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Caerlaverock Castle and Introducing “Mr. Turner”

December 8, 2014
Paul Schatzkin
Digest, photography
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I am FINALLY getting into the photos form my trip to the UK back in October.

The hold up has been software related… I won’t bore you all with the details, other than to say that software I have been relying on since I started the whole “Portals of Stone” thing last year was updated, and the update didn’t work as well as the… what do you call it, the “down dated”? version.

Anyway, those issues (more more or less) resolved now and I’m starting to turn out some new “Portals” (PW <UK14> like the one above/after this post.

One upside of the recent difficulties is that I am now using a new suite of photo processing programs from Topaz Labs. One module that showed up as something of a “bonus” in the process was a new program called ‘Impression’ which lets me digitally emulate the fine-art techniques of several masters. Among them is JMW Turner…

I first learned of Turner (Wikipedia entry here; image samples here) after my first trip to Scotland in 2012. He was regarded as Britain’s premier landscape artist in the late 18th and early 19th century, and once I started looking at images of medieval ruins online, I realized a lot of the paintings I encountered from that period were by Turner.

Now it seems that “Mr. Turner” is about to undergo something of a personal renaissance – he is the title character in a feature film that will hit theaters here in the US on December 19.

I will post the trailer for that film at the top of this page in a moment. In the meantime, here is a rendering of Caerlaverock Castle near Dumfries, Scotland – re-imagined as “Mr. Turner” might have painted it:

©2014 [email protected] aka @driver49

Sunrise Through The Ruins – Sweetheart Abbey

November 5, 2014
Paul Schatzkin
Digest, photography
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I have not spent nearly as much time as I would have liked by now going through the photos I brought back from my trip to the UK last month (was it really two whole weeks ago that I returned??).

Part of the delay has been due to software issues. I made the mistake of upgrading some of my image processing plugins, and in so doing have apparently lost the use of important tool-sets that have been rearranged in the newer version. Oh, the times we live in.

I did see this one yesterday, though…


When I first tried to calculate the angle of the sunrise from this location, I thought it was going to come straight through these windows in the eastern wall into the nave/sanctuary. There must be some date when that occurs, but it wasn’t this date.


I was rather struck though by the simple colors of the sky as the sun began to rise (off to the right). When I saw the image in silhouette yesterday, I thought it would be worth sharing:

Sunrise – the East Windows of Sweetheart Abbey – October 2014@historicscotland @welovehistory @visitscotland @GreatBritain @TwitterUK @medievalworld @getolympus @abbeycottage
Sweetheart Abbey south of Dumfries, near the River Nith in south-west Scotland, was a Cistercian monastery, founded in 1275 by Dervorguilla of Galloway, daughter of Alan, Lord of Galloway, in memory of her husband John de Balliol. His embalmed heart, in a casket of ivory and silver, was buried alongside her when she died; the monks at the Abbey then renamed the Abbey in tribute to her.

#Medieval #medievaleurope #Europe #stonebuilding #instatravel #travelgram #photooftheday #thebest_capture #ig_masterpiece #nuriss_tag #awe_inspiringshots #pro_ig #global_highlights #igworldclub #ig_select #editoftheday #capture_today #waycoolshots #featuremeinstagood #igcapturesclub #ig_masterpiece #ig_great_pics #picoftheday #instadaily #bestoftheday #instapic

©2014 [email protected] aka @driver49

The Sun Sets on Autumn, 2014

November 3, 2014
Paul Schatzkin
photography
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We had a very dry month of September here in Middle Tennessee this year… the result has been a rather muted autumn foliage season.
Monday afternoon I went out to see if I could find a last bit of color before a forecast rain set in. I was really surprised as I left the house at the extent to which many of the trees I saw had already lost all of their leaves. Winter is already upon us…
My destination was the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecelia convent and campus on West End Avenue. I’d driven by there a few days ago and thought… I’ll be there’s some interesting scenery there… and this is what I found:

The Last of the Fall Foliage
I wasn’t sure if I’d find this much… as I was driving into town this afternoon, it looked like a lot of trees have already lost ALL of their leaves…. @NashvilleTN @InstaNashville #november #sunset #fall #autumn #foliage #leaves #leafpeeping #nashville #nashvilleguru #musiccitysunsets #igersnashville #heartnashville #nashvilleTN #nashvilleinstagram #nashvilleincrowd #nashvillegram #nashvegas #tennesseeinstagram #tennessee #musiccityliving #musiccityusa #musiccity #615 #nashvillescene #nashvillesky #nashvillelife
©2014 [email protected] aka @driver49

Sunrise at Sweetheart Abbey

November 2, 2014
Paul Schatzkin
Digest, photography
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Sweetheart Abbey
@historicscotland @welovehistory @visitscotland @GreatBritain @TwitterUK @medievalworld @getolympus @abbeycottage
Sweetheart Abbey south of Dumfries, near the River Nith in south-west Scotland, was a Cistercian monastery, founded in 1275 by Dervorguilla of Galloway, daughter of Alan, Lord of Galloway, in memory of her husband John de Balliol. His embalmed heart, in a casket of ivory and silver, was buried alongside her when she died; the monks at the Abbey then renamed the Abbey in tribute to her.#Medieval #medievaleurope #Europe #stonebuilding #instatravel #travelgram #photooftheday #thebest_capture #ig_masterpiece #nuriss_tag #awe_inspiringshots #pro_ig #global_highlights #igworldclub #ig_select #editoftheday #capture_today #waycoolshots #featuremeinstagood #igcapturesclub #ig_masterpiece #ig_great_pics #picoftheday #instadaily #bestoftheday #instapic

©2014 [email protected] aka @driver49

The Green Man (of Fountains Abbey)

November 1, 2014
Paul Schatzkin
Digest, photography
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Green Man of Fountains Abbey, hidden high at the apex of an arch on the east wall of the main abbey ruin.

A Green Man is a sculpture, drawing, or other representation of a face surrounded by or made from leaves. Branches or vines may sprout from the nose, mouth, nostrils or other parts of the face and these shoots may bear flowers or fruit. Commonly used as a decorative architectural ornament, Green Men are frequently found in carvings on both secular and ecclesiastical buildings.
The Green Man motif has many variations. Found in many cultures from many ages around the world, the Green Man is often related to natural vegetative deities. It is primarily interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, representing the cycle of growth each spring. Some[1][2] speculate that the mythology of the Green Man developed independently in the traditions of separate ancient cultures and evolved into the wide variety of examples found throughout history.#Medieval #medievaleurope #Europe #stonebuilding #castle #fortress #abbey #ruins #instatravel #travelgram #photooftheday #thebest_capture #ig_masterpiece #nuriss_tag #awe_inspiringshots #pro_ig #global_highlights #igworldclub #ig_select #editoftheday #capture_today #waycoolshots #featuremeinstagood #igcapturesclub #ig_masterpiece #ig_great_pics #picoftheday #instadaily
©2014 [email protected] aka @driver49

Dana Cooper at Douglas Corner

October 31, 2014
Paul Schatzkin
Digest, photography
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And now for something completely different: my old friend (and client back in the days when I thought I was some kind of artists manager…) Dana Cooper put on a show at the Douglas Corner Cafe here in Nashville I rather like this shot, and the treatment using some pre-sets in Lightroom (“desaturated cinema,” I think…)

#Nashville-based singer/songwriter and Veteran Road Warrior Dana Cooper comes home to put his “Big Foot Down” at Douglas Corner Cafe – October 30, 2014from http://ift.tt/1rG8WFf

@NashvilleTN @InstaNashville
#nashville #nashvilleguru #igersnashville #heartnashville #nashvilleTN #nashvilleinstagram #nashvilleincrowd #nashvillegram #nashvegas #tennesseeinstagram #tennessee #musiccityliving #musiccityusa #musiccity #615 #nashvillescene #nashvillesky #nashvillelife #music #joy
©2014 [email protected] aka @driver49

Dusk at Fountains Abbey – Yorkshire

October 29, 2014
Paul Schatzkin
Digest, photography
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On Saturdays in the fall, the park-like grounds of the majestic Fountains Abbey ruins are kept open to the public well into the evening (closing time is usually 4:30PM). As twilight descends, the ruins are illuminated with flood lamps within and without…

The Illumination of @FountainsAbbey in Yorkshire, England – October 2014@GreatBritain @TwitterUK @GetOlympus @Welcome2Yorks

#Medieval #medievaleurope #Europe #stonebuilding #castle #fortress #abbey #ruins #instatravel #travelgram #photooftheday #thebest_capture #ig_masterpiece #nuriss_tag #awe_inspiringshots #pro_ig #global_highlights #igworldclub #ig_select #editoftheday #capture_today #waycoolshots #featuremeinstagood #igcapturesclub #ig_masterpiece #ig_great_pics #picoftheday #instadaily
©2014 [email protected] aka @driver49

Arches and Vaults – Fountains Abbey

October 29, 2014
Paul Schatzkin
Digest, photography
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As twilight approached at the end of my day at Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire, England, lights started to come on throughout the property. The illuminated vaults of the Cellarium offered a nice contrast to the exterior stonework…

The Cellarium of @FountainsAbbey in Yorkshire, England – October 2014@historicscotland @welovehistory @visitscotland @GreatBritain @TwitterUK @GetOlympus @Welcome2Yorks

#Medieval #medievaleurope #Europe #stonebuilding #castle #fortress #abbey #ruins #instatravel #travelgram #photooftheday #thebest_capture #ig_masterpiece #nuriss_tag #awe_inspiringshots #pro_ig #global_highlights #igworldclub #ig_select #editoftheday #capture_today #waycoolshots #featuremeinstagood #igcapturesclub #ig_masterpiece #ig_great_pics #picoftheday #instadaily
©2014 [email protected] aka @driver49

 

Is This “The Batman Building” in a couple hundred years?

October 29, 2014
Paul Schatzkin
Digest, photography
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A couple of my friends in Nashville have seen some of these images from St. Andrews Cathedral in Scotland and compared the to our own “Batman Building” in downtown Nashville. Is this a glimpse of Nashville four or five hundred years from now?

Sunset at St. Andrew’s #Cathedral #Ruin – October 2014@historicscotland @welovehistory @visitscotland @GreatBritain @TwitterUK @medievalworld
@getolympus – This was done entirely with the “Dramatic Tone” Art Filter in the E-M1 #SOOC

#Medieval #medievaleurope #Europe #stonebuilding #instatravel #travelgram #photooftheday #thebest_capture #ig_masterpiece #nuriss_tag #awe_inspiringshots #pro_ig #global_highlights #igworldclub #ig_select #editoftheday #capture_today #waycoolshots #featuremeinstagood #igcapturesclub #ig_masterpiece #ig_great_pics #picoftheday #instadaily #bestoftheday #instapic

©2014 [email protected] aka @driver49

Fountains Abbey – The Cellarium

October 29, 2014
Paul Schatzkin
Digest, photography, travel
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There were high points and there were low points on this trip.Spending an entire day at Fountains Abbey was definitely one of the high points.


I wasn’t sure if I was going to go to Fountains Abbey on this trip. I’d been there before, when I made this trip last year. But I’d gotten there late in the afternoon that day, and by the time I’d patrolled the perimeter of the grounds, they were getting ready to close the joint and I never really did make it inside the ruin. It wasn’t until I got home that I realized that the vaults of the Cellarium were one of the destinations that I’d meant to see…


So Saturday of my final weekend, I was in Yorkshire, about 35 mins from Fountains, and decided to head over there as early as I could, to get there as much as possible before the multitudes started to arrive.My timing was pretty good… I had no trouble photographing the Cellarium, the long vaulted chamber seen in the photo here; Then I availed myself to a guided tour of the grounds, which turned into a private tour when nobody else showed up.


The day just kept getting better from there. Instead of closing the grounds at 4:30 like they usually do, the park was left open well into the evening, and the ruins were illuminated with floodlights that got increasingly dramatic as the twilight settled in. I’ll have more of those photos to show in the weeks ahead.


But wait… that’s not all!


Not only were the ruins illuminated, but a live choir – the Elysian Singers of Yorkshire – performed a vocal concert in the Cellarium, with hundreds in attendance. It was a truly sublime conclusion to a long and fruitful day.

Previous posts from Fountains Abbey: The Concert in the Cellarium and The Couple In The Window.