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Graham Whitehead | all galleries >> Photo a Day >> SEPT-DECEMBER 2004 > Burg Eltz
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30-SEP-2004

Burg Eltz

I am interested in people's opinions on this. The shot was taken in poor conditions, heavy aerial haze and a 'white out' sky. In order to save the shot (and the others from the shoot) I have had to punch up the contrast and colour saturation and 'fill' the sky area with a plain blue sky. When I have a bit more experience in Paint Shop Pro, I will copy across a better sky but I haven't read that part of the manual yet !

I'm not sure how I feel about the result, on the one hand I feel it looks false, on the other I feel that it has a brooding 'other-worldly' feel that suits the fairy-tale castle look.

I have done some of the other shots the same way and they are about to be added to my 'Germany's Moselle Valley' gallery.

All comments, good and bad, are welcome. Thanks.

FujiFilm FinePix S602 Zoom
1/60s f/5.6 at 7.8mm iso160 full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto
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JohnDeGaris 27-May-2012 18:38
Wonderful photo! Not many pictures of that side of the castle.
Ray Webber 29-Dec-2007 14:13
I also like it. As the previous guy said, it looks as if a storm is approaching. But the feeling created is one which I think adds to the enchantment of these magnificent castles. I've only ever been to Schloss Linderhof and Schloss Neuschwanstein. Neuschwanstein was an experience, but I found Burg Eltz in a book and have been reading up on it on the Web. Thanks for your great pics, which I found when I Googled "Burg Eltz".
Guest 01-Aug-2007 20:51
I like it. It looks like a really bad storm is approaching.
Joe
Eldar Kadymov18-Nov-2006 17:05
Great shot except for skies. In PS7 you can ;
1. Overlay original image over any shot of nice skies with clouds
2. While using "magic eraser" tool erase the muddy skies on original image, which will reveal backround image with skies.
3. Using "blur" tool make a blend line on top image smootner and diffused in to the skies.
4. Flatten image
Lou Giroud20-Oct-2004 11:51
The sky looks more natural as one could imagine here. It's raining quiete often there and the sky looks exactly like this.
On the other side it's easy to put a nice blue sky there. You just shoot a nice shot of a blue sky only, then you select all of this picture here, you copy it to the clipboard, then you close it and open the bluesky shot in same picture size and you paste this one over the blue sky. All you have to do now is take the eraser and erase the sky on this one so that the blue sky from the photolayer which is under it comes out. When finished, you smudge the edges of the landscape to make a flowing integration of the sky and landscape. Very fast to do and for sure looks better.
Guest 20-Oct-2004 02:17
I think it turned out great. Because it sits so low in a valley the weathers seems to always be difficult as you can see in my picture of this castle.
Argishti Khachik20-Oct-2004 01:29
I think you did a excellent work Graham. Very well done. It's like postcard. Lovely.
cheers
Si Kirk19-Oct-2004 22:31
This brings back memories as a kid my family would holiday in the moselle valley it was a wonderful time!
laine8219-Oct-2004 22:15
Perhaps false to you because you knew that you had worked on it Graham !! I think it looks fine & am more worried about the thought of sleepwalking ;>)
Graham Whitehead19-Oct-2004 22:02
I certainly did, Herbert. Unfortunately, they have a strict 'no photography' rule inside the castle - so they can sell more postcards and stuff. Very frustrating.
Herb 19-Oct-2004 21:37
Well done, I hope you took a tour of the castle.
Carmen19-Oct-2004 21:16
I think you did a great job; the color of the sky that you chose complements the turret / roof color nicely. It looks like a lowering cloud. Way to make the best of a trying situation! It's beautiful.
Guest 19-Oct-2004 21:12
I tend to shoot when I can rather than when the conditions are ideal so I've had this situation myself several times. I would suggest a lighter fill for the sky to make it less of a focal point. Another technique (if possible) is to frame the sky out of the picture entirely.
As for the color saturation, great job. It gives the castle a ominous look.
Graham Whitehead19-Oct-2004 20:52
Thanks Are, unfortunately the sky was just white with no shades of grey in it. There are a couple of shots with the original sky in my Moselle gallery, which were tricky to fill. I'll try and learn how to add a sky from another shot, and add one with more detail in the future.
Are Karlsen19-Oct-2004 20:44
I find it very beautiful and exciting, except the sky. Perhaps it would have been possible to give some more priority to the sky when shooting, i. e. underexpose until you had some shades. But you certainly considered that. Sometimes the sky is completely washed out.
Guest 19-Oct-2004 20:29
gorgeous !