Hadrian's wall 3 with long exposure version

[Ken Rennie]

This is one of the nicest and most photographed parts of the wall although this is not the usual view. Just like the my first posts it is trying to figure out when a front passes and the light changes. I was lucky the last time but not this. A couple of miles walk from the car with the forecast showing the low clouds clearing and a good chance of the horizon clearing allowing the sun to peek through. Unfortunately the super computer got it wrong and this view was the best that the light got. Instead of clearing, the clouds thickened and the rain started and never stopped despite me waiting under the nice sycamore tree for 90 minutes. Along the wall there is a nice footpath shown here, it is 84 miles long and my wife walked it in 3 days to raise money for charity,a touch more than a marathon a day. Ken

This is a long exposure version and processed with a touch of split toning. I have lost the lovely sky detail but many aspects of the rest of the scene are improved. Not because of the length of the exposure but this new image was processed on my desktop machine using luminosity masking in parts and more care in masking, the foreground rocks on the right, the small crag to the right of the tree and the bright rocks under the tree in particular. I may re-process the first image with more care. The path was opened in 2002 but of interest is the original Roman Vallum (road for troops) that runs a few hundred yards behind the wall allowing the soldiers to quickly arrive at any trouble points quickly. Getting here I walked along the Vallum, it can just be seen to the left of the tree. Ken

 

[Ben Egbert]

That's an incredible wall. If that path is any indication of the trail your wife walked, I am very impressed.

 

[Jim Dockery]

I think you were lucky with the weather which made for excellent conditions for a dramatic B&W. The clouds and the path lead to the distant hill top nicely, and your processing is spot on. Did you do a bit of burning to highlight the path?

 

[Ken Rennie]

That's an incredible wall. If that path is any indication of the trail your wife walked, I am very impressed.

Ben this is one of the hillier sections. The height gained and lost over the entire length is just over 5,000 ft. My wife trained for a couple of weeks to get her feet hardened for the approx 10 hours of walking per day. Some of the walkers had to quit on day 2 as their blisters started to bleed. The record for walking/ running the wall is 16.5 hours. Ken

 

[Ken Rennie]

I think you were lucky with the weather which made for excellent conditions for a dramatic B&W. The clouds and the path lead to the distant hill top nicely, and your processing is spot on. Did you do a bit of burning to highlight the path?

Lots of dodging Jim, the first part of the path has been somewhat unsubtly dodged. Ken

 

[AlanLichty]

Very dramatic skies - that definitely adds a mood of gloom to the scene that seems to fit. I like your B&W treatment of the scene.

 

[Douglas Sherman]

Nice image, Ken and I too am impressed with your wife walking the total length in three days, She must be an excellent hiker.

 

[JimFox]

Well, the end result is really awesome Ken! Even if the conditions weren't exactly what you wanted, you sure pulled some magic out here.

What a cool pathway too. How old is that path? It's pretty neat that your wife walked the whole thing in 3 days. What a great accomplishment.

 

[Jim Dockery]

I still prefer the first, both clouds and processing.