Castle on a hill

[Jaedon]

Ok here's what I am looking for. I am going to try and shoot this castle as a HDR but I'd like you input on which angle looke better or if neither work and then I will find a better angle to shoot it from.

The is Casa Loma. A castle built in the early 1900's in the City of Toronto by a man who simply wanted to out do his neighbors. It is inspired by a few different castles in Spain and is build from a combination of local stone and imported stone from Spanish and Italian quarries.

My first thought on this angle from below the castle is that it is one that few people actually see and it interested me because I drive past it every day on the way to work. Personally I like the way it seems formidible and lonely sitting behind the wall and atop the hill.

I know the trees are distracting but I felt that they added to the sense of lonliness and the ominous feeling that the castle can give.

I will be reshooting this when the clouds give way and give me th elighting that originally drew me to this location. This section faces south so as the sun rises it really shows off the tera cotta tiles on the roof and warms up the image in general. All this time waiting for snow to get the shot I want and now we haven't seen a sunrise in 3 weeks.

So enough talking already. Here's 2 angles of the castle for you to form opinions and impressions from:

[Greg McCary]

I feel no matter where you go with this one, short of getting on the property, the trees will be a distraction. I would ask to get on the property. Most are more than willing. I always tell people I am taking lessons and promise them a print.

Greg

[Jaedon]

The good news is that the property is publicaly owned... so as a taxpayer in thie city.. I am a part owner ....sort of lol. If I go onto the property though I will lose the wall which is kind of part and parcel to what I am trying to achieve. I took these quick as scouting shots this morning about 2 min apart from each other. I think that I find an angle where the trees are less distracting... but I can't eliminate them completely.


I am also sure that I will be getting up early a few days in a row as I also want to do a sunrise sillouhette of teh castle and there isn't enough time for me to shoot form both sides on one sunset.

[Greg McCary]

If it's public and lite up at night, that might be interesting...
Greg

[GB1]

I like the subject. I like the trees too, and the snow. Wintertime is a great time to shoot through trees and the snow seems to make it seem like you can see even farther.

What I would do is either take it from a head-on angle so that it has a flat facade, or more to the left to make the angle even more sharp. It's sort of a 'tweener angle right now.

I am undecided about the wall. It would probably be better without it, but hard to say for sure.

Greg's idea of a night shot sounds good. But I wonder if that place is lit up?

Neat spot to photograph..

GB

[Ronnoco]

The trees are a definite serious problem and another angle is necessary and should be easy to get. HDR should not be necessary. Expose for Casaloma and don't let the sky cause you to underexpose as is the case here. Put a polarizer on to improve the sky and give a little more texture to the stone. Post process if the exposure and colour is not right on and the tonal range is not as good as it should be.

Ronnoco

[Jaedon]

Thanx all. I went back to the location yesterday and looked around a bit more. There are a few better angles (this one was taken in a hurry otw to work ) that I can shoot from to reduce the impact of the trees and give the Castle more promenance in the frame.

GB1 -they do light the castle but not during the winter months as this is their slow season for tourists. At chrictmas time they do a Victorian Christmas tour with all the various victorian and other architechural styles in the area showing off with their christmas light displays...but I missed that this year. I did try a face on shot but there were a few leaves haning on the branches that were getting in the way amd were really distrating which is why I moved to this angle. The extreme angle will only be available on the one side (to the far right of where I was standing) as the other side has had a parking garage built to accomodate the tourists unfortunately. The good news however is that the sun rises on that side and will further the effect I am looking for .

Ronnoco - good idea on the polorizer.. I had forgotten mine at home that morning. The sky that morning was very overcast and I was exposing for the castle...but I also shot 15 frames trying to do an HDR (a hand held attempt that ended dismally) and since it was barely twilight when I shot I was happy to pull these images out of the lot for a scout shot.

Although I know I don't need to do an HDR of this subject it is the one I had chosen for my experiment. I can choose other subjects to experiment but this is the first one that intrigued me enough to give it a go.

[gahspidy]

Jaedon, the castle is a strong subject. You asked for opinions on two different angles but it seems you have loaded two exact same angle shots differing only in that one looks post-processed and the other not.
I have to agree that the trees are a problem here, and while I understand how you feel about them providing a sort of peeking effect into the scene. . . .it still is just too much. (perhaps an axe could help) How about trying to get in front of the wall, and ahead of a few of those trees and have a fewer number of trees in the FG? I know you like the wall in the FG, but it may just not work considering what else must go along with that comp.
One other thing that may work is waiting for the sun to be high enough and behind you so that it lights the front of the castle but not the trees. That may help the castle to pop out like a gem behind the trees. As for this being an HDR project, I can't see how having everything in this image properly exposed will help. I think the trees will be just more of a problem, as opposed to having them silhouetted with the castle popping out nicely behind them.

[Jaedon]

Gary - You're right about the images. I never even noticed I did that.



Here's the second angle I was intending to show. After looking at it again I think if I move a bit further to the right from this image there is a stair case that would afford be a better view with a lot less trees. It would also give me the extreme angle that GB suggested and when the sun comes up it should really make this castle sparkle. There may even be a lower wall that I could just catch the top of if I am lucky... but either way I see what you are saying about the wall. The castle is definitely a strong enough subject on it's own.

I also think that the wall could be strong enough a subject for a few shots of it on it's own form a few different angles.

The other shot I was planning is to be on the other side of the castle with it sillhouetted against the sun rising behind it. I scouted that shot this morning with a cloud covered sunrise so I never even took a shot.. but I was able to visualize it. My goal is to shoot all of the "Touristy" attractions and buildings in my home city.

So when I get to attempting the CN Tower and City Hall I'll be asking for more pointers.

Thanks for the help so far. I'll be sure to post the results when I get it right.

Jay