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

Photographer's Note

Another shot of the Schönburg Castle above the Rhine near the town of Oberwesel, this time from a higher POV. The castle is situated in the most picturesque stretch of the valley, not far from the famous Loreley rock. Together with other numerous castles and historical towns of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, it is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The castle was first mentioned between the years 911 and 1166. Until the 17th century the castle had a very changeable and martial history with many tribe and family fights. From the 12th century, the Dukes of Schönburg ruled over the town of Oberwesel and had also the right to levy customs on the Rhine river. Schönburg was one of the very few castles in which after a dukes death, all of the sons became heirs to the castle and not only the oldest one which usually was the rule. Therefore it happened that at the height of its power in the 14th century Schönburg accomodated up to 250 persons of 24 different families at the same time. The most famous of all of the Schönburgs is Friedrich von Schönburg - a much-feared man known as “Marshall Schomberg” - who in the 17th century served as a colonel and as a general under His Majesty the King of France and Navarra in France and Portugal and who later also fought for the Prussians and for William Prince of Orange in England. The Schönburg main lineage became extinct with the death of their last heir, the son of Friedrich of Schönburg.

The castle was burned down in 1689 by French soldiers during the Palatinate heritage war. It remained destroyed and in ruins for two centuries until an American of German ancestry, Mr. Rhinelander, bought the castle from the town of Oberwesel in the late 19th century and invested two million Gold Marks into the restoration until 1914. The town council of Oberwesel acquired the castle back from Rhinelander’s son in 1950. Since 1957 the Hüttl family lives at the castle on a long-term lease and has established there a hotel and restaurant, now already in the second generation.

kagemusha, qpochet, Elaine_Blath, papagolf21, Ulishna, ktanska, jlynx, luisafonso, AiresSantos, marioana, Paolo, syd1946, Henryk_Bilor, macondo, peter1892, s_a_s_h_a, tigra, Silke, Xalkida, touristdidi ha puntuado esta nota como útil.

Critiques | Translate

markstaples (15670) 2007-01-17 4:36

A super black and white conversion with great mood and atmosphere, love your point of view and the composition allows us to see the river and the hills in the background. Nicely done,
Best wishes
Mark

faubry (35447) 2007-01-17 4:36

hello Alexander, very beautiful storm sky, and good composition with castle at the first plan , well done
francine

barrufeto_77 (28888) 2007-01-17 4:42

Hi Alexander.

Wowwwwwwwwww. Excellent B&W picture. The contrasts are amazing!

Rgs, Oscar

ben4321 (9875) 2007-01-17 4:52

One small criticism Alexander; the obvious lean to the right of the castle. I imagine that was due to lens distortion rather than a tilted camera though, as the horizon is flat.
Apart from that, this is a great shot. I like how you showed enough of the surroundings to put the castle into the context of it's surroundings, with the river curving away out of frame.
It looks like you burnt it in a bit, but you've done it well and the strong sky gives this a lot of atmosphere.
Good work.

Cheers,
Ben

kagemusha (1288) 2007-01-17 4:55

B&W castle and a wonderful sky.
thanks

mali

aadilj (18102) 2007-01-17 4:56

A very beautiful and captivating image of the German architecture. The castle has been nicely positioned on one side of the frame with the river quietly flowing on the right. The b/w treatment adds value and time to the composition. You have a great pov here and have used the dof very well.

qpochet (1412) 2007-01-17 4:57

Hi Alexander,

Very nice B&W shot, the contrast between the foreground and the background is really nice, putting the emphasis on the castle. Excellent composition and interesting note as well.
Nice job!
Quentin.

Elaine_Blath (8471) 2007-01-17 5:07

Hi Aleksi,

the almost dark and mysterious atmosphere of this shot reminds me of legends of old Germania...great one!

Take care, Ivana

gemlik (983) 2007-01-17 5:13

Hi Alexander,
Nice B&W photograf,your contrasts are beautiful.
congratulations
Regards
Bulent

poledra (81) 2007-01-17 5:20

une très belle conversion en noir et blanc, bien contrasté, angle de vue donnant de la profondeur à la photo et un regard sur la rivière et les collines, félicitations

papagolf21 (152605) 2007-01-17 5:22

Bonjour, cher Alexander,
Superbe image qui s'apparente à une illustration d'un livre ancien. J'ai l'impression de voir une lithographie.
Le choix du noir et blanc est excellent pour mettre en valeur ce magnifique paysage.
Une grande réussite.
Amitiés.
Philippe

Ulishna (2268) 2007-01-17 5:26

Привет, Саша!
Здорово! Прям как из фильма про привидения и оборотней, страшно, аж жуть:)
Юля

Gerrit (62042) 2007-01-17 5:57

Hi Alexander.
Beautiful view and a very moody picture in [email protected]
Regards, Gerrit

dkeus31 (27739) 2007-01-17 6:07

Hello Alexander,
Aha, some km south of my picture ;o)
Good BW conversion, I'm also tempted with these old Rhine castles, well giving the atmosphere that is there around.
Didi you made some PP? The village seems light just near the castle.
Regards
Didier

marioana (2256) 2007-01-17 6:09

Hi Alexander.
Very moody and almost spooky. I love the contrast. It could have been taken a hundred years ago. Not sure about the ghosting around the castle. Maybe dodging? A small isue though. I like it. Well done.
Regards, Steve.

ktanska (44484) 2007-01-17 6:26

Hi Alexander,
No wonder the ancient castle builders preferred places like this. You can really have wath of everything that happens on the river far away.
Beautiful place. Good division between foreground and background. I guess B&W handling suits particularly well on flat winter colours.
Kari

jlynx (12647) 2007-01-17 7:33

Hello Alexander,
Long ago no longer I looked into Your portfolio, but I try this to make up. Coming back after the pause on TE I hit at You on photoes in my favourite technique - B & W. The castle hung over the turn of the river as the eagle in the nest on the rocky shelf. Very well work here fogs behindhand riverside. The well devoted climate of this place through the perfect selection of the depth of sharpness.
Best regards,
Jurek

PixelTerror (0) 2007-01-17 8:09

Privet Alexander,
Although I am in no way a specialist in B&W, I find here the sky could benefit from some more contrast. The PoV overlooking the Rhine is excellent and the castle does not appear here in its original version but has been modernized as it went through time...
Have a nice day,
JEan-Yves

sebinho342 (19329) 2007-01-17 14:15

Hi Alex, oh i see you post something really interesting today, a powerfull shot, in BW with a beautiful landscape.
Impressive the view, you did well on both sides, technically and artistically. A picture that speaks to me, dreamy and deep
Great !

leo61 (0) 2007-01-17 14:21

Hi Alexander!
Good B&W shot takken from a good POV.Good composition with the castel high above the valley,dominating the landscape.
Regards,Leo

luisafonso (862) 2007-01-18 3:35

Great mood Alexander. We are really becoming one of my favorite b&w members here in TE :) Your conversions are always so timeless, so full of character. Just like this one. Light really plays an important role in your b&ws. Love the compo, your high pov and the far away curved shaped river. A great shot!

AiresSantos (56155) 2007-01-18 5:51

Hi Alexander,
Lovely sky in this great black and white composition. Excellent quality and POV
TFS and greetings
Aires

brevbrev14 (140) 2007-01-18 5:57

Hi Alexander, i like al ot this image in BW, the is na atmosphere of other times!
Perfectly composed and taken!
The cloudy sky seems a painting..
Ciao!
Valeria

pastadog (13111) 2007-01-18 6:02

So I guess, Alexander, that this is "your" sinister castle once more... another special picture due to your efficient PP, this is timeless (but there's an antenna there which could have been cloned out). Regards, Daniel
ps - I'll just add that this trip along the Rhine is ideal for those having a very long connection in Frankfurt airport...

drago (4832) 2007-01-19 2:17

Great scene Alexander,a scene from the past!Perfect POV including the river and the use of B&W.Well done!
Panagiotis

Polonaise (5802) 2007-01-19 22:18

An illustration to ANY of Wagner's operas - on a grandioso scale.
The drama is there - in those majestic walls and the threatening, stormy skies.
What I'm missing are just trumpets and percussions.
Heck, no...I hear them too...
(Gosh, if they are NOT THERE - another session with my shrink is pending) (:-)))

Thanks, Sasha.
It's such a gift to have you around.

yura

Budapestman (82620) 2007-01-21 10:59

Hi Alexander!
This is a very spectacular and particular atmosphere. Its a very good diagonal composition and good choice the B&W. Refined and interesting shot.
Thank you, nice days
George

Paolo (41258) 2007-01-22 4:48

Hi Alexander, excellent view with a perfect composition and POV.
greatuse of the b/w and excellent quality.
tanks, ciao

syd1946 (1167) 2007-01-22 5:15

Hello Alexander,
Just amazing composition!The black and white format here works great.It gives a "strange" mood and interesting to the whole scene.The building placed in the right place to the composition and we can enjoy the perspective through the river.Wonderful work and informative note as always!

Have a nice weekend,
Thomas

Henryk_Bilor (20803) 2007-01-22 12:56

Hi Alexander
Great composition of the castle above the river`s curve. Impressive and moody.
Regards

hay_kes (31439) 2007-01-22 18:24

Hi Alexander,
Superb B&W composition.Excellent perspective.Very well done.TFS.

hAyAti

vincz (19113) 2007-01-23 4:36

Looks like an old postcard. Really good choice for the blak and white. The compsosition i perfect with the castle and the river. Beautiful sky as well.

peter1892 (1681) 2007-01-23 18:30

Great contrast in this one - the sky looks particularly good & the grain is good too. Well done.

macondo (20449) 2007-01-24 4:27

Greetings again, Alexander. I was drawn immediately to this very atmospheric picture of the castle brooding over the river valley. The construction of the scene is superb, with the valley winding away around the bend in the river, and the detailed stonework in the foreground. I detect a small lean to the right in the castle, which I'm sure the keepers would have repaired a la Pisa if it were a structural problem! Also, there seems a bit of feathering or some such around the right side of the castle. All in all, though, these are small points that don't detract from the moody magnificence of the composition and lighting. Interesting note, too. BTW, is that an 18th century TV antenna on the roof?
Warm regards,
Andrew

s_a_s_h_a (607) 2007-01-25 9:45

Hi Sasha,
It's a good BW shot with the nice contrast between the foreground and the background. Excellent composition and interesting note as well.

Good work
Alex

tigra (2968) 2007-01-25 13:03

Привет, Саш!
Фантастический вид.. тут даже слов не найти, чтобы ощущения от этого снимка описать!
Катя

coco (30439) 2007-01-29 9:16

Hi Alexander.

The black and white works very well in this photo and also I like how your composition leave at the left side the castle and behind we see this depth and wet valley.

Also nice the sky.

Regards.

Beatlemeister (19) 2007-02-05 20:57

This is a very atmospheric shot. it reminded me of the epic German series Heimat 3 where a house is built ovrlooking the Rhine in a very similar scene.Both the main focus of the castle and the minor focus of the river are particularly detailed and sharp. enjoyed it!

devimeuxbe (58557) 2007-02-07 12:51

Hi Aleksander
one more nice shot in Black and white. The sharpness is great.
Beautifull work
Bertrand

Silke (3027) 2007-03-16 10:17

My only view of this was from river level, so I must say that I do appreciate this view in the other direction!
superb composition and fabulous details.
The B&W works well for this timeless capture.
TFS
silke

Xalkida (11744) 2007-05-05 14:30

Hi Alex

Excellent shot. Great framing, fine atmosphere. Great B&W choise. Well done.

touristdidi (8583) 2007-06-20 3:48 [Comment]