North Yorkshire Cliffs

Hi,

I'd like to share this recent image from a trip to Whitby on the North Yorkshire Coast...




It was an image that I had in mind for several weeks before we even left for the holiday. I knew the caravan site we were staying at was just 100yds from the Cleveland Way, which runs along this section of coast, and wanted to get an image that captured some of the essence of the place. A look at a map beforehand indicated that I should get a decent view of the cliffs from this spot.

However, the cliffs here do unfortunately face east, which meant a 5:30am start to capture the early morning light - although the composition was actually recce'd the evening before. Having the signpost was an added bonus that I hadn't anticipated, but in my mind it helps to anchor the image, both compositionally and geographically.

From a technical point of view the image was taken on a tripod mounted 20D, 10-22mm with a 2-stop GND to balance the sky.

Some more image from the trip can be found in the gallery on my website.

Comments welcome,

Hi Andy,

It's for sure unusual to find such a signpost overlooking cliffs and the see below. I've seen crucifixes, memorializing a person who fell. This however, I've never come across and what's great is that it anchors the pristine scene to humanity, but without clutter. The patina and lettering would then be important. For in that is a narrative.

So could you have an other look at the sign and how it might perhaps be shown lighter yet with detail. Perhaps even the whole picture plus a cutout of the detail?

Asher

BTW. did you crop away any sky?

Hi Asher,

Thanks for the comments. Legibility of the sign is something I was concerned about. Like you say, given that it is there, it is important that it is readable.

I've played around a bit with the new local adjustment tools in LR2 and come up with the following. This is a 50% crop - with a web sized image of the entire scene it is still not entirely clear.

Adjustments were a general brightening of the sign, and some very careful burning in of the letters. The left-hand side is still not great - I fear I should have taken some wood cleaner with me to the scene! But I do now feel that the right side is OK - and it is certainly readable in a 12x8 print.




With regards to the crop, the only part of the scene that has been lost is due to a small correction to the tilt of the horizon. Do you feel you would have liked to see more of the sky?


Thanks,

Hi Andy,

Thanks for the detail on the sign. That's helpful. The sign can be easily made clearer with levels and curves in PS. Interesting that Cleveland Way is on both sides. What is Cleveland Way? What's Hawsker?

Yes, more sky might do the picture some good. The sign on the right, whether one likes it or not, evokes the cross and needs sky, or the unknown and heaven to constrain it. A picture like this can transcend what it is to what it might allow the mind to visit and explore. A crucifix with signposts is fascinating.

It's no longer "My way or the highway." There are now more choices.

Pictures can have beauty, pleasing the senses and nothing more. It might not have beauty at all just fascinating shape, patterns, colors or texture. It might have no meaning at all. At best, I like art to go beyond what is to what might be past present or future and conditional on so many circumstances within our experience.

So in a picture like this, I'd be interested in exploring all ways of cheating to bring out this potential.

Asher

Hi,

The Cleveland Way is a beautiful 109 mile long distance path that runs through the North York Moors and the coast. Link here.

The photo was taken from a section that runs along the coast and I had just come from the direction of Hawsker, which is a small village a mile or so inland. The UK actually has a number of long distance paths, quite a few of which run along the coast. So unusual as it may be, you will find a fair number of similarly designed signs dotted around the UK. They would probably make a worthwhile photographic portfolio!

Your crucifix symbolism is interesting, because obvious though it now seems, it is not something that I had previously considered.

Looking at the image I think it would actually be a reasonably easy job to add some additional space around the sign to see what it brings to the picture, the sky and the foreground gorse being reasonably easy to clone. This does however go against my photographic ethics in terms of image manipulation - I normally prefer to make only small adjustments to my captured images. Still I shall look to explore this over the weekend and post the results later on.


Thanks,