Brownsea Castle

We were fortunate to stay in the castle for a few days last week (our first holiday for a year) - it is leased by the John Lewis partnership from the National Trust for staff to use, and the tranquillity of Brownsea island plus the abundance of Deer and Red Squirrels made for a very welcome break.

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wow what a place lucky you

I've not seen it that close up before, and it's much more substantial than it appears from the distant shores around Poole Harbour, where I normally see it from.

Nice imposing low angles and bright sparkling light makes some great photos here!

Here's an editing hint I would like to pass around, not just to you here of course but for all of us who like to carefully control the dynamic range and contrast in our images... I have found it can be beneficial to find a "whites" or "whitepoint" control (as distinct from "highlights") and to independently pull this up a little to allow the very top end of the white range to kind of peak and poke through (eg some bits of the clouds, or hotspots on metalwork or windows). This shouldn't pull up the overall high zones, just a few bits here and there. It can give an added sparkle and freshness to images where the dynamic range has been pulled in a bit for technical reasons (such as with the images here). Anyway, maybe worth a try for us and some discussion.....

I'd be more than happy for you to demonstrate on any of these photos - I don't have enough depth of knowledge to quite grasp what the technique is but I'm happy to learn

Well let's see if you actually like it first, after I've put my money where my month is! Then I'll explain the steps, which will vary of course depending on the software being used.

I enjoyed the invitation to edit your photos so much that I'll admit to using a few more little steps then I originally referred to.... Let's see what the verdict is on these two edits....

First is your original.....





... and my edited example....





... and another of your originals....




... and my edited example...





It would be good to see a few opinions here. It's not a competition, I would fully accept the view that the originals are preferable... I think the edits are subtle, but in my view add a little fizz and pizazz that benefit the images, and perhaps bring them closer to the natural dynamic range that was on display there.

fabulous place to stay...lucky you.

1+5 are my favourites.

3 is a lovely record but has distortion issues.

Looks a splendid place to visit, LennyBloke - do you have images of the interior? 2 & 4 have my preference, 4 being quite a clever catch.

This place is well hidden - even having been on Brownsea Island! Nice place to stay and some lovely images.

Also like what Nigel has done with the two tweaked versions; added a bit of subtle 'punch' to them without going OTT!

Good to see your edits Nigel, thanks for putting the effort in - and yes they do have more punch to them! I prefer your version of the second photo and like both versions of the first equally. I was expecting a lot more vibrancy, but you've kept the colour range pretty much as is

I have been changing my processing "technique" (if you can call it that) lately, dropping the contrast back a little simply because I find many images taken with my more modern lenses (particularly the D-FA series) are a bit too punchy sometimes and aren't as "natural" looking as I'd like. This tends to be the opposite of what I do with older (K, M, A) lenses - with these I often have to boost the contrast a little.

Sorry Serge - no interiors this time, the social distance was done so well that I didn't feel inclined to encroach on the "bubbles" of others.

Peter - what do you mean by "distortion issues"? Do you mean the chosen style of upshooting with the resultant converging verticals or something else? I'm not sure that I applied the lens profile in editing for the D-FA 15-30

Thanks all for the comments

Love that big sky in number 3

I love the lot of them. The third one does look slightly off due to the converging verticals but possibly also a slight tilt (maybe 5-10 degrees clockwise might help?) The scene is superb though.

With regards to the edit, I think Nigel has extracted a bit more vibrancy from the scene at the expense of the foreground interest. The original version has the plant showing up in the foreground and standing out very crisply, with a gentle softness to the background. The edited version makes it appear like a much flatter scene with a bit more fun about it. I wonder if you could somehow extract a bit more colour without losing the 3d pop effect of the original.

Yes simply the converging verticals, most noticeable on the left. I have done the same on many of my pictures with the 15-30.

I had a quick go at correcting them in PS .......

Yep - I see what you mean, that does improve it - this is the version I worked on when seeing your comments...

EDIT - although my verticals still aren't as good as yours

Thanks for all the additional comments too Guys

Quite understandable, under the circumstances.

Works well on the second image, but the cursors have been pushed a bit far on the first, for my taste.

I really like this version. I think a bit of distortion is necessary and makes the building look a little bit more imposing.