Mono Monday - Old

I decided I would try and make something of the ruins of Dunbar castle because I don't think I have ever done a reasonable image of this edifice which stands over the harbour. 

The real problem is that there is precious little left of the old castle. I remember visiting it many years ago and there was a lot more to see and it was even possible to walk over to the ruins but there was a major erosion in 1993 and since then the castle has been fenced off. 

Though a view from low down looking up at it might have given more detail there are so many obstructions like lampposts and fences which tend to detract from the image. I shot from the slope to the side of the leisure centre. I thought a monochrome treatment would suit it best but purposely took my infra-red adapted SLR as well as my main camera to compare the results. With a nice blue sky and puffy white clouds the infra red images easily win out as the blue veers towards black helping to make the clouds stand out even more and giving the overall image a more dramatic tone. It is also good at picking out the texture of the brick work. What did not work so well were the bits of greenery around the castle (grass and ferns) as they ended up a rather nondescript grey with little tonal variation so I have chosen to darken those down. Normally with infra red foliage takes on a whitish tone but not in this case.

It is very old and i thought some of you may be interested in a potted history  :- Defences were built on this rocky outcrop by the Votanidi tribe during the Romans' excursions into Scotland (see our Historical Timeline) and it was a Northumbrian stronghold in 650AD. It was later a Pictish fortress until captured by the Scots under Kenneth MacAlpinin 849AD. The first stone castle was probably constructed by the Earl of Dunbar in the 1070s. 
Dunbar Castle was unsuccessfully attacked by the English in 1214, but Edward I had better luck in 1296. And Edward II sheltered at Dunbar Castle after the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Following this the castle was slighted, then refortified in 1333. Dunbar Castle's most famous moment came in 1338 when Agnes Randolph of Dunbar, or "Black Agnes",commanded the successful defence of the castle during a five month siege by the English. 
The castle was rebuilt in the early 1400s, repelling another English siege in 1435 before being badly damaged by them in 1448. In 1488 it was slighted by the Scots to prevent its use by the English. Rebuilding in 1515 was followed by another English attack in 1548, and further fortification, this time by the French, in 1550. 
On 24 April 1567 Mary Queen of Scots was brought to Dunbar Castle by the Earl of Bothwellafter his abduction of her, and the two later returned to the castle after their marriage on 15 May. After the Queen's subsequent surrender and abdication, the Scottish Parliament ordered the destruction of a castle that was so strong its possession destabilised the balance of power in Scotland. 
The final indignity for Dunbar Castle came with the construction of the Victoria Harbour in 1844. A new entrance for Dunbar's harbours was blasted through the end of the rock on which the castle ruins stood: indeed, the process of firing explosives by electricity was invented especially for the job.