hope it's more realistic. The TIFF looked very good when I opened it in Photoshop, and then I realized that it was during the export to JPEG that the sRGB conversion made the yellows and greens look ugly. To convert my TIFFs to JPEGs, I use the File|Save for web and devices... command, which is very convenient, but maybe there is another, better way?

« Last Edit: March 11, 2017, 10:02:20 am by Dominique_R »
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David Eckels

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Re: Old stones in France
« Reply #12 on: March 12, 2017, 09:30:18 am »

IMHO the new version is much improved and has the bonus of emphasizing the stones better.
As for the color shift upon export, there are many on here that know the technical ins and outs much better than I do; there are also threads on this if you search the forum. I always use the Lightroom export of my PSD files done in ProPhoto color space to create a sRGB JPEG for upload. I have seen no difference in results with PSD or TIFF files.
PS Just a thought: realistic isn't always necessary  :)

RSL

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Re: Old stones in France
« Reply #13 on: March 12, 2017, 10:45:06 am »

Can you imagine the drafts in a place like that? Especially in the winter!
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Blue439

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Re: Old stones in France
« Reply #14 on: March 12, 2017, 10:51:21 am »

IMHO the new version is much improved and has the bonus of emphasizing the stones better.
As for the color shift upon export, there are many on here that know the technical ins and outs much better than I do; there are also threads on this if you search the forum. I always use the Lightroom export of my PSD files done in ProPhoto color space to create a sRGB JPEG for upload. I have seen no difference in results with PSD or TIFF files.
PS Just a thought: realistic isn't always necessary  :)
Thanks David, I will look into those threads. I have never so far printed my photos myself, I outsource that, therefore and although I have a carefully color-calibrated workflow from the metering (in-camera or with handheld Sekonic) to the post-processing (Eizo monitor), anything “downstream” from there is more alien to me, and that includes JPEG conversion. The only way I more or less know what I'm doing downstream from post-processing itself is CMYK-conversion for book printing.
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Blue439

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Re: Old stones in France
« Reply #15 on: March 17, 2017, 07:49:08 pm »

The ruins of Château Rocher, also in the Auvergne region. The castle is now closed to the public for restoration works in order to be made safe for public visits again, but I had the right to access as I was commissioned to shoot photos of the castle for the website and for the dossier that had to be filed in order to obtain public funding for part of the repairs. Heck, I was even given the keys to the place!  8)

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Blue439

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Re: Old stones in France
« Reply #16 on: April 02, 2017, 03:30:07 pm »

This is what's left of the castle of Levroux, in central France :

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Blue439

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Re: Old stones in France
« Reply #17 on: April 09, 2017, 03:48:22 am »

Ruins of the Couzan fortress in Auvergne, with thunderstorm approaching (unfortunately, it veered away...):

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Blue439

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Re: Old stones in France
« Reply #18 on: April 13, 2017, 11:52:13 am »

Another view of Montbrun, from the other side :
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JNB_Rare

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Re: Old stones in France
« Reply #19 on: April 13, 2017, 12:47:36 pm »

Another view of Montbrun, from the other side :

Postcard! Meant in the most complimentary sense.
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