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Unseen

By redstag  
'Unseen? What on earth can you mean by that?
There it is right in front of me, you can see it right there, look?'

Well dear reader, there are two reasons why unseen. The first is romantic and a reference to some of the funniest books around. As a Mediaeval monument, pretty much this is the perfect walled town, self contained and complete, it is only reachable by the causeway and perched on the summit of its mount is a spectacular Gothic building which could so easily be a place of great learning. It is surrounded by the mouth of a river more mud than water, (Rachel's feet still bear the traces of a paddle back to the car). For all these reasons I am reminded of Ankh Morpork, home to the Unseen University, the central place of learning on the Discworld. I have no idea if Terry Pratchett has ever seen this place, but the heaving throng of all species of humankind that pass through the narrow streets could easily be the inspiration for his chaotic but superbly crafted books.

The second reason is simpler, we got the gates of the abbey itself, then frankly we decided that no matter how great the treasures within would be that there was no way that we were prepared to be pushed, pummelled and abused any more. So, the abbey for me remains unseen. Maybe next time I will visit in mid winter, when the summer throngs have gone!

This was the first shot I took, from the car park, across the bay. It held so much promise, the sky looks heavy here, but it was one of those glorious days of strong cloud and bright sun, where the light plays tricks.

Would I recommend going to visit this site? I'm glad I've seen it, I enjoyed some of the wander around the mount itself, but the people were rude, pushy and frankly vile, it spoilt the day I had been looking forward too for some time. Now, Marazion on the other hand...

It did rain too!

Jon

Tags: Up And Of Architecture Normandy Rude Mont saint michel Crowds Landscape and travel Fed World heritage site Pushing And crowds People!

Voters: wasper, Hanners, cnorris and 70 more

Readers' Choice Awards are given to photos that get over 30 votes

Uploaded:
17 Aug 2008 5:45PM
Camera:
EOS 40D
Lens:
24-70mm Sigma
Location:
48.633816, -1.509933
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Comments


Hanners 15 875 10 Ireland
17 Aug 2008 5:53PM
Just had a sneakypeeky @ your big 'un, and I must say it's outstanding Smile
cnorris 12 1 2 England
17 Aug 2008 5:56PM
Cracking pic!
HughP12 13 United States
17 Aug 2008 5:57PM
Jon:

A wonderful image. Great detail, I am amazed to see that it was not a HDR image. The detail in the clouds and the razor sharp buildings are quite inspirational.

Congratulations, very well done.

Hugh
blumonkey 12 United States
17 Aug 2008 5:57PM
Great shot with a omnious feel to it. Too bad your day got spoiled by the people in it...
colin beeley Plus
18 1.2k 10 England
17 Aug 2008 6:00PM
wot a great image !
KevSB 16 1.5k 5 United Kingdom
17 Aug 2008 6:01PM
going by the photograph i think it was a good time to be outside. the light is working well on this
raygregson 12 United Kingdom
17 Aug 2008 6:15PM
really great light,well taken.ray
LesF 14 182 9
17 Aug 2008 6:16PM
Looks pretty impressive Jon

LesF
User_Removed 13 172 1 United Kingdom
17 Aug 2008 6:19PM
Awesome image, great comp and use of the light. you only need Rincewind and Twoflower to complete the imageSmile

Mark
akw 13 341 3 England
17 Aug 2008 6:20PM
Superb image,really like the colours and the feel to the image.
alan
dp 16 165 3 United Kingdom
17 Aug 2008 6:30PM
I had just exactly the same reaction Jon and I had my autistic daughter with me! Needless to say I didnt even take any pictures either! You have got something decent out of the day, well done.

Dave
cjl47 13 5 3 England
17 Aug 2008 6:44PM
A great shot and write up.
chris
Glynn Plus
14 1.2k 1 United Kingdom
17 Aug 2008 7:03PM
Excellent composition and very well processed HDR image.

Glynn
redstag 15 100 15 United Kingdom
17 Aug 2008 7:10PM
Hugh, I'm afraid Glynn is right, it is an HDR, made up of 6 exposures, the sky is just 3 of those exposures, all put together in CS2. Most of my images at the moment are HDR so sometimes I just don't mention it, sorry! Hope it doesn't spoil your enjoyment of the shot.

Thanks all for the comments.

Jon
Scaramanga 13 60 6 United Kingdom
17 Aug 2008 7:12PM
Wonderful image, great work.
Ingleman 13 9 4
17 Aug 2008 7:37PM
Stunning photo, great write up. A pilgrimage we intend to make in the ''not so distant'' but sorry to hear about the obnoxiousosity of our fellow man-woman-man! The lighting and storm clouds are very dramatic and the crop/composition are perfect. Cheers Andy I
bliba Plus
15 2 Austria
17 Aug 2008 7:47PM
love the omnious feel to it
redstag 15 100 15 United Kingdom
17 Aug 2008 7:57PM
Andy, I hope I haven't put you off, but I do advise you to choose your day with care, it took well over an hour to get out of the car park, but it is a special place. Be prepared with camera in hand as you drive in, there are some amazing images to be had across the fields. I didn't, and with a car full of moaning family didn't feel able to stop, I regret it now. You may also consider, if you don't mind a long walk, parking off site, and crossing the fields to the Mount. Many people did, but be warned, its not for the faint hearted at the end of the day!

Jon
MikeH 16 217 4 United Kingdom
17 Aug 2008 8:49PM
You are right about the long shots from further back but this is a good shot of the place. From what I remember you didn't miss much inside I thought a lot of it was tacky,
Mike
Eviscera 14 1.1k 149 United Kingdom
17 Aug 2008 9:38PM
majestic Jon , the treasures inside for another time as you said.

Dave
Sezz 16 619 15 England
17 Aug 2008 10:37PM
Well you managed to get a cracking shot for your efforts Jon, wonderful lighting! Thanks for the info - hoping to visit myself in October, might be a bit quieter?

Sarah *
backbeat Plus
15 134 1 United Kingdom
18 Aug 2008 7:50AM
well worth it jon...

phil
PhotographyBySuzan 16 93 United States
18 Aug 2008 7:56AM
This is Stunning, Jon......Looks to be well worth the trouble you had.

Cheers,
Suzan Smile
DeSilver Plus
13 14 12 England
18 Aug 2008 9:16AM
A stunning image from the car park, well that tells a lot. Fantastic image with drama in the sky and warmth in the sunshine on the ground. Can't wait to see more images from the day. I do hope that there are more? Smile


David
Wooly 15 112 4 England
18 Aug 2008 10:10AM
Superb Jon.

Alan
redstag 15 100 15 United Kingdom
18 Aug 2008 1:36PM
David,
there are one or two, there was some gorgeous changing light, just not sure I caught it!
Jon
VintageRed 15 15 1 United Kingdom
21 Aug 2008 9:37PM
Dramatic image Jon.
Nick
hellsbells8868 12 151 2 Wales
26 Aug 2008 4:47PM
Wow!!
SPOTON 12 South Africa
7 Sep 2008 6:42PM
Thanks for comments on "what a lady", much appreciated! Your portfolio is absolutely amazing, its like going on an organised tour with all your comments as well! Will definately be popping in here again! Love, Mandi

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