Above the Rhine II, a photo from Rheinland-Pfalz, West

Photographer's Note

Another view of the Rhine from above, this time we see the town of Kaub with its two castles. One of them is called Pfalz, or Burg Pfalzgrafenstein, and is situated on a rock in the middle of the Rhine. According to legend, the Palatine countesses awaited their confinement in the Pfalz, but in reality the castle served as a toll-gate for merchandise on the Rhine. The other castle, Gutenfels, sits on a hill above the town.

Kaub, first mentioned in the year 983, originally belonged to the lords of Falkenstein, passed in 1277 to the Rhenish Palatinate, and attained civic rights in 1324. Here Blücher crossed the Rhine with the Prussian and Russian armies, on New Years night 1813-1814, in pursuit of the French.

luisafonso, Uhu, Yffic, Clairedelune, tigra ha puntuado esta nota como útil.

Critiques | Translate

rhizomes (15343) 2007-01-31 4:59

Hi Alexander,
Nice picture with strange impression of old postcard...
I like this effect and the b/w !
Christophe

luisafonso (862) 2007-01-31 5:24

Hi Alexander, glad to see you around! :) Man, you really are changing your style, or should I say "going back" in your style? :) This really look a daguerreotype, not a photograph taken with a XXI century camera. Like your compo very much. The way the white river spreads the entire scene is amazing. And that curve filling the otherwise death right section is a very crucial element. Really well composed. More please...

ktanska (44446) 2007-02-01 2:50

Hi Alexander,
Your PP is quite credible. It indeed looks like taken on old, grainy B&W film. And your viewpoint doesn't reveal anything too modern. Road on the right is narrow. Ship and houses look as they might have been already 50 years ago. Excellent atmosphere.
Kari

jinju (14265) 2007-02-01 23:51

Thats some serious PP work you did. I was also wondering where you got this from, your great greandfather's drawer?:) Seriously though, I really like it. im a big fan of old photography, the kind from the turn of the century, it had a magic to it that is hard to describe. Its a good example of digital precision lacking in comparison with the old equipment. Unless its digital precision turned on its head in photoshop:)

ben4321 (9875) 2007-02-03 14:55

I like the heavy grain here Alexander, but it looks like you've added blur intentionally here. If so, I don't think it's worked well, and if you didn't then the image was just out of focus to begin with. I suspect the blurry out of focus effect is due to some heavy PP work though. Just my opinion, but it's not a good look.
The river is all very well, but there's just not really a focal point of interest to capture the attention. An example would be the castle in your previous posting which provided a very strong focal point.
Sorry Alexander, but in my view this isn't one of your better ones.

Cheers,
Ben

Yffic (6106) 2007-02-10 13:34

Hi Alexander...

A quite oldfashionned shot.
I like your BW traitment.
The composition is well balanced.

Regards.

Yves

Clairedelune (4923) 2007-02-27 21:45

Hmmm... Interesting... I just read the opinion of Ben. I see his point... But for me, it is the opposite. I will have a hard time to tell you why, but if I had to choose between this one and your previous one (with the castle) to hang on my wall, there would be no hesitation at all. That would be this one. Yes, maybe there is no point of interest, and it is not that sharp... yes. But it is what I like here. I can dream! You know Alexander, sometimes, I just like to let my spirit wander (wonder!) around, following its own paths, its own thoughts, without me pushing it one way or the other. And I like that! I like to be lost in my thoughts without really be conscious of them. And your photo would be perfect for that. There is space, a way to wander, a feel and then... I'm gone...
I know that some may think that I am ironic or something. But I am not. That is really the perfect photo to let myself be lost in my own dreamy world...
Thanks Alexander...
Claire

jlynx (12647) 2007-03-27 10:01

Hello Alexander,
More and more more often we reach for the technique B & W, into a little other manner to express own excitements, to show the own vision of the world and people. There pleases to me such separation from the colour. It forces to a little other composition of the seen picture, to other of his interpretation and other arrangement of the dramaturgy of the picture. This photo reminds very much me the old photograph with the performed stocked camera into the simple lens of the type the monocle. The picture if behind the fog devoid a little details, but not devoid of this what in him most precious - the excitement.
Best regards from {with} strongly already spring-Poznan,
Jurek

hopsy_life (101) 2008-03-18 3:42