History in the Hills, a photo from Dorset, England

Photographer's Note

Corfe Castle, I have been told, is one of the most photographed and painted sites in England.
It was built in a gap (Corfe is the Saxon word for gap)in the Purbeck Hills with a clear view of the sea so that it could defend the rich agricultural lands and forests that surround it. (I have placed a view of the castle from Poole in the workshop so that you can see the way it is sited.) The oldest existing structure on the site dates to the 11th century, although there is evidence of an older fortress below the foundations of even these ruins.
According to legend, it was in that older structure that Edward the Martyr was assassinated in 978 by his stepmother so that her son, Ethelred ‘the Unready,’ could take the throne. In the late 12th century, it became one of King John’s favourite castles (and yes – that is the King John of Robin Hood Legend) and became a comfortable royal residence (as well as a busy prison). By the 13th century it was primarily a royal treasure storehouse and prison.
In the 16th century, Elizabeth I sold it to her Lord Chancellor and it became an opulent private residence. During the Civil War, it was captured by Parliamentarian forces after their second siege and it was destroyed by explosives and then undermined to ensure that it could never again be used by the Royalists.
After that, as usually happens, the ruins became a popular source for local building materials and resulted in the decimation of all but the largest structures.

Tech: Shot in RAW, converted to jpg, resized and sharpened
Thank you for looking, reading all of this and for your critiques and suggestions

sleon, delic, pat0500, chrisnet, pierrefonds, gunbud, zeca, pablominto, kevinos, gildasjan has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

testmaniac (13508) 2007-07-27 7:25

Hi , very good shot! Excellent place!
I like the composition and colors!

TFS

Philip

sleon (9402) 2007-07-27 7:31

hi Silke
Interesting subject with the cafe tables in front of the castle ruins. The light is good and the colours are nice and saturated. I don't know what the white thing on the left is, but it's a bit distracting - but still a lovely photo.
regards, Susanna

thegraduate (87) 2007-07-27 7:48

Hi Silke
Great composition and colours, the white thing on the left is a bird feeder!
TFS
Gil

jplebrun (21208) 2007-07-27 8:18

Bonjour Silke, je me croyais dans un conte de fée lorsque j'ai vu ce cliché, il est de toute beauté, bravo. ;))
Amitiés
Jean-Pierre

delic (6735) 2007-07-27 8:44

Hello Silke,
This is a well-composed photo. I like how the edges are managed, esp. the bottom. Interesting story behind the castle. Can you walk up there? Regards,
Hakan

pat0500 (21561) 2007-07-27 9:02

Hi Silke,
Very beautiful place and good point of view on these vestiges of this castle...
Very nice composition and thank you for the good note too..!
Best regards,
Have a nice weekend
Patrick

Ann75 (0) 2007-07-27 9:41

Hello Silke,

What a wonderful shot. I looks very inviting to have seat on one of those chairs in this amazing landscape. I love how you were able to mix the two with the background of this old castle! Great composition with beautiful lighting, colours and details! Great work, Silke!

Greetings,
Ann

Silvio1953 (220465) 2007-07-27 10:30

Hi Silke, lovely composition with fascinating old ruined castle and splendid flowers, wonderful light and colors, I like it, very well done, brava, ciao Silvio

chrisnet (23062) 2007-07-27 12:02

Hello Silke,
Thanks for your fidelity for your visits in my gallery. Very good composition with these ruins on the hill, good POV, light and framing, well done.
Regards
Christian

pierrefonds (113492) 2007-07-27 12:52

Hi Silke,

A nice image of the Corfe catsle and of the garden, the photo has a good composition, DOF and nice colors. Thanks for sharing.

Pierre

cam (9043) 2007-07-27 18:07

Hi Silke
I like your composition but also feel a little bit annoyed by the tables in the foreground,a clash of era,beautiful old England against the modernism of a restaurant.
I will have prefer you to get closer and have thoses tables and chairs in your back,you will need a wide angle for that,but,a more pleasant view of the ruins,more abandoned,and impressive,as you will be looking up.
Sorry,I do not want to be mean,just honest with my feelings.
Technically(colors,contrast and exposition) are very goo.
Have a good WE and follow doctor's order.
Charles

gunbud (34066) 2007-07-27 18:28

Hi Silke,
Wonderful shot of this magnificent old ruin that is seen contrasting beautifully with the vibrant blue sky. The details to the old castle are very sharp and the bright flowers and deep green make a lovely foreground to this image.
Regards, Tom

jurek1951 (42198) 2007-07-27 23:17

Hi Silke,
Nice view of this castle,good colours, light and clarity.A good, informative note,
Georg

pablominto (53746) 2007-07-27 23:33

Hello Silke,
An ancient ruin makes an interesting contrast to the more modern garden setup!
Good lead-in lines in the composition, attractive colours and details...
Greetings,
Pablo -

wolf38 (30) 2007-07-28 2:03

Hello Silke. An impressing ruin with an interesting history. She is a witness of the time, - and an object of interest. For your exemplary photo you got the correct moment with ideal light. A really convincing photo. Best regards, Wolfgang.

kevinos (7517) 2007-07-28 3:22

Hi Silke
You have got an unusual and interesting PoV on this famous castle. Also you have rendered the greenery and freshness of rural Dorset, very well. I wonder if you got views of it from other PoV's as well. This one looks as though it might have been taken from the garden of a pub, he he. A nice place to shoot from! You have a very good and interesting note too. Regards.

UnTrained (0) 2007-07-28 5:23

Hi Silke,
wonderful depth by this great contrasts. The POV is supporting this. Wonderful textures and informative note.
Lieben Gruss, Ulf

gildasjan (43826) 2007-07-29 6:16

Bonjour Silke
Une bonne lumière et un bon POV pour la prise de vue de ce château et de son parc.
Bon dimanche.
Amicalement
Gildas

Royaldevon (85602) 2007-07-29 12:48

Hello Silke,

You have chosen an excellent pov here! Interesting f/g, a natural lead-in via the path and the ruined castle looks like a mighty skeleton against the sky line! The red flowers add a special touch of colour!

Kind regards,
Bev :-)

zeca (19762) 2007-07-29 19:38

Hi Silke!
Very nice picture and note! The POV is perfect and the colours are very good! TFS this interesting picture!
Regards,
Zeca
;-D later..

giorgimer (35017) 2007-08-01 4:14

Hi Silke,

very interesting place!
The POV is well chosen, composition and colors are very good.

TFS!

Gio

jmcl (14535) 2007-08-06 16:13

hi Silke,

the greens are wonderful .. the sense of dimension you have composed is really wonderful .. what really makes it effective for me is the superimposition of the modern almost carefree tables against the ancient timeless ruins. I might crop off the left edge to get rid of the overexposed clouds.

take care,

John