Mont St. Michel

Posted by Ian Bramham (Manchester, United Kingdom) on 23 August 2010 in Landscape & Rural and Portfolio.

Photographed at dawn.

We had an overnight stay on Mont St Michel while driving to Brittany - I could easily have spent another week photographing this beautiful medieval abbey.

Technical info: 3 minute exposure using a 10 stop Lee 'Big Stopper' ND filter over a circular 6 stop B+W ND filter. The colours are much better rendered by the Lee compared to the 10 stop B+W that I used before.

This Aminus3 version seems to be poor quality for some reason - here's a larger and sharper version: http://bighugelabs.com/onblack.php?id=4916872462&size=large

Like what you see here and are interested in photographic composition?.....the blog section of my website now has a complete set of 5 articles covering my personal approach to the subject: Ian Bramham Photography - Blog

For purchasing high quality archival prints of any of these photos you can send me an email by clicking here or by going to my website Ian Bramham - Fine Art Photography where prices are listed in the gallery sections under each individual photo.

Comments (60)

Chris Anderson from New york, United States

Wow great reflection! Everything looks amazing.

23 Aug 2010 5:12am

Bettina from Los Angeles, United States

Fantastic shot! Sky, colors, reflection, beautiful!

23 Aug 2010 5:29am

Leanne from Victoria, Australia

stunning, seriously.

23 Aug 2010 5:36am

Ricard Pardo from Girona, Spain

Increiblemente hermosa. Felicidades.

23 Aug 2010 6:26am

Ted from South Wales, United Kingdom

I thought you must be away, you were so quiet!

This is so powerful, the colours and cloud effect so good, it's the reason why you should shoot so much more in colour Ian! Great work!

23 Aug 2010 6:50am

Richard from Duns, United Kingdom

Absolutely stunning! Great light, super reflections, composition and POV. Nothing could be better about this shot.

23 Aug 2010 6:53am

Marie LC from France

Just marvelous !

23 Aug 2010 7:07am

Claus Petersen from Herfølge, Denmark

Cool place, looks like something out of middle earth :-)

23 Aug 2010 7:26am

Babzy from France

great image and light , how do you manage to shoot this without a tourist in your lens ? :)

23 Aug 2010 7:46am

@Babzy: Thanks Babzy!....it was very early in the morning and the few tourists who had already arrived went straight inside the walled town.

adebond from Liverpool, United Kingdom

This is truly stunning. Almost enough to make me want to start playing around with ND filters.

23 Aug 2010 7:49am

Anna.C from LA ROCHELLE, France

so, you're back with some marvelous pics ! an exceptional view and realisation with long exposure, colors are so beautiful ! the large version works better !

23 Aug 2010 7:58am

Amygdala from Singapore, Singapore

Magical image!! Am looking out for winged fairies!! :)

23 Aug 2010 8:07am

mo.langel from Courtelary, Switzerland

Fantastic shot!!! The reflection is beautiful!

23 Aug 2010 9:21am

Japanalia from Yokohama, Japan

Glad you offered a better view link...it is such a great capture! The lighting, colours and the winding curve of the land make the final target shine against that winged sky!
You know that I watch your shots and seldom comment...but this time I just couldn't resist!
Gabriela

23 Aug 2010 9:26am

Scene by Sharon Photography from Kingston, Ontario, Canada

wow - this is beyond magnificent - this is probably the best photo I have seen on this site at anytime from anyone - truly outstanding !

23 Aug 2010 10:08am

k@ from Paris, France

Great reflection on this beauty !

23 Aug 2010 11:37am

Ian Smith from London, United Kingdom

Very well taken Ian. I've seen many photo's of this place... I can imagine how enchanting it must be.

23 Aug 2010 11:58am

Mehdi from Tehran, Iran

wow, wonderful motion and strong contrast and reflection.

23 Aug 2010 11:59am

digitalCG from Manchester, United Kingdom

Welcome back, starting off firmly on the right foot with this. Just a cracking composition.

23 Aug 2010 12:38pm

Alfredo J. Martiz J. from Panama City, Panama

Beautiful photo Ian!

23 Aug 2010 2:08pm

Bernardo from Spain

Una magnifica foto.

Saludos

23 Aug 2010 2:45pm

chen from manila, Philippines

amazing shot, love the compo, = )

23 Aug 2010 3:18pm

jeanclaude from st mande 94160, France

top one shot congratulations ************

23 Aug 2010 3:39pm

Becky from los angeles, United States

stunning!! wow - A magic castle image - colors and reflection are just gorgeous!

23 Aug 2010 4:36pm

Shahryar from Isfahan, Iran

so beautiful :)

23 Aug 2010 4:58pm

Sergei Z from Türi, Estonia

Excellent capture!

23 Aug 2010 6:37pm

Curly from South Shields, United Kingdom

Absolutely stunning Ian, awesome. Still haven't had the chance to get out and shoot something with my new Coking 8 stop filter, might try this weekend.

23 Aug 2010 7:45pm

Gilles from Entre Bussy et Bruxelles, France

difficult to get an original shot of Mont St Michel ... Here, the result is stunning with this dramatic sky

excellent shot

23 Aug 2010 8:55pm

DowsherVision from PARIS, France

Wow Wow Wow and Woooow again !!!
I won't say much, I'm speechless.

*****

23 Aug 2010 10:33pm

Heather J. Snider from Canada

Spectacular! Love the curve and the feeling of motion in the clouds.

24 Aug 2010 12:44am

DarkElf from Perth, Australia

yet another superb daylight long exposure! your composition is excellent and the movement of the clouds captured gives this scene a nice dreamy atmosphere and goes well with the warm light and colour tones!

24 Aug 2010 2:42am

Ralph Jones from Detroit, United States

Outstanding light on this extra long exposure.

24 Aug 2010 2:51am

Phil from Sausset les Pins, France

Hello , it's a fantastic and original point of view on The Mt St Michel , wonderful lights colors and feeling , Phil.

24 Aug 2010 7:03am

Magda from Vancouver, Canada

Outstanding work! Just breathtaking

24 Aug 2010 7:29am

lux from Munich, Germany

Nothing to add - to both the foto and the comments, impressed
M.

24 Aug 2010 10:10am

hoveeto from PARIS, France

a so nice reflection. bravo

24 Aug 2010 12:58pm

Tracy from La Selva Beach, United States

Awesome! I love the reflection, and the stark beauty!

24 Aug 2010 3:13pm

Anna Bramham from Manchester, United Kingdom

Haha, I only just noticed the link! Thanks!
Wow, this one turned out well, didn't it? Especially considering it was grey for so long only a few moments before this shot, and then the sun comes out and you get this :) Congrats, great photo.

24 Aug 2010 3:51pm

mostafa from karaj, Iran

so nice shot

colorful & quality is better

good luck

24 Aug 2010 5:08pm

Vaido from Võrumaa, Estonia

Great light and framing!

27 Aug 2010 8:32am

Punit from Wanderer, India

Great composition and light.

31 Aug 2010 8:17am

Faëlle from Lyon, France

Superbe, toujours et encore!!

7 Sep 2010 11:01pm

Sakis from Kozani, Greece

Great colors and long expo!

10 Feb 2011 8:12am

Olivier Rault from Bayeux, France

Fantastic shot ! What colors, superb ! Great job.

12 Feb 2011 10:22am

Rima from mumbai, India

Brilliant shot. Waiting for the day when i could capture such lovely landscapes

23 Feb 2011 8:46am

Naveen Bachwani from Bombay (Mumbai), India

Absolutely mindblowing!

5 Mar 2011 7:16pm

Aubélia from Kortrijk, Belgium

Excellent!

14 Mar 2011 12:10pm

Anthony from United States

Absolutely amazing photo.

29 May 2011 2:40am

Kevin P. from France

Wow, very impressive shot ! Well done !

10 Jul 2011 8:04pm

Pravin Patade from Fremont, United States

Woww, fantasticshot.. nicely done

14 Nov 2011 9:05pm

Moein from Bandar-e-Anzali, Iran

Wow ! Great shot !

1 Jan 2012 11:33pm

Anthony from Baltimore, United States

absolutely fantastic shot

21 Jan 2012 7:11am

mary from ZANJAN, Iran

its very very nice and wonderfull

23 Jan 2012 4:27pm

Noel from London, United Kingdom

Amazing - I feel like I could step into the frame and walk towards the island and the abbey !

11 Mar 2012 8:05pm

Jocelyne from Shefford, Canada

Woooooow! Magnifique!

25 Mar 2012 2:42pm

France from France

Very nice picture Ian ! Congratulations for your beautiful gallery. Great work !
Le Mont Saint-Michel est l'une des innombrables merveilles françaises.
Il y tant à voir dans notre beau pays... :) Welcome to my web site.

18 Apr 2012 4:32pm