Tha Alcazar de Colon at night Photo

Photographer’s Note

The picture was taken last night while visiting the Plaza de España in the Colonial Zone.

Tha Alcazar de Colon was built in the 1520s, the palace was primarily constructed in Italian Renaissance style with some gothic details. The main entrance, however, was designed in Isabeline style. In 1770 the building was abandoned, but in 1957 it was restored by stonemasons to its present condition during the Presidential period of Joaquin Balaguer.

One of the most outstanding structure in the old city is the Alcázar (Zona Colonial), a palace built for Columbus's son, Diego, and his wife, who was also niece to Ferdinand, king of Spain. Diego became the colony's governor in 1509, and Santo Domingo rose as the hub of Spanish commerce and culture in America. For more than 60 years, this coral limestone structure on the bluffs of the Ozama River was the center of the Spanish court, entertaining such distinguished visitors as Cortés, Ponce de León, and Balboa. The nearly two dozen rooms and open-air loggias are decorated with paintings, period tapestries, and 16th-century antiques.

Hope you like it.

NIKON CORPORATION
Model: NIKON D200
Software: Adobe Photoshop CS3 Windows
Exposure Time: 10/30 sec
F-Stop: f/8.0
ISO Speed Ratings: 1250
Focal Length: 24 mm
Date Taken: 2007-12-03 18:22
Metering Mode: Pattern
File Size: 177 kb

japiey, Floydian, andante, paura, josepmarin, gracious, Truja, jhm, plimrn, ALIRIZA, Gerrit, stego, AiresSantos, PixelTerror, Cretense, danos, siolaw, Didi, syd1946, flory, Cricri, Jean-Luc, Ganchor4, riclopes, Docarmo, Charo, pboehringer, maloutim, feather, isabela_sor, TeresaT has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Gustaw (21670) 2007-12-04 9:01

Hi, my friend!
It is very interesting night photo. I like your night colours. Good composition and nice light. I like your architecture and palms.
Marek

Paolo (40763) 2007-12-04 9:14

Hi Emile, good night view, with the old building comin out from the dark with beautiful golden tones and beautiful palm trees silouhettes.
thanks,ciao

japiey (9531) 2007-12-04 9:22

Dear Emile,

BEAUTIFULL NIGHT SHOT..
Fine study of the historic place and a good presentation..

Namasthe :)

jean paul

Floydian (30970) 2007-12-04 9:55

Hi Emile,
I like the light on the walls and the green light was is coming from under the arches. The rest of the image is a bit dark and for my taste a bit to dark. I would have loved to see some blue light in the sky which would give a nicer contrast to that red colour on the wall.
Forgot to say that i also like those stairs covered with shadow and light...very nice.
Regards, Henk

andante (7092) 2007-12-04 10:13

A la verdad que es una de las mejores fotos del Alcazar que se han publicado. Es una composicion clasica y la luz esta muy bien balanceada. Saludos,
Enrique

paura (39608) 2007-12-04 10:16

Emile,
A fotografia, com excelente composição noturna, está muito bem ajustada. o ponto de tomada, com vista em diagonal do prédio, é bastane adequada para apresentar a arquiteura. Belo resultado final.

Abraço

Paulo

josepmarin (34269) 2007-12-04 10:57

Hola amigo Emile,
perfecta toma nocturna de esta magnífica muestra arquitectónica de la colonización española en tu país. La iluminación del edificio es elegante y combina la luz de tonos fríos con la de tonos cálidos y dorados, creando un fuerte efecto a la vista y una gran calidad estética en la composición.
La ISO tan alta te ha regalado un poco de ruido, pero el tiro no era fácil y el resultado es bueno, además, las palmeras y las escaleras añaden un plus de grafismo a la imagen.
Buen trabajo, amigo mío.
Un fuerte abrazo,
Josep

gracious (20017) 2007-12-04 16:33

Hello Emile,
Very beautiful night scene in perfect exposure and focus!
total sharpness, vivid colour and so much details with a useful notes
well done and TFS
cheers
Tony

barrufeto_77 (25957) 2007-12-04 22:31

Hola Emile.

De vuelta por lo que veo...bueno, yo me voy mañana a Viena.

Excelente tratamiento, siempre difícil, de la luz en estos casos.

Un saludo, OScar

TopGeo (22495) 2007-12-05 0:29

Hi Emile excellent shot! The low corner of reception and the nightly lighting with the shades give in your composition a particularity amazing. They clarity and background your picture marvellously. Beautiful work and good your subject. compliments
Georgios

Truja (4948) 2007-12-05 0:37

Bon dia Emile,
impresionante toma nocturna del Alcazar de Colon, es una composición contundente que nos muestra la magnitud tanto arquitectónica como histórica del Alcazar. Las tonalidades doradas imprimen a la escena un toque mágico. Excelente perspectiva,con gran profundidad.

Salut, Jordi

jhm (83786) 2007-12-05 3:41

Hello Emile,

A very nice picture with the green light between the nice gold colour of the Alcazar de Colon.
Very beautiful night scene in perfect exposure and focus, beautiful work and good your subject.
Very well done. Thanks for sharing.

Have a nice day,
John.

emilbo (9741) 2007-12-05 6:35

Salut Emile!
Magnifique prise de vue en soirée de l'Alcazar de Colon que je connais bien. J'ai pris une photo semblable mais de jour. J'aime bien ces couleurs chaudes de soir et le vert sous les arches. Bonne composition et excellente note historique.
Félicitations!... et bonne journée,
Emilius

ramesh_lalwani (3209) 2007-12-05 8:17

Hi Emile
Lovely night time shot.TFS
Ramesh

izmirli (3347) 2007-12-05 8:44

merhaba dear emile
very nice picture.wonderful night and lights.wonderful palms and silhouettes.
well done.
best regards.
gürkan akçakır.

plimrn (19872) 2007-12-05 9:18

Wow, emile!! What a stunning night shot. The lights turn the building to gold. This contrasts nicely with the velvety black sky and the palm silhouettes.
SAA, Pat

ALIRIZA (16197) 2007-12-05 12:50

Hi Emile,
Beautiful night shot. Excellent composition with the old building, nice golden and green tones and beautiful palm trees. Well done my dera friend...
All the best...
Ali Rıza

Gerrit (36553) 2007-12-05 16:05

Hi Emile,
very good night shot. I like the remarkable green light in the interior. It breaks the colourpattern very well.
Groeten Gerrit

stego (22500) 2007-12-05 17:59

Hola Emile,
Que maravilla! El palacio y la plaza ya son muy bonitos de día, pero de noche ganan algo de mágico. Excelente trabajo de compo y exposición. Me gusta muchísimo.
Un fuerte abrazo, José.

batalay (21416) 2007-12-06 2:21

Holá Emile,

An excellent night shot, with a highly informative to complement it. To see photographs of sites that go back to the earliest European settlements in the New World is exciting for me. In Virginia, from which the United States sprang, Jamestown dates back to 1607. Four hundred years is so much old compared to rest of the United States, with Massachusetts and Maryland not far behind. But In Alcazar de Colon the dates a full century older than Jamestown.

Warm regards, Emile.

Bulent

John_F_Kennedy (32340) 2007-12-06 3:51

What a great POV and lightning! This is really amazing. I really like this composition and exposure.
Best wishes,
Achim

Scharan (13955) 2007-12-06 14:43

Que bonita esta foto noturna Emile!
Belas luzes coloridas que dão graça ao cenário que já é bem bonito. Parabéns!!!
GA
Vera

pablominto (41690) 2007-12-06 23:13

Hello Emile,
An interesting mix of styles in the architecture, but what catches my eyes is the wide stairs leading to the building!
The artificial light adds warmth and the inside green light adds an interesting effect!
Greetings,
Pablo -

AiresSantos (43270) 2007-12-06 23:35

Hola Emile
Very good night shot with the 'Alcazar de Colon'. Excellent details. nice contrast between the yellow and green light. I also like you note and how you framedt it
TFS and have a nice weekend
Aires

Cretense (57564) 2007-12-07 4:06

Hola Emile!

No recuerdo haber visto fotos nocturnas en tu portfolio otra vez (ya sabes cuanto me gustan!), pero esa est muuuy lograda. La composicion es sencilla pero muy buena para este tipo de fotos, pero lo que mas importa en un foto nocturna es el manejo de la luz, y esto esta perfecto! Podria ser aun mejor si la hubieras sacado a la hora "azul", pero aun asi es muy impresionante. Felicidades!

Un saludo,
Hercules

danos (33730) 2007-12-07 4:29

Hello Emile,
nice the night shot of the Alcazar de Colon with the artificial light to floodlight.The green colours of the arched terrace contrasted perfect with the colour of the light oof the whole building.The wide staircase five depth in your capture.Informative your note too.

Regards,Danos

siolaw (25890) 2007-12-07 6:02

Hi Emile
The palace stands out strong against the dark sky, and exposure is good as wall details and texture are well preserved. Nice colors of the artificial lights.
Greetings
Laurent

Didi (36674) 2007-12-07 7:56

Hello Emile
Very nice try for this night picture.
No problems with exposure but I wonder if it was possible to set the white balance in RAW file, the D200 is a very good camera with good possibilties.
Well done my friend.
Cheers.

syd1946 (17999) 2007-12-07 14:40

Hello Emile,
Very impressive night shot!Seems all works so well for this capture,especially to the super successful light exposure!
Also an image with a big architectural interesting...the note helps very much!

All the best for the weekend!

Thomas

flory (4804) 2007-12-07 22:03

hi Emile,
your night shot it's nice and certainly that green light makes a good contrast with the rest of scenery;)a beautiful palace with rich history..
thanks and nice week end!
Flori;)

jaywalker (12415) 2007-12-07 22:46

Hi Emile, I love the lighting dragging out the stone work, the green light in the arched windows looks a little unusual, however still appealing, although dark in places it enforces the structure, the silhouettes of the palms are excellent &, overall a great photo, TFS, kind regards Wilson.

PixelTerror (87195) 2007-12-08 2:42

Hola Emile,
Given the style and colors there something out of the 100 nights in this palace, beautiful colonial style and creative lighting, I like these green touches that highlight the arches a lot.
Have a nice week end, JY

Cricri (44115) 2007-12-08 3:34

Ola Emile,
Le POV bien choisi qui montre deux côtés du palace, belle teinte de couleur des pierres et verte a l'intérieur, belle présentation nocturne
Have a nice weekend for you
cricri

Jean-Luc (5488) 2007-12-08 8:15

Hola Emile,
Simple mais belle architecture, très bien mise en valeur par cet éclairage nocturne.
L'éclairage vert à l'intérieur des arcades supérieures apporte une note très originale et assez magique!
Well done,
Amicalement
Jean-Luc

riclopes (33143) 2007-12-09 1:07

Hola Emile, very interesting night capture. It makes me think of an old photo. I guess that I would prefer the blue hour as well, but I also like the strong contrast with the dark background, here. And even the presence of some grain in that parts, giving a nice texture all over the image. The absence of people at this ghost hour makes me think of a haunted place. I like the ondulating line of the stairs coming right from the corner. A very pleasing result. Very good work.
Bueno fin de semana,
ricardo

Docarmo (8862) 2007-12-10 2:28

Hola Emile,
Very interesting night shot, we can learn a lot from the image and from your note, as well.
Lights are very beautiful.
Thanks for sharing,
MC

Paul57 (1667) 2007-12-13 11:17

Hi Emile,
It's really nice being able to have another look at this beautiful palace built for Diego. The use of a tripod most certainly helped you achieve this gorgeous composition. I'm surprised that there isn't more noise considering the high ISO.
My daughter and her friend will be visiting your country in January. This will be her second trip.
TFS and hope you have a wonderful Christmas Holiday and a great 2008.
Paul

Charo (32190) 2007-12-13 15:19

Hola Emile,
Bella toma de este Alcázar con estupendo encuadre que nos muestra dos fachadas del mismo. Las luces verdes le dan buen contraste.
Excelente realización.
Un abrazo amigo, espero que de nuevo no os haya pasado nada ni a ti ni a tu familia con esta nueva tormenta.
Charo

pboehringer (770) 2007-12-14 18:55

Emile, a very nice moment to get a nocturne impression of this very historic building. It reminds me of a dinner that I had in front of it while there was a gathering with music and dance. The colors of green and gold are really extraordinary, but I think that you will have to go back there and get the same during the blue hour to have more differentiation and less pitch black sky.
Regards, Peter

maloutim (4117) 2007-12-14 19:47

Hola Emile!
Me gusta la arquitectura pura, con las arcadas elegantes;
Las iluminaciones tambien son bonitas, y tu has captado este palacio de noce muy bien!
Un saludo!
Marie Louise.

feather (50560) 2007-12-15 9:14

I have seen this building in daylight from Jose's photos. It is good to see it again illuminated and with the green lights in the arched windows. I love the effect of the shadows on the steps.
Kath

isabela_sor (42757) 2007-12-15 14:14

I admire all night shots because the settings must be very good to get a great result as you did here!Very good management of the golden light and the details of the impressive building
Have a nice weekend

vincz (19075) 2007-12-16 4:28

Beautiful night shot with such superb colors. The unexpected green is a very big plus. I like it.

devimeuxbe (56532) 2007-12-17 12:32

Hi Emile
This is an interesting picture with beautifull colors on the construction.
Not only the yellow light. Also the green touch give a nice aspect.
Have a nice day
Bertrand

TeresaT (10733) 2008-01-10 12:43

Hello Emile,
First of all I wish you a happy year of 2008.
About the photo I think is a beautiful night shot.
The light is simply perfect.
And the defintion too...we can see very well all the details and textures of the monument.
Regards
Teresa