Callanish Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

The ancient Callanish Stones are older than Stonehenge and appear to be a calendar system that is based on the position of the moon (rather than the sun like many other formations).

This was shot with a graduated tobaco filter, but the colors were too overpowering with orange and bright green grass, so I desaturated the image to give it a serious feeling again.

The weather at this time was brutal winds and pelting rain. The advantage of this is it kept the tourists away, even though I think there might be someone else sheltering out of view here behind one of the stones.

jrj, stevey, GrahamB, MyriamVillert, joseelias, nickthegreek82, Letr, sykonico, charmante, liakos, ChrisJ, touristdidi, stef24, janwalt, rabani, apazevedo, Suh, Xalkida, tomaszmarcinek, TheG1, gren4, branley, Dizzy, Rychach, maloutim, ruisc_pt, laxpix has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

jhonny_blue (4954) 2004-06-25 5:36

Wonderful picture Dan ! I like the colours and the very good composition.
Congratulations

shemesh (15) 2004-06-25 5:38

Beautiful combination of greens – love the clouds

stevey (411) 2004-06-25 5:59

great picture. It captures a sort of eerie atmosphere, perhaps accentuated by the clouds.

GrahamB (939) 2004-06-25 6:07

Nice composition and the tobaco grad has added a moody feel to the scene.

MyriamVillert (3165) 2004-06-25 7:41

J'aime particulièrement les ambiances "celtiques" ici nous sommes servis :o)... à la fois étrange et mystérieux...

joseelias (367) 2004-06-25 8:12

Very nice POV. The overall atmosphere is very well managed showing the mistical effect these type of constructions create on us. Just miss a bit of sharpness.

CoolDan (2490) 2004-06-25 8:16

Mystérieuse atmosphère grâce au ciel chargé. La composition est très réussie Dan. Nice shot.

Balzac (29) 2004-06-25 8:26

Ambiance mystérieuse qui pourrait être sorti d'un roman de Tolkien. Il ne manque qu'un cavalier noir galopant le long de ce qui semble être un sentier, au centre de l'image... Et, qui sait quelle étrange créature surgira de derrière une de ces énormes pierres... peut-être Gollum...

nickthegreek82 (1574) 2004-06-25 11:21

Very nice shot.Yes it does create a magical feeling.I also like the angry sky.Good job!

Hanssie (9133) 2004-06-25 12:48

Hi Dan, fantastic mystical scene from the Hebrides, nice soft, good colours, great done !

Letr (0) 2004-06-25 14:42

great picture, excellent composition how you have captured the atmosphere ii Kind of treathening..I like it !! Well done

sykonico (769) 2004-06-26 8:50

Another one to my Tolkien Theme!!
Excellent job with the graduated filter (and postprocessing).
I did a workshop my self to eliminate a bit of that greenish tone in the sky, to make it a bit more grey.

Quote for Middle-Earth Journey Theme:

(a rest at the Barrow-Downs)
...Frodo saw that on that side the hills were higher and looked down upon them; and all those hills were crowned with green mounds, and on some were standing stones, pointing upward like jagged teeth out of green gums.(...)
In the midst of it there stood a sngle stone, standing tall under the sun above, and at this hour casting no shadow.

[workshop] [compare]

charmante (1053) 2004-06-27 13:23

I like the frame that U've chosen , also the gray background & the cloudy sky make this scenery look abit unreal & surreal too !& make the feeling as if the time stands still here !

Mrg (823) 2004-06-29 16:02

Great composition Dan!Really like it,and the colours so smooth.Great photo!

liakos (988) 2004-07-03 17:41

Very detailed and with very good atmospheric colors. The desaturation you made was succesful in my opinion. Very nice try.

dsidwell (9745) 2004-07-10 0:47

I am really attracted by these stones generally, and your image brings out the mystery and history of them in a wonderful way. The colors, tones and composition make my mind contemplate them in fun ways.

ChrisJ (70335) 2004-07-12 3:11

Good use of a tobacco filter, & also an intertesting image.

touristdidi (8561) 2004-07-12 8:31 [Comment]

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jrj (34779) 2004-07-18 5:52

Interesting place and a very good use of the filter adds to the fine and original effect. God job Dan

lol (48) 2004-07-26 6:09

Great composition and combination of colors... The filter was well used ! I like the sky's texture...

softflower (0) 2004-07-26 7:17

Jolie photo. On se croirait presque dans un film relatant des legende arthurienne. Derrière lequel se cache Merlin ?

bartek (50) 2004-07-28 0:08

Great picture. A bit too small for my taste. The clouds are a bit too yellowish but I guess it's the British weather. Amazing shot!

janwalt (263) 2004-08-09 0:09

The color adjustment is just right for the mood of this shot -- quite other-world. I like the grad tobacco sky and the weird green of the grass. I have viewed the workshop version and I must say I like the original much better.

rabani (9421) 2004-08-11 4:17

Mystical. Getting the weather like this, just make about everything looked serious but the rocks formation, amidst a greenery produces a sense of medievalness. I'm coming back later for your point.

Bac (378) 2004-08-13 12:49

The clouds are great, this sky give a strange atmosphere

apazevedo (5469) 2004-09-03 16:55 [Comment]

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mikoyen (1178) 2004-09-17 22:32

Very nice picture, nice colors. Very useful the filters in photography, I am using them very often to give to the sky more effect.
Best regards

explomars (4222) 2004-09-20 14:29

Tres belle photo avec ces couleurs dans les verts et ces verticales.Dommage que ta compression ait enlevé un peu trop de netteté.Merci.Phil

Suh (10) 2004-09-29 15:38 [Comment]

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deud (1841) 2004-10-01 1:09

Good idea to use tobaco filter. The result is very good. Composition is good.

Xalkida (11740) 2004-10-09 9:28

Very nice atmosphere! Very good POV and nice colors!

colinbrenchley (6133) 2004-12-19 16:05 [Comment]

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TomteTim (434) 2005-01-21 8:42

Very nice, Dan. Apart from keeping the tourists away, the bad weather had an additional effect: a sky fitting much better to the place than ablue sky. Good compo as well !
Regards,
Bernd

cankita (144) 2005-02-16 12:58

A magic place and a good shot showing that bad weather does not have to have an adverse effect on a photo.

Our-Scotland (6) 2005-02-28 7:07

Interesting colours in this one... makes me wonder what the original looked like - maybe you should post that as a workshop!

I think these stones look as impressive as Stonehenge... I need to see them for real so I can make the comparison!

jbweasle (9294) 2005-06-12 11:41

A beautiful and moody scene, Dan. The heavy sky complements the ancient, weathered rocks well. The small path leading towards the rocks is a good compositional feature.

TeaInChina (23) 2005-07-31 22:27 [Comment]

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ukasz (799) 2005-10-16 14:51

nice photo, very mysterious atmosphere strengthened by dark greyish clouds :)

maurazos (0) 2006-01-20 7:25

Enigmatic picture, like a fiction scene, with those stones that look like petrified human beings. Soft and lovely light. Regards.

nivas37 (662) 2006-08-10 5:11

Hey Dan,
a very soothing atmosphere... especially with that tobaco filter... the light browny sky and the green grass make it so cool.
Rgds / Nivas

pady (4800) 2006-09-28 16:12

Stange and mystical atmosphere. It comes from nowhere and from another time.
Grat shot for this contribution.
Greetings
Pierre-André

branley (3681) 2007-05-17 10:10

Hi Dan,

Saw your pic on the home page. I live not far from the stones and I've never managed to get a shot with as much atmosphere as this one, and you took it in the pelting rain too! Great pp work, a superb capture, well done.

Regards

Stephen

maloutim (3983) 2007-07-05 9:30

Hi Dan!
Glad to find one more beautiful, dramatic cromlech. The photo relates the mysterious atmosphere of the western isles really well. It sends our imagination straight back to the ancient times when they were erected. Your PP worked really well!
I have just started my summer holidays, and the weather is about as good as on your photo; so, I spent all yesterday, roaming TE for as many megaliths as I could find.
As a chauvinistic breton, I naïvely thought megaliths were our speciality; but I was pleased to find them in tens of countries, as far as Turkey, Armenia and even Japan.
I yet have to sort them out, and I shall progressively add them to Adores's group theme.
Then , they'll be in one place for people like me who have a passion for that sort of prehistory.
Then, one never seems to find better photos on internet, than on TE. So I am really grateful to the site.
TFS .
Marie Louise.

ruisc_pt (6207) 2008-06-03 1:00

Hi Dan
Fantastic work and strong historic feeling you transmit here with this image
TFS
R