Celtic Magic, a photo from Clare, South

Photographer's Note

The mysterious and haunting atmosphere of The Burren adds to the sense of the Poulnabrone dolmen being an entrance to another world and another time.

In the west of Ireland, rising from the rugged cliffs of the Atlantic coastline, lies The Burren region of County Clare. A bleak, lunar landscape of gnarled and weathered limestone slabs, without trees or shrubs, yet with a unique collection of Arctic, Alpine and Mediterranean wild flowers that have become internationally famous. Glaciation and erosion over thousands of years has produced this eerie landscape, but there is also evidence that deforestation employed by the Neolithic and Bronze Age farmers of pre-history contributed to its present day appearance.

The Burren is littered with the remains of these early settlers – dolmens, cairns, wedge-tombs, raths, and ring forts, bear testimony to the many different peoples who in the distant past made their home here. Poulnabrone dolmen is one the most spectacular of these monuments, and probably the most frequently photographed dolmen in the whole of Ireland. Slabs of limestone rise from the stone pavement of The Burren, supporting the large tilted capstone, which forms the roof of the small chamber standing at the centre of a low, circular cairn.

Here, five thousand years ago the Tuatha de Danaan, the Shining Ones or Fairy Folk of Irish legend, performed their magic.

Here, the people of the Neolithic era placed the remains of their ancestors, visiting the shrine to perform their rituals and ceremonies.

Here they made contact with the spirit world, perhaps placating the gods with sacrifice to ensure the fertility of their crops, their livestock and their clan.

The figures and voices of the past have long faded leaving us to speculate on the lives of our ancestors of five thousand years ago, their world outlook, and their spiritual beliefs. Here at Poulnabrone we are haunted by the closeness of their presence, yet frustrated by the abyss of time and silence that stands between us.

Canon EOS 350D DIGITAL
Software: Adobe Photoshop CS2 Windows
Exposure Time: 1/60
F-Stop: f/14
ISO Speed Ratings: 100
Focal Length: 10/1 mm

aurora70, pasternak, veve, fijiphil, berek, Lukasso, peter1892, Cormac, maloutim heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

aurora70 (493) 2006-06-24 12:57

A very striking photograph - its as if the dolmen itself is creating the striated lines in the clouds. This itself, adds a dynamism to an otherwise static picture. Good use of the rule of thirds - foreground and placement of the dolmen. Perfect in B/W to add that sense of mystery to the landscape.

Thanks for this!!

Fiona

jjcordier (79299) 2006-06-24 13:02

A very beautiful black and white! great composition and very good light.
Best regards
JJ

Shelbeesmom (678) 2006-06-24 13:11 [Comment]

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nels (2623) 2006-06-24 13:42

hi stephen great pov looking up at the stones i realy like the sky and the b&w it looks as if the martians have landed

adrian

pasternak (15185) 2006-06-24 15:00

A striking view, Stephen! Wide angle and polarizer create a stunning effect of the perspective on the sky and earth... Looks "clarified" (or what is the photoshop term? I use paint shop pro...) in PP, correct me if I´m wrong. But this PP works very well here. And a great note!

Have a nice evening
Alexander

veve (4189) 2006-06-24 16:08

Hello Stephen!
It's realy mysterious and haunting atmosphere!
Fine quality and good choice B&W!
Nice composition!
Regards,
Veronica

fijiphil (1355) 2006-06-24 16:49

Wonderful photo, the horizon is wonky though. Everything else is perfect (especially the B&W treatment). How did you get the sky to look like that?

berek (50518) 2006-06-24 23:46

Hi Stephen, very good B&W working . your point of view is successfully. congratulations.
thanks for your sharing.
B.Erek
Meaning Sense :-))
Framing :-))
Idea :-))

Lukasso (645) 2006-06-25 6:52

Hi,

O la la, yuo've shown the place which was photohraphied thousands of time in an original manner. Thanks to this wide angle everything is so dramatic. The sky especially. The compo is just perfect, so is the B&W tonation. I like especially the way my eyes go through the stones and grass towards the dolmen (or how you call them?) situated perfectly on the GD lines. Wow. It's really great.

Regards

Bac (388) 2006-06-26 18:51

Look so nice, it push me to go there i don't know when but i'll go. Very good shot.TFS.

peter1892 (1681) 2006-06-26 18:56

Hi Stephen - the composition for this one is perfect, but what makes it even better for me is the B&W treatment you've given it. The sky looks amazing, more like the effect from a red filter than a polarizer.

DarkoG (8) 2006-06-27 2:42

Beautifull, excellent compo. Nice tones and fabulous sky make this very good photo.

congrats Darko

teutza (10590) 2006-06-27 4:22

very good photo!good choose with B&W!the sky is amasing!
TFS!

donluicu (24741) 2006-06-27 10:26

Hi Stephen
this is an amazing picture, very artistic..
good framing too.
do you convert into b&w using desaturation a,nd then play with contrast, or another way?
do you work separately on the dolmen and the rest of the image?

regards

Dis_Account (0) 2006-06-28 6:48

Stephen,

Wonderful shot. The dramatic sky provides a fine backdrop to the dolmen. The strong contrast and lighting brings the shot to life and gives it depth.

...tim

ps hope you don't mind but I quoted your eloquent description of the Burren here

DeMcKen (3) 2006-06-29 3:50

Oh, gee - and here I just said your photo of Puffin Island was my favorite. This is awe-inspiring.

gata (0) 2006-07-05 8:32

Realmente mágica...adoro Irlanda, en color, en blanco y negro, en verde...

Cormac (26565) 2006-07-25 16:38

This is a great shot Stephen. I like the extreme wide angle, showing lots of nice foreground leading to the stone structure, which is outlined against the sky. The streaks in the sky are incredible, adding a kind of aura or mysticism to the shot. Looks like you did some dodging or lightening around the stones, if so it looks brilliant! I like this so much I'm adding it to my favourites. I don't know why I haven't noticed your shots before, maybe TE is getting too big, but I'll be looking from now on!

bebbetto (122) 2010-11-12 12:12

Hello Stephen.
Casually, I could see this great shot in the TE home page.
It's a fantastic BN photograph. The dolmen seems to pull behind the clouds. I seem to feel the wind blowing on the heath
Congratulations