Weekly #463 - Historical Ruins Competition

Thanks to everyone who entered, a great selection of photos and a difficult judging job. I will try and add comments later but the winner is Barry Forbes' excellent shot of the brothers' dormitory, at Fountain's Abbey I think.

That is one heck of an awesome shot-amazing details, symmetry, composition, mood and a storyline! A bit eerie, palpable silence as befits such a place. A winner in any book imho. Congratulations Bforbes. I like it!

You're correct it is Fountains Abbey. During the weekends of one month in autumn they illuminate the buildings to produce some wonderful photo opportunities, and I have to thank fritzthedog for pointing me to it. Thank you for selecting it as the winner and I look forward to your comments.

Congratulations Barrie, I had this one down as a winner as soon as I saw it.

Lovely composition and very well taken; a worthy winner in spades

Congratulations

Thanks again for all the entries. Here are my comments,

Gwrych Castle by johnriley
I didn't know this place existed though I have driven past the location many times on the coast road. Will stop off next time. A great angle and lovely light brings out the magnificence of what once was and the dereliction inside that is now.

Albisini Ruins by Noelcmn
Love the atmosphereric effect of the washed out monochrome, definitely a historical ruin and well framed in the landscape.

Dominance by drofmit
An interesting history and a really good panoramic landscape.

St Margaret's Old Church by JAK
I love wandering around places like this, nosing about and reading the gravestones. Your photo makes me want to visit.

Hafod and Morfa Copper Works by Daroni
Another photo that got me Googling and learning, in fact most do that. It tells the story of this building from industrial heyday to abandonment, decay and adaptation for other purposes.

Chapel of St Catherine by GlynM
A good bright picture of this interesting ruin. A shame the metal fence can't be temporarily removed for photographers!

Newark Castle by ken2390
A great ruin to visit and this aspect is particularly photogenic. I think the lack of any detail in the sky is distracting though.

Threve Castle by tyronet2000
A wonderful day for a photo of a ruined castle. The heavy sky gives the castle a foreboding character, imagine what it was like for those who laid siege to it in the 15th century. The bright lower part adds a great contrast. Visited this place years ago, and seem to remember a recreated siege engine outside the walls, but I could be confusing two places.

Bath house at the end of Mount Masada Israel by vic cross
This is an informative photo for historical information. The uniform colours of the desert highlight the harshness of the environment and the roman camp far below gives an idea of the inaccessibility of Masada. Until the Romans built a ramp. Masada is an eerie place to visit when you know what happened there.

Whitby Abbey by paulb531
Great shot of this incredibly attractive ruin. Lovely detail and light

The old cathedral in Coventry by davidwozhere
I love silhouettes and this is a good one. My mum whatsapped me to say this should be the winner and I almost agreed. The bits of highlighted gold glass make the photo, amazing they are still in situ.

St Anthony's Chapel by Perspicador
A classic ruin and an interesting angle. A bit of drama in the sky would have been a bonus.

Brothers' Dormitory by bforbes

Well done Barrie (apologies for calling you Barry before). You were the first to enter and I knew it would be a tough ask for someone to beat this image. I should ask permission first but instead of writing my own comments I will lazily copy those of Noelcmn (hope you don't mind Noel) who has summed up my thoughts.
When I first saw it I was reminded of the hundreds of palms I see every day, but it is much more of course. Brilliant photograph.

So the winner is Brothers' Dormitory by bforbes
Second place goes to Threve Castle by tyronet2000
And third is to the Albisini Ruins by Noelcmn because the more I look at it the better it gets. If I wait a bit longer it might win!

It was all very close and I enjoyed judging although not writing the comments so much. Cheers.

You really should listen to your mum ! Joking aside, the use of that pillar, together with the provided lighting is pure genius and how Noel got so much detail out of the bright but flatly lit scene before him is quite amazing. Thanks for an interesting theme that drew out such diversity.

Many thanks Nick for a great competition.

Congratulations to Barrie for the outstanding winning image, the runners up and everyone else for another wonderful set of images.

Glyn

Congratulations to Tyronet2000. Thanks for the Judging exercise, the comments which are appreciated,MarqueeMoon and the 3rd spot. A lovely challenge this, loved looking(again) at all the entries. That is just about the only ruins image I have in my collection. And better send your address so my lawyer can contact you about copyright infringements

Congratulations to Barrie, Stan, and Noel. A good challenge well judged.

Paul