The Ruined Tower of Urquhart

The sheer grandeur of this ruined tower overlooking the loch begged for black & white. On a less dreary & rainy day I likely would have opted for colour to capture the brilliance of the Scottish lichen on the rocks. However, being so overcast, any colour photo was simply going to turn out flat & lifeless. I couldn't do that. The vast emptiness to the right of & behind the tower is the Loch Ness. This tower sits nearly on the cliff overlooking the loch and provides an amazing view up & down offering it's inhabitants additional security.
We did not climb the tower this time for several reasons. We had already spent a little too much time wandering about and still needed to visit the "must see" exhibit in the gift shop. Furthermore there were a number of folks climbing both up & down the very steep, very slick metal staircase. We'd been in the tower before, on a clear day, and knew what the view up & down the loch was like. We decided to avoid the throngs and head on toward the gift shop.
Wastrel On! (Listening to: Keep Talking by Pink Floyd)

Marita Beth at Urquhart

Worn out, wet & cold, but still smiling is my wife in front of Urquhart Castle. Due to the very poor lighting, many of my photos from this particular trip did not play out the way I would wish. So, I've had to manipulate most of them. This photo has three layers in it. The bottom layer has had both Saturation and Contrast adjusted and a Gaussian blur (.89) applied to it. The middle layer had no adjustments made but is set as an 88% overlay. While the top layer is an unaltered layer set to 70% transparency. The overall effect acted to clean the edges and provide more colour to an otherwise relatively dull & lifeless photo.
Still working on this project at work, but I made a logic break-through yesterday, so hopefully we'll see the end of it soon. I have a UAT scheduled for next week with the team that has to sign off on the application. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Now, however, it's time for a beer. Wastrel On! (Listening To: P.A.S.S.I.O.N by Rhythm Syndicate)

Urquhart Castle new View

The original photo, taken from onboard our Loch cruiser at the dock, was very washed out. I've manipulated the photo to give it an All Saint's Day sort of appearance. I first created a new layer on top of the original. I solarized the original layer and sharpened it a little to make it stand out. The new layer, I turned into an overlay at 88%. The result is an eerie look at one of my favourite spots in the world.
I've had to take a break from coding. I have a logic flaw that I can't seem to wrap my head around and it's making me uncomfortable & irritable. Unfortunately, I also have an absolute deadline that is fast approaching. I pray I can meet that. With the new boss breathing down my neck and requesting nearly daily status reports, the whole thing is becoming nearly unbearable.
However, I did reward myself last night with a 300GB harddrive & an enclosure so I can be mobile with it. Wonderful.
Back to work, I s'pose. Wastrel On! (Listening To: Break Stuff by Limp Bizkit)