St Mary's Tower by if1

St Mary's Tower

355 - I thought another attempt at a HDR shot in black and white would build on what I learned producing yesterdays shot. The weakness yesterday was the lack of contrast, so hopefully this shot is better in that respect.

This tower is found at the corner of Marygate and Bootham, and is part of the walls around the abbey precinct of St Mary's Abbey. It was built in 1323 and is round on the outside but octagonal inside.

Following damage during the siege of York in 1644 it was restored with additional windows taken from the King’s Manor.

The telephone box beside the tower is now regarded as an art deco masterpiece. There are several different designs, and this type was introduced in 1935 and was widely used throughout the UK. Many have now been removed or replaced, but this design is often retained in conservation areas.

Once again I would welcome your critique of this shot.
Bob
Cool. I think B&W gives age to this structure. It looks old, which it is. I enjoy the history of these structures around York.
February 23rd, 2013  
great capture Ian
February 23rd, 2013  
Works very well in B&W. Excellent tones.
I am enjoying your narrative of places around York.
February 23rd, 2013  
SUPER HDR and very nice in black & white! In the right place, HDR does wonders!
February 23rd, 2013  
Beautiful again!
February 23rd, 2013  
Lovely. Nice shot. Full of character.
February 23rd, 2013  
Lee
I like this shot. The telephone box helps to show the size of the tower.
February 23rd, 2013  
I really like this. The HDR effect really brings out the textures of the building. As always interesting information to go with the picture.
February 23rd, 2013  
If you go back to color I like to see this pic. again just for the telephone box.
If I remember them well they all where painted red . ( I`ve spent a lot of time in Great Britain between 1955 and 1970 on lot of places)
In B+W it`s also a beautiful capture . Love the contrast between the T. box and the round tower
February 23rd, 2013  
Great capture Ian, I find it difficult to judge the worth of a B&W or HDR unless I've viewed the original. I've spent hours trying to judge the result of a processed image and invariably go back to the SOOC original.
You've certainly adjusted the contrast in this capture.
February 23rd, 2013  
This is good, but I love colours.
February 23rd, 2013  
Love the contrast of the phone box against the tower
February 23rd, 2013  
The phone box and the 14th century structure provide an interesting juxtaposition. I would have tried to give the tower more room to breathe into wider "free space." Is the sky blue? I always try to lighten the blues of a sky in the B/W tone mapping. It looks a bit sombre here for my taste. I like yesterday's image much better, even though it might have had a little lack of contrast.
February 24th, 2013  
love this in b/w
February 24th, 2013  
Lovely b&w shot.
February 24th, 2013  
fav. love that it is b&w. and the phone booth together with the tower makes for a most amazing shot. This is my fav of the week
February 24th, 2013  
what an interesting building! great b&w shot!
February 24th, 2013  
A very moody B&W and great story
February 24th, 2013  
@bobhuegel

Thank you Bob - it's almost impossible to go anywhere in the centre of York without finding historical subjects. There are still more buildings to come!
February 25th, 2013  
@steeler

Thank you Howard, glad you like it.
February 25th, 2013  
@steviepix

Thank you Steviepix - I'm glad you are enjoying the tour.
February 25th, 2013  
@gnilrets

Thank you Sterling - I don't use HDR too much, but sometimes it just seems to suit a subject really well.
February 25th, 2013  
@monkeykid

Thank you Therese, glad you like it.
February 25th, 2013  
@witchyjacq

Thank you Jacqui, it is a lovely old building.
February 25th, 2013  
@gamelee

Thank you Lee - it is quite an imposing structure.
February 25th, 2013  
@dolphin

Thank you Molly - glad you're enjoying the history
February 25th, 2013  
@pyrrhula

Thank you Pyrrhula - yes the telephone boxes were red, except in Hull where they were cream. I saw a number in London before Christmas which were decorated all kinds of different colours and patterns!
February 25th, 2013  
@tonydebont

Thank you Tony - it is an interesting challenge to make effective use of HDR, so I keep having to try it occasionally!
February 25th, 2013  
@vesna0210

Thank you Vesna - I like colour too, but I wanted to try black and white because it's such a long time since I tried it before, and I've never done black and white with a digital camera.
February 25th, 2013  
@purplehaze12

Thank you Hazel, glad you like it.
February 25th, 2013  
@frankhymus

Thank you for your thoughts on this Frank. It's location is a bit hemmed in, so hard to give it much more space. I'll have to try your idea of lightening the sky.
February 25th, 2013  
@bkbinthecity

Thank you Brian, glad you like it!
February 25th, 2013  
@busylady

Thank you Judith - it's been interesting using b&w for a change.
February 25th, 2013  
@lizzybean

Thank you Lizzy for your very positive comment and for the fav!
February 25th, 2013  
@nicoleterheide

Thank you Nicole - it is a fascinating old building
February 25th, 2013  
@malc

Thank you Malc, glad you like the b&w and the history.
February 25th, 2013  
Lovely to read the history ~ I like this in BW ... is that the moon in the sky?
February 25th, 2013  
what a great tower!! i love the phone booth in there! wonderful shot!
February 25th, 2013  
@if1 Me too Ian, in the back of my mind I wonder if 'this' is the right subject for HDR. From my experiments it appears that a tripod is almost essential to get the images aligned.
February 26th, 2013  
@alisonp

Thank you Alison - yes, it is the moon, and funnily enough it stands out more on the hdr shot than it did in the original.
February 26th, 2013  
@kdimagery

Thank you Kd - many of these phone boxes have been replaced, but this is a lovely survivor.
February 26th, 2013  
@tonydebont

Not sure about the tripod being almost essential - this was hand held with the camera programmed to take three consecutive shots, one at +1 stop, one normal and one -1 stop, so it can be done hand held. The software I use automatically aligns the three images and then the result just needs a slight trim. A tripod would make it easier though!
February 26th, 2013  
I love this! FAV
February 28th, 2013  
@clmiller

Thank you Caren, and thank you for the fav!
February 28th, 2013  
I think this came out really good. The b&w works really well. I do like the booth too.
March 1st, 2013  
@brianl

Thank you Brian, I'm glad that you like it.
March 3rd, 2013  
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