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Church, mosque or GPO?


Church, mosque or GPO?
Photo Information
Copyright: David Astley (banyanman) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1331 W: 114 N: 2585] (7462)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2004-12-21
Categories: Architecture
Camera: Nikon D100, Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm 1:4G ED
Exposure: f/4, 1/20 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2006-01-21 4:13
Viewed: 1950
Points: 16
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
At first glance this might look like a church or mosque, but is in fact just a post office.

This is the main post office in Algiers (La Grande Poste). I hesitated to post this because it has some technical problems, but decided to do so because nobody has yet posted a photograph of the interior of this building to TrekEarth.

I tried to find out some information about this impressive looking building on the Internet, but references were quite scarce. One said that La Grande Poste was built on the site of a British church which the French demolished at the beginning of the last century, and has been operating as a post office every since. Another said that it dated from when northern Algeria was part of the Ottoman Empire. So I assume this must have been built during the early 1900s when the Ottomans had various alliances with the French.

The technical problems with this shot are: 1. I should have taken this from a POV one or two steps to the right because I haven’t got it exactly symmetrical Photographs like this should either be exactly symmetrical or shot from a completely different angle. My problem was that I wasn’t quite sure whether I was allowed to take photographs inside this building (many public buildings in Algiers prohibit photography) so this was a ‘grab shot’ when I thought nobody was looking. 2. The lights on the chandelier are blown out. I don’t know whether there is a way to overcome this without underexposing the rest of the photograph. Does anyone have any suggestions?

PP: Small amount of cropping then applied USM. (This was hand-held at 1/20th so I was quite pleased with the sharpness that I achieved)
fayeulle, ChrisJ, PJE, kclai, dsidwell, cessy, zou has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

Hi david
Good result for this technically very difficult shot with a very wide angle lens. Very good light managemment too.
Cheers
JP

  • Great 
  • ChrisJ Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 8720 W: 917 N: 11589] (56203)
  • [2006-01-21 4:37]

Hi David

Good sharpness, colour, & lighting. A difficult interior lighting situation, with an effective, & compromising result. Congratulations!

  • Great 
  • PJE Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2168 W: 138 N: 3847] (18299)
  • [2006-01-22 19:35]

David for the love of design and ornate decorating..this ceiling beats all that I have seen for some time. A gorgous view of detail. Incredible capture. Thanks for sharing!

  • Great 
  • kclai Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 744 W: 38 N: 506] (2259)
  • [2006-01-23 0:07]

Hi David
Well, it really pay off for you to have such unique shot of this unique post-office. Technically, the image is well executed, maintaining all the good exposure.
Well done, david.
Eric Lai

I love the distortion here, which emphasizes the massive architecture. The tones and lighting are wonderful, too. Nice work, David!

  • Great 
  • chaity Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 437 W: 16 N: 332] (1534)
  • [2006-01-25 19:43]

Hi David, congrats on your quick action to get this shop. The ceiling looks majestic and beautiful. I wouldn't mind the lights overexposed a bit. It gave a lot of energy for the photo.

Hi David,
You captured very interesting place.Good sharpnes and colours are beautiful.
Thanks for sharing.
Adnan

  • Great 
  • cessy Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2257 W: 99 N: 2339] (13561)
  • [2006-02-10 13:01]

must be the most beautiful post office in the world
great capture of the architecture

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