In the background you can see the ruins of Eynsford Castle. The building seen here was started not long after the Norman invasion (1066) in around 1080. It replaced an earlier wooden building from the Saxon period. The Castle was continuously occupied for only a few hundred years before inheritance disputes led to its abandonment
Today the weather was fine and hot, but the valley here was covered in a haze, perhaps pollution from the nearby M25 or from just being so close to London. I've built on that by dropping the clarity of the image for everything except the closest haystack. I was trying to create a more dreamy image, but not sure I have entirely succeeded.
Many thanks to all for your comments and Favs in recent days. I appreciate them all.
Nice processing with the soft focus. I love seeing castles from so far back. In the U.S. if something is from the 1700s it's considered VERY old. And there is little of even that... much less things from the start of that millennia in the 1080s or 1200s, etc.
@suesouthwood Sue, no! However, if you haven't already done Lullingstone Roman Villa nearby, that's worth a visit. And, if you're in the area, the Shoreham Battle of Britain museum is interesting, and they have a not bad tea rooms attached.
@bh365project Thanks, Barrie. I've certainly used vignettes in the past and will again, I am sure, but I try not to - I think they are over-used "in life generally" (one of my daughter's pet sayings). For this image I selected a wide aperture and focussed on the right hand hay bale - so the remainder did start to blur anyway. In processing with Lightroom, I moved the "Clarity" slider way to the left, and also used the graduated filter tool to darken the sky a little (it was/is blown). I then used selective correction to highlight the hay bale on the right (increasing contrast, clarity and exposure slightly). The rest of the processing was pretty normal for this type of shot. You really only get the full effect of this if viewed large on black. Thanks for asking!
Fascinating! It almost looks like three separate photos stuck together, as if the three sections are unconnected somehow. I do always love those "Shredded Wheat" bales whenever I see them in fields. So evocative of late August and early September.
August 29th, 2017
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