Richard Irwin - Photoblog
The Cork Stone
Posted by Richard Irwin (Belper, United Kingdom) on 23 January 2009 in Landscape & Rural.
The curiously named Cork Stone, on Stanton Moor, Derbyshire. The iron rungs are to help you climb up it. People have been stopping by this stone for many thousands of years, and their feet have worn holes into the rock as they clambered up to the top.
Nikon F100, 35mm lens, Ilford HP5
Anthony Lambert from Bielefeld, Germany
Is this for real or just some clever processing Richard ??
23 Jan 2009 7:27am
@Anthony Lambert: Hi Anthony. Its a real feature, but mysterious to say the least. I don't know a lot about it, save that its a 5M high piece of grit, standing on its own on Stanton Moor. There are plenty of images of it on the web, but not much info.
The PP simply included adjusting Levels, converting to RGB, a light sepia tone, and a blurry black border, sharpening, and then a touch of Noise removal using Neat Image. I haven't changed anything about the image content itself, its as it is.
Lorraine from Gatineau, Canada
Wow, now I know why a cork is called a cork...what a great find Richard!
23 Jan 2009 10:51am
mehdi from Pecs, Hungary
Very interesting. I like the way you processed this photo it's great, the colors tones, sky and the border is very cool.
23 Jan 2009 11:27am
Cheryl from Texas, United States
wow, very interesting! nice shot! it's so smooth, really does look like cork!
23 Jan 2009 12:37pm
Chris Parr from Jefferson City, United States
Beautiful shot. I think it's great that this is accessible to everyone even after thousands of years. Around here there would be a fence around it and a memorial plaque.
23 Jan 2009 12:40pm
Rui from Leiria, Portugal
5 mt high? Doesn't seem so high! :)
Magnificent perspective. Excellent post production. A perfect BW work.
23 Jan 2009 5:06pm
Diane Schuller from Hythe, Canada
very interesting -- thanks for telling us about it. I am assuming they named the stone "cork" perhaps because it appears like a cork?
Your composition is so well done. I get a sense of serenity from this image.
23 Jan 2009 5:37pm
Steve Rice from United States
Fantastic. It's interesting that some natural features have the power to intrigue us so much. Your toning is gorgeous.
23 Jan 2009 9:32pm
Observing from West Cheshire, United Kingdom
Getting up is easy by the looks of it, but how do you get down..... :( bit difficult on a zimmer frame.
23 Jan 2009 11:10pm
Alun Lambert from cheshire, United Kingdom
cracking shot, and its a great place for a walk
23 Jan 2009 11:39pm
Ronnie 2¢ from London, United Kingdom
What a thing to stumble across for the first time . . your processing on this is very impressive right down to the noise removal that has given it a gentle softness . .
24 Jan 2009 12:52am
@Ronnie 2¢: Thanks Ronnie. Well spotted, I was using 'Neat Image' with the aim to remove the noise 'gently', but applied far too much because I wasn't concentrating. After re-doing it with much less Noise Removal, I decided I still liked the first one (the mistake) best, because it appeared to give a more dramatic, dreamy effect, especially to the ground.
Daryl from Amagasaki, Japan
An interesting effect... the holes look like they are bulging outwards! I thought you'd applied some CGI effect... now on closer inspection I see it's an illusion.
24 Jan 2009 3:28am
amy from Nanaimo, BC, Canada
Outstanding image, Richard!! Love the pov and how that wide angle "exaggerates" that most unique rock. You find the damnedest things!
24 Jan 2009 4:07am
Mike from Lichfield, United Kingdom
You can guess what I'm going to be doing this summer! Nice photo.
24 Jan 2009 11:09am
Craig from Vacaville, California, United States
Such history! Thanks for sharing Richard! Well done even with the noise removal!!!
24 Jan 2009 6:30pm
baobab from Cambridge, United States
it seems alive and organic. I agree with Ronnie that the pp adds a lot to this shot's already intrinsically good composition and light.
25 Jan 2009 9:25pm
Earnest from Oklahoma, United States
Really a neat tour you have going here, Richard.
26 Jan 2009 5:00pm
