I’m going to take a break from Eva & Jonathan’s wedding photos today, partly because I want to keep things diverse here, and partly because the slideshow of photos from the day is doing the rounds amongst the bride and groom’s friends and family today, after they themselves had a chance to view it last night. Any of them that might click through here may welcome an image they haven’t seen before. In fact, they may recognize the scenery in today’s photo as it was captured from the driveway leading up to the hotel where the wedding took place, but I took it the day after the wedding.
The scene is Lough Eske, just outside Donegal Town, and it was captured from the grounds of Solis Lough Eske Castle – a place I would recommend to anyone looking for a fancy hotel around those parts. We had driven to Donegal town on Saturday afternoon and were returning for a last hour of relaxation at the hotel when I commented on how still the water was as we drove along the drive way. Aoife, knowing me well by now, asked if that comment meant I had to stop the car, and I said yes, I think so. So as she waitied patiently in the car I grabbed the camera from the boot and set off back along the driveway to find a clear vantage point to get a photograph.
I’d like to be a better landscape photographer than I am, and it’s a bit of a catch 22 – I’m not inclined to give it much time because I’m not as good at it as I’d like, but of course without giving it time I’ll not get any better either. I think were I to live somewhere as scenic as Donegal I’d be more inclined to get out and about with my camera. That said, I have no doubt there is a surplus of scenic landscapes waiting to be photographed around Dublin and the surrounding counties, and I probably need to drag myself away from my usual destinations of Dun Laoghaire and Sandycove the next time I try to “go do some landscapes”, and maybe I’ll start getting better results.
Anyway, last Saturday, to my eye, the still water and mountainous backdrop at Lough Eske made for the ideal subject for some landscape photography, and what you see above is a very hastily processed take on that scene. I’ll post another image from a different vantage point in a couple of days time and you can rate my attempts. This one I liked in a vertical orientation, and when I say the processing was hasty I mean it – I used a preset in Aperture (Toy Camera, actually) to get lots of contrast, heavy vignetting, some saturation, and just general punch, and then scaled everything back a little. I also cooled the temperature quite a bit to give it a more dusky feel.
I know myself I can do better with this one, particularly my treatment of the mountains, and I will revisit it for some more individual TLC beyond what a preset offers when I get a chance, but this morning I was rushing out the door and wanted to get it uploaded to post, so it was as good a time as any to try some preset-based processing.
For what it’s worth I like the bottom half of the frame – it’s the top half that I think needs more subtle treatment. Something to add to the to-do list!
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