Xian Drum Tower Photo

Photographer’s Note

A wide angled view of Xian Drum Tower in the bg. I like the contrast between the colourful fg, & drab bg here. I've composed it roughly into horizontal thirds, and taken this from the Bell Tower. The building at right is called the 'Bell & Drum Tower Hotel'.

From Travel China Guide:

"The Drum Tower is located northwest of the Bell Tower, across the Bell Tower and Drum Tower Square. Both of them are called the 'sister buildings' or 'morning bell and dark drum'. In ancient China, especially from the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), the drums were used to signal the running of time and on occasion were used as an alarm in emergency situations.

The Drum Tower in Xian was initially built in 1380 during the reign of Emperor Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and was renovated twice in 1699 and 1740 in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)."

stego, ribeiroantonio, macondo, singuanti, snunney, noborders, AiresSantos, lestans, Emile, siolaw, Angshu has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

bracasha75 (22017) 2007-11-07 15:32

Hello Chris
Beautiful view on Xian...and intresthing note
TFS
Cheers,Braca

stego (22350) 2007-11-07 15:51

Hi Chris,
Indeed, the colourful flowers of the FG make a pretty contrast with the drab BG. The disposition of the seedbeds adds dynamism to the image, something that is also enhanced by the placement of the street and the cars. The view is a curious mix of old and new architecture, with the tower very well positioned.
Regards, José.

ribeiroantonio (21891) 2007-11-07 16:36

Wow, colour! Lots of colour! I like it. I also like the vertical composition. Over all, it is a well balanced photo. Well done.
Antonio

batalay (20858) 2007-11-07 16:57

Wonderful panoramic shot, Chris.

The Chinese colors featured in the flowers make an inviting doorway into the image, and the the note is highly informative.

Warm regards,

Bulent

cak (3811) 2007-11-07 17:10 [Comment]

Show Comment

macondo (13075) 2007-11-07 18:30

Hello Chris.
Well composed to provide the curving floral colour in the foreground, and the street leading away from the roundabout giving depth and perspective. Interesting to see how this ancient tower is placed in the context of very functional and modernistic commercial and civil architecture.
Regards,
Andrew

singuanti (15240) 2007-11-07 19:21

Hi Chris. You have no shortage of things for the eye to inspect but it's a long, long way from being too busy. Naturally those flowers in the foreground are a highlight of the picture. tfs Chris.

UnTrained (0) 2007-11-07 22:26

Hi Chris,
I like the composiiton very much with you (us) in the middle of the circle and the long street at the left. The colourful flowers draw the attention to the foreground and with the view to the background the capture is very open. I wonder about the noise of the drum tower as the hotel is so close.
Lieben Gruss, Ulf

pablominto (40508) 2007-11-07 23:13

Hello Chris,
Interesting foreground interest, colourful and eye-catching!
Sharp fine details in the architecture, good point of view gives fine lines to the composition!
Greetings,
Pablo -

snunney (34732) 2007-11-08 0:57

Hello Chris,
An excellent urban landscape with lots to take in and maintain the interest. The framing from the flower beds makes a very nice contrast and foil for the drab looking sky. Good pov on the main road.

noborders (14199) 2007-11-08 1:04

That place has certainly changed since I was there some 15 years ago and I am happy to see a more recent vision of it, - not sure that I would enjoy cycling again there like I did before !
This is a great wide angle view, the colours of the flowers in the FG are giving another character to the (sometimes) rather dull colours of China.
TFS,
C.
:))

AiresSantos (41970) 2007-11-08 2:25

Hi Chris,
Very beautiful picture Xian with a very interesting mote.
I like your POV and the inclusion of the colourful gardens.
TFS and greetings
Aires

jurek1951 (25930) 2007-11-08 9:24

Hello Chris,
Excellent archiotektur posting.Excellent one detail very interesting composition.Great color, details and light.Very well done
Georg

Emile (19913) 2007-11-08 13:21

Hola Chris.
An amazing panoramic view of such beautiful area of Xian, very well captured, excellent POV and great colors contrast. As always very good sharpness. Nice wide angle shot.
Well done. TFS.
Cheers.

siolaw (25726) 2007-11-08 20:58

Hi Chris,
It makes the viewer feel as if he was standing in the middle of the square, instead of the eventual statue! Nice sharp details and subdued colors makes the atmosphere look realistic...
TFS
Laurent

Angshu (33607) 2007-11-13 19:48

Namaste Chris
A very good idea to have the colourful FG which lifts the image. The wide view is excellent as we see the amalgamation of the old & the new. We do not see the Bell Tower in the picture, do we? What's the building, we can see far in the BG, resembling the Drum tower?
Regards
Angshu