Enlightened, a photo from Edinburgh, Scotland

Photographer's Note

Taken from Advocate's Close, leading off the Royal Mile - this was the same close from which I took this image of
St Giles Cathedral

The monument you see is the Scott Monument.

Completed in the 1840's, The Scott Monument is 200 ft. 6in high and 55ft. square at the base; the highest gallery is reached by climbing a total of 287 steps. Sir John Steel's statue of Sir Walter Scott is sculpted from Carrara marble and is more than double life-size.

Sir Walter Scott's work shows the influence of the 18th century enlightenment. He believed every human was basically decent regardless of class, religion, politics, or ancestry. Tolerance is a major theme in his historical works. The Waverley Novels express his belief in the need for social progress that does not reject the traditions of the past. He was the first novelist to portray peasant characters sympathetically and realistically, and was equally just to merchants, soldiers, and even kings.

(taken from www.lucidcafe.com).

It seems that his beliefs were well ahead of his time...

I converted to b/w in post-production, cropped and fiddled with brightness/contrast.

The title comes from Scott's beliefs and I think the lamp in the foreground makes the image far more interesting.

amiolito, zou, Silke, Albanian, dougie, peter1892, ayobami, rasmis has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

gravatar (1586) 2006-07-23 1:30

Nice framing

amiolito (247) 2006-07-24 5:51

Hey! Twilight zone indeed. It's a very good place for a photo though isn't it? ;) - Your shot at this scene is very artistic.. I like it alot.. And the comment is great.
You are definitly right about the poem by the way, as great as Yeats is he's no Scotsman ;) - I don't know if Sir Walter Scott wrote any poems? Perhaps a Burns poem would be more appropiate though!
Cheers!

zou (223) 2006-07-24 6:25

Hi james
first thanks for adding info to my pic.
I like the way how you took this monument with the this framing, and I think the lamp added a new touch to your shot :)

�
Zou

Photograph2u (0) 2006-07-24 20:40

Hello James, happy to meet someone from Scotland, home of my cousins and ancestors!

you captured a very nice pov here from the arch. The architecture is magnificent and in keeping with the past centuries with the gaz lamp.

Very well done. Thx for your comments on my Canadian Museum of Civilazition by night.

Take care, Yan :)

Silke (3027) 2006-07-25 8:07

This is an excellent posting: I really appreciate the multiple layers of the composition and the echo of shapes (the lamp and the steeple). the framing works well too and offers us a very pleasing whole.
TFS
Silke

JanP (1705) 2006-07-25 13:17

Hi James.
Welcome on TE. I haven't been here long myself, but it's a nice place to spend some time and quite a worth-while experience!
I have visited Edinburgh a couple of times, and I think your snapshot here give an excellent expression of the face of this city - at least the friendly side:))
Good composition. Thanks, Jan

Albanian (248) 2006-07-25 15:57

Very effective use of framing. This is a very pleasant image. I particularly like how you lined up the lamp with the monument. The image is also sharp throughout. I just wander wheather this image would have been stronger in colour?! Thanks for the history notes. Very useful.

dougie (2523) 2006-07-25 18:05

Hi,
Nicely framed classic subject. Good choice of b/w, colour would have detracted from the image I think. Great note.
Dougie.

peter1892 (1681) 2006-07-25 18:07

the framing is very good here, it's subtle rather than overpowering the monument. Your use of B&W is also good.

cam (9043) 2006-07-26 20:44

Hello James
I will enjoy looking a your gallery as Edinburgh is one of the cities I have enjoyed discovering the most.Maybe it was my Scott origin vibrating inside me at the time,but a very beautifull city in its own right.
I am reliving souvenir here.
Alwways a good idea of using a natural framing like you did.The streetlamp fill nicely the foreground and well balance the tower.
Have you try using the red filter after your conversion to B&W,as it will give more contrast to the sky.
Charles

devimeuxbe (58557) 2006-07-29 6:46

Hi james
You get here a great frame for this church. The perspective is interesting.
This picture is well done
Bertrand

adam_k (600) 2006-08-02 6:33

This framing is quite interesting here... and the cathedral composes well with the lamp in foreground.

The only issue is sky: washed out, clouds are hardly visible here...
I would suggest to think about some filters which could improve it a lot...
As far as I know there is also such a possibility while post-processing in PS but I don't know the details...

yesterday (9833) 2006-08-03 5:01 [Comment]

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ayobami (1353) 2006-08-07 9:38

This is a great image - with a nice added effect in black and white. The framing is good as is the position of the monument in the distance. I also agree the lantern makes things a bit more interesting - also adds some irony with your title!

p.s. thanks for your post!

she (121) 2006-08-30 15:21