As stated in my post with the panos, this is the ruins of a castle in Coucy le Chateau, mainly and badly destroyed during world war I. It is on a top of a hill, and the view of villages and the country side around is gorgeous.

All shots taken with Sigma 17-70mm.

1/250s f/8.0 at 17.0mm iso100



This one is taken inside one of the keep, it had just rained that morning and that's why the stone has this awesome contrasty look.
1/125s f/9.5 at 17.0mm iso100



The stoned path to the church
1/350s f/8.0 at 17.0mm iso200



The wild goats kinda own the ruins now! They just live there.
1/180s f/8.0 at 34.0mm iso100



Stone stairwell in on of the keep, done in poor lighting at ISO1600!
1/20s f/4.0 at 17.0mm iso1600



Wood fence surrounding the castle and village.
1/180s f/4.0 at 37.0mm iso200



Little nature walkway around the castle, at ISO800
1/15s f/6.7 at 17.0mm iso800



I'm loving the 20D by the way, and its high iso abilities. I just need to buy more SD cards though... only 139 photos on my 2Gb card!! lol

Comments welcome as always.

Mike
Michael Erard's Photo Galleries at pbase.com

[highyellow1]

Extremely Nice Photos (including your panos)!

You should take advantage of the Sandisk rebate going on if you need sd cards!

[mel]

Wow. Beautiful area. My favorites are the first one, the cobblestone street, the stairs and of course the goat. The stairwell reminds me of a nautilus shell. In the first one, the way part of the ruin is lit by sun and part isn't adds drama. Nice capture on that one.

Thanks for posting.

[mikerigel]

Extremely Nice Photos (including your panos)!

You should take advantage of the Sandisk rebate going on if you need sd cards!

thanks. Is that rebate good in Europe too?

Wow. Beautiful area. My favorites are the first one, the cobblestone street, the stairs and of course the goat. The stairwell reminds me of a nautilus shell. In the first one, the way part of the ruin is lit by sun and part isn't adds drama. Nice capture on that one.

Thanks for posting.

Thanks, it is a very beautiful place. I noticed the different lighting from the sun on the first one while shooting it, it was a good day.

[heatherslightbox]

As for the rebate, I think it's a US only thing.
If you have any friends in the US, you could always send them the money and have them order the cards for you. Once the cards arrive, then they can handle the rebate part themselves and then send you the Visa Gift Card once they get it.

Just a thought...
Heather

[lbam]

Beautiful shots, thanks for showing... I Looove castles.