An Island in a Sea of Clouds Photo

Photographer’s Note

This is a view from the top of Port d'Envalira the pass at 2,409 m.

The Principality of Andorra is a small, landlocked principality in
southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and
bordered by France and Spain. Once isolated, it is currently a
prosperous country mainly because of tourism and its status as a tax
haven. Andorra is also part of the Catalan Countries and is one of the
European microstates. Tradition holds that Charlemagne granted a
charter to the Andorran people in return for their fighting the Moors.
Overlordship over the territory was passed to the local count of
Urgell and eventually to the bishop of the diocese of Urgell. In the
11th century a dispute arose between the bishop and his northern
French neighbour over Andorra.
In 1278, the conflict was resolved by the signing of a parage, which
provided that Andorra's sovereignty be shared between the French count
of Foix (whose title would ultimately transfer to the French head of
state) and the bishop of La Seu d'Urgell, in the Catalonia region of
Spain. This gave the small principality its territory and political
form.
Over the years the title passed to the kings of Navarre, and under the
king of France Henry IV, an edict in 1607 established the head of the
French state and the Bishop of Urgell as co-princes of Andorra.
In the period 1812–13, the French Empire annexed Catalonia and divided
it in four departments. Andorra was also annexed and made part of the
district of Puigcerdà (département of Sègre).
On July 6, 1934 the Russian Boris Skossyreff was proclaimed king by
the Andorran government. On July 14, a group of the Guardia Civil
(Spanish militarized police) entered Andorra and took him to
Barcelona, and later to Madrid to be expelled to Portugal.
In 1958, Andorra declared peace with Germany, having been forgotten on
the Treaty of Versailles and remaining legally at war.
Given its relative isolation, Andorra has existed outside the
mainstream of European history, with few ties to countries other than
France and Spain. In recent times, however, its thriving tourist
industry along with developments in transportation and communications
have removed the country from its isolation and its political system
was thoroughly modernized in 1993.

From Wikipedia
*scanned image*

RGatward, efigesta, bantonbuju, feather, kebek, huynt, ChrisJ, Quentin, AmiBe, alejandroguzman, carper, igorw, moshe_mosk, pirulesco has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

RGatward (19737) 2005-10-09 5:00

Nice one from your archives, good scan, and an interesting note. Good moody shot of the Pyranean landscape.

jinju (14265) 2005-10-09 5:12

Hi Paolo,

great darkness. We get a sense of danger looking at this. Day is ending, night is apporaching, what will happen when the night comes? People have always been afraid of the night because we are defenseless in it. The clouds futher add to that feeling, enveloping us, maybe choking us. I also appreciate how you are bringing us your old archive shots.

maurazos (0) 2005-10-09 5:17

Impressive moment! Good shot and better information about a still very unknown country, despite its tourist appeal. Regards.

rbcy1974 (20742) 2005-10-09 5:51

Hi Paolo,
Very interesting view with great silhuetes and a mysterius colour,
Well done,
Next time you are in the region give me a call,
Regards

Daniel

oochappan (22032) 2005-10-09 5:52

Indeed a good scan and impressive colortone and note, a perfect bordering, clouds are very well tetured and good composed with the gradiant mountains counterlighted on front and misty in background.

gaby (19793) 2005-10-09 6:25

Paolo très joli paysage - j'aime beaucoup cette montagne surgissant des nuages et les tons sepia très clairs employés -
Merci et bon dimanche
Gaby

serdarhepgul (1712) 2005-10-09 8:02

Magnificenttttt...
Serdar

donluicu (23925) 2005-10-09 8:12

Ciao Paolo
what a great view, quite an abstract production..i like it.
well done

loic

efigesta (12181) 2005-10-09 9:56

Hi Paolo, nice pic with a good color, i know you are good in portraits (lol) regards manuel matos

bantonbuju (48602) 2005-10-09 10:28

buongiorno paolo;
excellent introduction to the unknown country; all i know is where it is located and that it is a fully-mountainous place; and here we received an interesting historical lesson plus an intelligent and pleasent visual; good te stuff;
ciao, jerzy

jofjof27 (399) 2005-10-09 13:36

Superbe prise!!!

kebek (5434) 2005-10-09 14:54

Serwus Paolo !
Very mystic image. I like the softness here and impression that the whole scene is out of focus. Great light and delicate tones really make this scenery. I'm not sure about the color of the frame.
Have a nice week,
Mat

huynt (5077) 2005-10-09 23:09

Wow. Very beautiful composition, very impressive. well done. Thanks for sharing. huy

fabio_ts (13674) 2005-10-10 3:25

questa è a dir poco "magica"...che fantastica atmosfera Paolo..una spettacolare vista resa ancora più evocativa dal perfetto controllo della luce da parte tua.. un gran lavoro, complimenti!!
buona settimana, Fabio.

ChrisJ (70165) 2005-10-10 4:03

Ciao Paolo

I like the softness, & atmospheric mood of this superb landscape. Excellent graphism, of the dark mountain spur, against the light mist. Bellisimo!

AmiBe (6042) 2005-10-10 10:25

Ciao Paolo,
nice picture, excellent atmosphere with the fog.
The light is very special, well done

alejandroguzman (4672) 2005-10-10 12:13

Hi Paolo:

Powerfull clouds all over there in a great composition.

well done.

alejandro

feather (49858) 2005-10-11 5:17

A very moody atmospheric shot. I like the mist round the silhouetted montain and the colour tone you gave it.
Kath

carper (64746) 2005-10-12 12:38

very nice shot Paolo,
realy well taken shot, the composition is nice with a fantastic atmosphere, I don´t like the frame I think a white one is nicer, but ofcoarse is that personal, very good job,
gr. Jaap

keribar (42748) 2005-10-12 14:53

Ciao Paolo,

This is one of the best pictures I've seen lately on TE. Colors, framing everything's SUPER:
Goes to my favorites for sure Paolo -
Izzet

Luan (15935) 2005-10-13 3:55

Oh, I've missed this one, great shot Paolo, only shadows and mist can make a splendid shot.
Well done
Luan

jasmis (50298) 2005-10-14 9:49

Wonderful colours. Excelent mood. Fine landscape. Makes impression.

starbug (6924) 2005-10-14 10:01

Hi Paolo, ther'es a lot of mystery in your photo, the dark light and the clouds from which enything could emerge make the view look like from a ghost story, but at the same time there's some peace here too...very nice colours and great composition!
greetings
Aleksandra

sebinho342 (18740) 2006-07-18 7:50

Hi Paolo, i wanted to see today what was hidden under your only picture of andorra, this little country lost between spain and france ... i did well cause i like very much this picture, smooth but dark, strange atmosphere, little bit oppressing, the result is excellent !
Looks like a painting
Have a nice day basketball guy (have you some basketball shots ?) ... Does italia plays in world championship in Japan ?

verde (957) 2006-10-27 14:54

shockingly good.
again I felt the need to comment on this because it is so great.

I usually am not super impressed with landscapes but you have grasped an orginal feel with yours. You have inspired me to go out and try landscapes again.

thanks
b

marietom (31888) 2007-06-10 15:14

Hi Paolo,

Une petite merveille de paysage, cette image. Superbes couleurs, belle compo. J'aime la brume et le jaune du ciel...
Marie

pirulesco (1942) 2007-06-11 9:43