I hope that you missed me last Friday.
I didn’t post any images because I took the week off. I wanted to finish building some steps and I also went on a walking holiday to the Isle of Man. Whilst there, I shot this woodland image.
I spotted this as we walked along the woodland trail. Having seen this scene, I’m sure I can imagine how explorers coming across a deserted temple in a forest would feel. My walking companions must have thought I was daft, getting so excited at this scene and the amazing light.
I shot it using my Panasonic G9 with Leica 12-60 lens at 24mm. It was a handheld exposure of 1/60 second at f/6.3 and ISO1600. I then process the RAW file using the new DxO PhotoLab 6 followed by the Nik Collection.
Now the reason I titles this post as co-incidence is that earlier this week there was a knock at the door. It turned out to be a man who had grown up in my house but then his parents moved out around 40 years ago. Last week he had been in the Isle of Man at the same time as me (unfortunately for his mother’s funeral). On sorting through her possessions, he came across a drawing of our house which he wanted to give us. I thought this was extremely kind and a big coincidence. But then the coincidence got bigger because it turned out that I knew the artist and used to go to Tai Chi with him before he died.
DxO PhotoLab 6
Sorry for the diversion. Let’s get back to the subject of the image because I want to tell you about two new tools in PhotoLab 6. These seem to be making a big difference to the quality of my images including this one. The tools are DeepPRIME XD and DxO Wide Gamut colour processing. I’ve explained more in my recent review article.
I also published my YouTube video review shorty the software was launched. If you haven’t tried PhotoLab 6 already, I recommend downloading the trial to check the difference it can make.
I hope you like the image and have a great weekend.
The Lightweight Photographer 
Not quite spooky, definitely magical.
Thank you
Lovely picture, Robin, but when I saw that you likened this scene to a “Temple”, I thought that I wanted more mystery, so I made a version in B/W. I felt I wanted to be engulfed in more darkness, looking through the arches as if inside a temple or cathedral. I felt the light at the top was interfering with this feeling, so I cropped off the top and a little on the right. I gave it a little vignette to bring the eye to the “windows”. I hope you do not mind my tinkering.  Thanks, John MarshÂ
Thanks John. I was going to a natural rendition of the scene but I can imagine the changes you mention. I would probably add a waterfall coming from the top of the viaduct. It would be an interesting compositing challenge.
How strange to check into your Friday post to see a scene that is a 10 minute walk from my house!
The glen is a great location for Bluebells in spring and the trees have just started to turn autumnal this week. I think the viaduct setting in this image is at its best in about four weeks time when much of the foliage has turned brown and fallen to the ground. The autumnal colours, tree trunks and viaduct trusses always create a natural cathedral like setting. The next few weeks and this location are a daily walking highlight of the year.
I hope you enjoyed your trip Robin.
Wow! I can imagine this location filled with bluebells or full of autumn colours. Yes, it was a great trip thank you. I think I liked the coastal walk at the Calf of Man the best but it hasn’t translated into good photos.