Stitching the Scenery, UK & Mull
Llywellyn
Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 3,186 Major grins
Wales and Scotland have long been on my list of "travel desires before I die," and I was thrilled to have this opportunity (and excuse) to see what the UK had to offer outside London.
Packed into a car that was large enough to hold Jim, Kathy, me, and all our luggage, we very quickly learned it was nearly too large for the narrow roads, which were particularly terrifying in Wales. (Perhaps only to me, though, as I took the wheel at the outset ... and immediately made a wrong turn onto the tiniest road known to man. On the up side, it took us through the heart of Snowdownia. On the down, we had oncoming campers and trucks and no shoulder, only stone wall or cliff.)
We toured a few places before meandering our way slowly north to meet up with the rest of the gang in Glasgow and head to Mull.
Brecon Beacons was a twisty-turny drive littered with motorbikes zipping by our apparently-too-slow vehicle to careen around the corners.
After touring Wales, we headed east toward Bath, but not before making a stop at the amazing Tintern Abbey. It is enough to inspire poetry--and has.
The English major in me could not resist wanting to see what Wordsworth saw.
As we crossed into England, the sharp cuts of stone walls zigging across the countryside gradually faded into softer hedgerows. The abundant green became suddenly littered with patches of bright yellow that stood out sharply from the hillsides and seemed to glow in the sunlight, even in midday. We later learned these were fields of rapeseed.
Then we were suddenly in Italy!
Well, not really, but it certainly felt like it. The Roman baths and architecture were such a stark contrast to the quaint cottages and farms we had been driving by the days before.
We moved along toward Salisbury to see the famous crooked cathedral.
And made a detour to take in Stonehenge before finally turning northward.
We sped through Manchester to avoid as much of the football craze that was occurring and spent extra time Windermere.
After a week of driving around foreign roads, we were happy to drop the car in Glasgow and allow the fantastic guides for our group, Kevin and John, to tote us around Mull.
One of my main goals for my photography growth this go 'round was pano stitching. I really wanted to come home with something I could print large and hang in my bedroom, so I made my first foray into stitching. All the above images are stitches. I was too excited to see how they would turn out, so I'm digging into those first for processing.
Thanks for looking! :thumb
Packed into a car that was large enough to hold Jim, Kathy, me, and all our luggage, we very quickly learned it was nearly too large for the narrow roads, which were particularly terrifying in Wales. (Perhaps only to me, though, as I took the wheel at the outset ... and immediately made a wrong turn onto the tiniest road known to man. On the up side, it took us through the heart of Snowdownia. On the down, we had oncoming campers and trucks and no shoulder, only stone wall or cliff.)
We toured a few places before meandering our way slowly north to meet up with the rest of the gang in Glasgow and head to Mull.
Brecon Beacons was a twisty-turny drive littered with motorbikes zipping by our apparently-too-slow vehicle to careen around the corners.
After touring Wales, we headed east toward Bath, but not before making a stop at the amazing Tintern Abbey. It is enough to inspire poetry--and has.
The English major in me could not resist wanting to see what Wordsworth saw.As we crossed into England, the sharp cuts of stone walls zigging across the countryside gradually faded into softer hedgerows. The abundant green became suddenly littered with patches of bright yellow that stood out sharply from the hillsides and seemed to glow in the sunlight, even in midday. We later learned these were fields of rapeseed.
Then we were suddenly in Italy!
Well, not really, but it certainly felt like it. The Roman baths and architecture were such a stark contrast to the quaint cottages and farms we had been driving by the days before.
We moved along toward Salisbury to see the famous crooked cathedral.
And made a detour to take in Stonehenge before finally turning northward.
We sped through Manchester to avoid as much of the football craze that was occurring and spent extra time Windermere.
After a week of driving around foreign roads, we were happy to drop the car in Glasgow and allow the fantastic guides for our group, Kevin and John, to tote us around Mull.
One of my main goals for my photography growth this go 'round was pano stitching. I really wanted to come home with something I could print large and hang in my bedroom, so I made my first foray into stitching. All the above images are stitches. I was too excited to see how they would turn out, so I'm digging into those first for processing.
Thanks for looking! :thumb
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Comments
Great series Kerry, you certainly had a great trip and captured it beautifully. I'm so glad you got to see so much of what Britain has to offer. Sounds as though you had some fun with the driving:yikes
Great stitches too, with so many wallhangers how will you choose?
Charlie
w000p great set Kerry, and lovely stitch work!
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Thank you!
Yes, "fun" with the driving.
And thank you for the kind words. Hopefully I can make it back there to capture more, and perhaps swing by Bedfordshire.
Currently, "the print that most matches the color scheme in the room" is my theory. Though maybe I'll just emulate the SmugWalls and plaster away with floats.
Thank you!
Next trip I'll be sure to bring more granola bars!
The panos of Tintern Abbey and Salisbury Cathedral are my favorites!
What great time we had!
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Hope to see you again on another shoot.
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I love visiting the UK there are always intersting things to take pictures of. I like your picture of Stone Henge, did you take it inside the area or outside the fence. I have one very simular but got sunrise behing it .(http://MunchkinPhotos.smugmug.com/photos/262396001_9DwPR-S.jpg) Another intersting place about an hour south is Avbury, great place to shoot stones and sheep.
Great pictures.
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A couple more I worked up today, including a by-now very familiar scene for those following the Mull threads:
And (our first, I think?) sunset on the Isle:
Keep them coming
Photos that don't suck / 365 / Film & Lomography
Now, if I would stop neglecting my "zone of comfort" stuff because I dread adding more to my processing cue... :giggle
But more stitchery in the meantime!
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I think you've got the hang of stitching. I can never quite slow down enough in the location itself to look at the view and decide what would make a good pano but you've done a great job creating nice lines and great compositions in the land and sky.
What PP techniques are you using for these? These have a distinct different flavor than your previous (classic Kerry!) work which was more muted and timeless. In particular these look heavier in the blues and blacks and are very surreal.
In particular I really love the composition and the story that is told in the last boat shot. Excellent!!
Photos that don't suck / 365 / Film & Lomography
My "classic" style is from a set of actions that really work better for my artsy and portraiture stuff. I did try using variations thereof for the landscapes, but they seemed to detract rather than lend themselves to "real life." The B&W Stonhenge shot using one of those actions, though. I still haven't decided whther I like it or not.
The above have a few global tweaks made in Lightroom--like WOW's sky enhancer, contrast, and a bit of vibrance. In PS, I first run a Velvia action and then tone it down depending on each picture. Then I reset my black and white points. I then follow some of Vincent Versace's techniques and some of Marc's tips (though maybe a bit more heavily than he intended), using a series of curves layers to lighten some areas and darken others. I use a series of masks to paint in contrast.
So it's very different from my usual approach. Hopefully it's still effective, though!