Abandoned farm buildings in snowy landscape

[Fothad Profile Private message]

In the exceptionally snowy year 2010, when roads were impossible for cycling or travel for walking in the hills, I went for a walk from home through the countryside. Not much over 2 km from home I noticed that a farmhouse that I had passed scores of times within a few hundred metres, without seeing anything amiss, was lacking windows and out of curiosity I went to have a look. As this is some of the most fertile wheat-and-potato farmland in Europe, and less than 50 km from one of Europe's fastest growing cities, Edinburgh, with a big demand for country houses for commuters, it was a surprise to find that these fine old buildings had been abandoned. The snow lasted for weeks, very unusual for a place only 50m above sea level and a few km from the North Sea, and I made three visits in different conditions, seeing plenty of evidence of wildlife each time.
I took lots of photos, with a view to making a Proshow slide show, but found the results unsatisfying. I recently turned again to the idea (something to do in a winter as wet and stormy as 2010 was still and snowy) and found that I got far more interesting and better integrated results by making everything black and white (in Lightroom and PS6, and Nik Silver Efex, with modifications most often of preset 24, sometimes preset 6 and only occasionally others. I was pleased with the sound tracks with CC licence that I found, though for photographic society purposes (with licence for that context only) I preferred alternatives with the first movement of Prokofiev's 6th symphony (wonderful
evocation of desolation and loneliness) or late 18th/ early 19th century Scottish laments played by Jordi Savall and Andrew Lawrence-King.
https://vimeo.com/153941426?utm_source= ... aign=29220 Nothing offensive: 7' 16".

[bonalymac Profile Private message]

As an Edinburgh resident I looked forward to viewing this, and enjoyed it greatly

Thanks

Colin

[ginger Profile Private message]

Fascinating photography and music. Enjoyed it.


ginger

[Fothad Profile Private message]

Thanks for these encouraging comments on my first posting. It is a lot sharper in HD (such as benefits Northward's wonderful 'Winter Walk 3'), but an HD upload would not have been possible on Vimeo without a quite hefty subscription that would be a bit disproportionate to my likely usage at this stage.

[pd Profile Private message]

I have to agree and say I loved it. The marriage of photography and music has produced a strong bond. Black and one is very effective.
In my opinion, the show can be reduced to around five minutes as it makes it more comfortable for the viewer.
If I may be bold and suggest a couple of ideas.
I would start with a few colour pictures to set the scene and slowly transition to mono.
I am wandering why you did not use the full screen for the presentation, ie 1920 x 1080 px. It is a pity throwing away valuable space.
In any case, I enjoyed it.
pd

[Fothad Profile Private message]

Thanks for constructive comment. I did try uploading to Vimeo at 1920 x 1080 but it wouldn't let me do it as a 'basic' user. As a novice in the matters of uploads etc I am not sure whether there is any practical way of uploading with the same quality as some of the experienced Proshow posters achieve, without the likes of an enhanced Vimeo account which for only occasional use would be disproportionately costly.

[magray Profile Private message]

Loved the black and white, if I was going to be hyper critical I feel a little more contrast in some of the shoots would have given it even more mood. Had the telephone lines not been there, I was waiting for Dr Zhivago to appear in the scene with a sleigh.
The music was an excellent choice and complimented the photographs and the aura perfectly. Perhaps a litle shorter would have been better, but I can quite see why you were totally adsorbed by the ambience of the project.

Well done for spottng the potetial.

[northward Profile Private messageWebsite]

Phantastic location (love Scotland!) and a very good job on black+white conversion. Slow dissolves, gentle zooms + pans, a visual delight. Good choice of music, liked your thoughts on music alternatives as well.
Liked the text work, font + effects.
Some wire pix do not fade into each other very favorably.
Yes, a bit too long, but heck, I sinned much myself.
Very impressive! Hope to see more!
Greetings
Wolf

[Fothad Profile Private message]

Comments appreciated, including Northward noticing the somewhat awkward movement of electricity poles and wires in dissolves. (Northward's shows are always a treat, with much to learn from.)

[ptingler Profile Private message]

I enjoyed the show especially the way the pictures and the music blended into each other. I thought the black and white pictures were very effective, but I would have like to have seen a hint of what the buildings really looked like with some color on them. This has nothing to do with the effectiveness of the show. It is just what I, as a viewer, would like to have seen. Overall, it was very good.

[bob walden Profile Private message]

Enjoyed it very much! Nice choi9ce of b&w and music.

[sierra whiskey Profile Private message]

Hi

enjoyed the sho, some nice images and excellent choice of music.

regards

Steve

[quetzal Profile Private message]

Hi,

We enjoyed this show in black and white. Thank you for sharing. quetzal