Pigeon Tower

[Stephen]

Was staying with some friends in the NW over the weekend and on Sat went for a walk at Rivington nr Chorley. The pigeon tower and the associated terraced gardens etc were built by Lord Lever in the late 19th century. It must have been a massive undertaking and a quite spectacular garden in its heyday. Levers of course were the soap people, it really makes me think what enormous wealth these people accrued at the time from local manufacturing industry

[Jocelyn Walker]

Re: Pigeon Tower

Quite an amazing pic! The terraces give it a great layered feel. The snow adds to the atmosphere! Lord Lever Hulme was an extraordinary & extremely astute business man! Building Port Sunlight for his workers! Levers joined forces with Van den Bergh & Jurgen, initially foodstuff like margarine...(manufacturing necessary household commodities)the company has since acquired & acquired or taken over numerous companies ever since!

[Stephen]

Re: Pigeon Tower

Quite an amazing pic! The terraces give it a great layered feel. The snow adds to the atmosphere! Lord Lever Hulme was an extraordinary & extremely astute business man! Building Port Sunlight for his workers! Levers joined forces with Van den Bergh & Jurgen, initially foodstuff like margarine...(manufacturing necessary household commodities)the company has since acquired & acquired or taken over numerous companies ever since!

Thanks Jocelyn, you see everyone, you don't just get great photography on here, you also get industrial history

[Autumn]

Re: Pigeon Tower

Good light, angle and exposure, showing the "Stairway". I feel as though I want to see the next picture Stephen, where I can see a bit more of the Pigeon Tower. Of course you were lucky, another three months and it would be obliterated altogether with foliage!

A very attractive image with a beautiful sky definitely depicting winter.

[Andrew Thatcher]

Re: Pigeon Tower

Like this one. Like the way the tree looks as if its wrapping its self around the tower.

[Tom]

Re: Pigeon Tower

I think Stephen to get the important lead in steps into the frame the way you did there was going to be a pay off if you like and in this case it is the position of the tree. I just feel it covers too large an area of the tower and detracts from the prominence that the tower deserves. Other than that everything else looks really nice.

[Blithe]

Re: Pigeon Tower

What a super photograph, I really like scenes where I feel that I can take a walk into them. Those steps invite the eye with the snow highlighting and emphasising each step, slopes, angles and straight lines all leading to the tower. I find myself trying to see behind the tree, being partly obscured adds to the photograph in some ways, another reason to journey up the steps. The wonderful winter blue sky carries the eye onwards and upwards too. As someone else said, need to see the next one.

[Stephen]

Re: Pigeon Tower

Thanks for your comments everyone, much appreciated as always. Tom I hear what you say about the tree and I doubt I would have taken the shot in summer when the foliage would have obscured the tower much more. As it was I felt you could see enough of the tower to make it a keeper. I did take several and initially chose the image as the best. However I have processed another version which although having slightly different lighting does probably give more emphasis to the tower.

[Tom]

Re: Pigeon Tower

The new posting, I honestly feel is the better of the two (not a lot in it though) although the tower seems tilted to the right or falling a bit backwards.
Stephen the issue of the tree was always going to the basis for critique for me because everything else is fine. It just does not sit the comfortably for me. It was my immediate thought the moment I saw the shot and having viewed it several times now I still feel the same.
Thank you for posting the second shot.