San Galgano Abbey

[marcocarmassi]

Hi guys,
I just uploaded a San Galgano gallery on my website. It's my personal view of a special place. In this season, the abbey is quite desert and desolated, emerging from the ground in an eerie atmosphere. The silence and loneliness help to think about your inner self and the old age of the buiding reminds you of the hard life of the monks who inhabitated the abbey. Until some years ago, access to the abbey was free, it was open and without control; now, a small fee is requested and it's a good think to preserve the place. San Galgano will be a stage of the workshops I'll run in spring/summer in Tuscany; you can read more about the abbey and the "sword in the stone" in the hermitage above on my workshop website.
Thanks in advance for your critiques.

[RSL]

Beautiful stuff, Marco. Looks as if #1 could stand a little pull in the shadows, though.

[marcocarmassi]

Thanks Russ, after a second thought your remark makes sense to me. I'll follow your advice.

[francois]

Fantastic images. The place seems magical… I'm split between #2 and #3!

[popnfresh]

The second one is quite nice. But I'm not crazy about the lighting in the other two.

[wolfnowl]

Rather partial to the second one myself.

Mike.

[Jeremy Roussak]

The second is my kind of shot.

Jeremy

[Dave (Isle of Skye)]

I think #2 is definitely the best from the set, it has a nice rhythmical flow to it.

Dave

[marcocarmassi]

@francois @popnfresh @wolfnowl @kikashi @Dave: thanks everybody.

About the #2 (apparently the more appreciated), when I entered in that square space called "Sala Capitolare" and I saw its awesome vaulted ceiling, those shadows and the perfect lighting immediately reminded me of a Piranesi etching and my brain switched to b/w and I couldn't think anymore of other way to represent it.

[popnfresh]

About the #2 (apparently the more appreciated), when I entered in that square space called "Sala Capitolare" and I saw its awesome vaulted ceiling, those shadows and the perfect lighting immediately reminded me of a Piranesi etching and my brain switched to b/w and I couldn't think anymore of other way to represent it.

I think it works very well in B&W. But then I'm biased towards B&W anyway.