Lively Middle Ages Photo

Photographer’s Note

This is one of the canals in the center of the wonderful Belgian city Bruges (Brugge) which since the year 2000 is a prominent World Heritage Site of UNESCO.
Since 1134, when a storm surge broke a fairway in the local bay with the name "Zwin", Bruges was connected with the North Sea. Thus the city got a harbour and the possibility of taking part in the international commerce as for example with the English wool producers, the wine producers of Gascogne and the clothiers of Flanders. Since the 13th century Bruges was a member of the Hanseatic League, but traders also came from Genoa, Venice, Florence, Portugal, Scotland and southern Germany. Here the first bourse developed.

Bruges then was the seat of the Burgundian dukes. At the end of the Middle Ages Bruges was the richest city of northern Europe, but about 1550 the Zwin silted up and Bruges lost its access to the sea. It sank into poverty and the development of the city came to rest. Thus Bruges still today offers a complete medieval cityscape.

In the background of my photo you can see the landmark of Bruges, the really great belfry. It is one of the 24 belfries of Flanders - mostly part of the city hall. The belfry of Bruges (83 meters) was built in 1240 as a part of the market hall where drapery trade took place. Please see workshop photo.

besnard, Muse, robertosalguero, Budapestman, snunney, jlbrthnn, eska, ktanska, claudeD, asajernigan, saxo042, chinchini, leo61, Uhu, polpo56, mvdisco, Guenther, josepmarin, edal, jhm, emjleclercq, jmcl, Jakab has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

jasmis (49731) 2008-06-17 23:09

Lovely place. Fine attraction for tourists. Proper photo for summer holidays time.

Regards my dear friend.

besnard (30212) 2008-06-17 23:13

Bonjour Frank
Un joli cliché de cette très belle ville, dite "la Venise du Nord". Tu illustres bien cette formule avec le bâteau qui n'a toutefois rien d'une gondole mais qui permet à ses passagers de découvrir la ville depuis le cours d'eau.
Merci pour le partage et bonne journée.
Nicole

mesutilgim (36337) 2008-06-17 23:22

Hallo lieber Frank,
Mal dort, mal da ! Wie schoen wenn man mitten im Europa sizt und diese Schoenheiten in greifbarer Naehe hat.
Eine der noch unberuerten Ecken Europas hast Du ganz toll aufgenommen. Auch wie immer lehrreiche Beitraege.
Danke schoen und,
Mfg
MESUT ILGIM

cigdom (2228) 2008-06-17 23:31

Very beautiful view.I like the composition.I did a WS.I hope you like it :)
TFS
REgards..
Cigdem

[workshop] [compare] +

gildasjan (23393) 2008-06-18 0:05

Bonjour Frank
Un très bon cadrage pour l'image de ce très beau quartier de Bruges.Une bonne lumière pour un bon rendu du tableau.Cela devait être un plaisir d'avoir cette richesse architecturale devant ses yeux.
Bonne journée
Amicalement
Gildas

robertosalguero (2759) 2008-06-18 0:32

Hi Frank,

I get the impression that this image may need to be straightened a little. This is a nice place indeed and its old architecture create a more charming atmosphere. Nice inclusion of people to create a more lively scene. Thanks for sharing :-)

Roberto

Muse (30603) 2008-06-18 0:34

Hello Franck,
Une vue classique de Brugge sous un très joli ciel.
Bon cadrage avec les touristes qui animent la scène.
Excellente journée
Denise

bracasha75 (21707) 2008-06-18 0:46

Halo Frank
Belgien ist interesantes kleines land mit schone architecture ,aber nicht schoner von Deutschland,und das hier ist echt turistische sehenswurdigkeit
Grus aus schaurige Serbien
(so sagt man,s ,ja????)

stefanocer (10335) 2008-06-18 1:14

It's for sure a lovely and interesting place Frank , great composition with the inclusion of touristic boat , nice light management too .
Stefano.

Budapestman (41086) 2008-06-18 1:39

Hi Frank,
Great shot from Bruges with spectacular composition. The architectural details are amazing, colours and lights are splendid. Fabled atmosphere, Have a nice day
George

snunney (34186) 2008-06-18 1:56

Hello Frank,
A nice atmosphere to this classic shot of Brugges. Very good colours and clarity. Thanks for sharing.

TopGeo (21449) 2008-06-18 2:24

Hi Frank ! lovely scene, The magic of colours and the view are splendidly. The point very enchanting a picture that has cheerful atmosphere. Wonderful POV and composition with river and buildings with prospect! excellent picture and work too!
well done!
Georgios

jlbrthnn (37038) 2008-06-18 3:00

Hello Frank,
To show this superb city, this Venice of North, the point of view is interesting on the channel. The quality of the image is neat. The colors are moderated, no excess. I like it.
Have a nice day
Cordially
Joël

jjcordier (24186) 2008-06-18 4:25

Frank
Certainement un des endroits les plus photographiés au monde....mais la vue est si belle!
Amicalement
JJ

ktanska (16432) 2008-06-18 5:57

Hi Frank,
I see canal sightseeing are done there on smaller boats than many other cities. Special old architecture all over. Nice weather although light is rather strong. Certainly intersting place to visit.
Kari

wolf38 (12549) 2008-06-18 6:10

Hallo Frank. Auch das heutige Photo kann sich sehen lassen. Alles scheint so, als habe sichj durch die Jahrhunderte nicht das mindeste verändert. Nur die Kleidung der Touristen und der kleine Kran ganz im Hintergrund verweisen auf die Neuzeit. Auch dies ein phantastisches Photo. Viele Grüße, Wolfgang.

claudeD (11168) 2008-06-18 6:15

Hallo frank,

tolle Aufnahme aus dem "Venedig des Nordens".Ich werde in den Sommermonaten Brügge einen Besuch abstatten.Ich hoffe auf gutes Wetter.Bei meinen 2 letzten Besuchen hat es jeweils in Strömen geregnet.

Mit den besten Grüssen aus Luxemburg

Jean-Claude

asajernigan (13929) 2008-06-18 7:59

Frank,
Yes, another fine photo from Brugge, what a beautiful place.
Your composition and POV are great using the canal to lead the eye through the shot with the boat giving the photo a nice sense of direction and motion. The lighting and colors are fine with nice sharpness and detail.
TFS,
Asa

saxo042 (15188) 2008-06-18 8:19

Hi Frank,
I notice that this is your 800th contributuion to TE! Congratulation! It is also your first from Belgium!

Yes, Brugge is really a very beautiful and interesting town and this photo gives us a very typical scene. Old buildings and modern tourists. Couldn´t be better!

Greetings from Gothenburg
Gunnar

chinchini (27353) 2008-06-18 8:56

Bonjour Frank,
Très belle capture d'un endroit qu'on présente souvent de nuit. Bruges, une perle qu'on ne présente plus mais que ta note nous décrit bien.
Mes amitiés du bord de mer, pas pour te rendre jaloux ;o))
Pierre

leo61 (42946) 2008-06-18 9:28

Hallo Frank!
Wo warst Du denn überall in so kurzer Zeit?
Berlin,Holland ,Belgien Siegen.....
Oft gesehen hier aber immer wieder schön,besonders mit dem diagonalen Touriboot.Guter Standort und viele schöne Details.
Gruß,Andreas
26 °,Sonne pur aber mit Muskelfaserrieß in der Wade kaum outdoor möglich.Nein ich habe nicht Fußball gespielt.....

dta (4454) 2008-06-18 10:39

Bonjour Frank ,
Superbe point de vue sur cette si belle ville . Le bateau qui part en diagonale est vraiment un plus pour cette image .
Bravo
Denis

danyy (68088) 2008-06-18 12:54

BOnjour Frank,
toutes les photos de Bruges risquent de séduire, c'est une si jolie ville.
Une belle vue sur le beffroi au couer des canaux.
Une photo bien réalisée sur le plan technique et du cadrage.
Bien à toi.
Daniel.

Uhu (7340) 2008-06-18 13:27

Greetings!
Here's a wonderful place and excellent photo of it! I like everything here, composition and details and note.
Greetings from St-Petersburg (+15 C today only).

polpo56 (7806) 2008-06-18 14:18

Oh, I can see the wonderful Bruges, the Venece of north Europe.
I like very much your shot. Beautiful composition, great depht and sharpness.
Ciao Frank

Ludo

hrschwartz (692) 2008-06-18 15:31

Hi Frank,

So now it's on to Belgium? I was hoping you would leave some of Europe for me to photograph when I retire. Oh well, there's always Peynier. Or, do you plan to travel there next? ;-))

"See" you soon.
Randy

mvdisco (11380) 2008-06-18 18:35

Bonjour Frank,
Belle présentation et jolies couleurs naturelles, bel endroit et détails, Très jolie photo,
Tous mes compliments
Michel

UnTrained (0) 2008-06-18 23:17

Guten Morgen Frank,
eine mittelalterliche Szene, die Boote mit den Leibeigenen werden zur Arbeitsablösung herangebracht, die Abzulösenden warten schon erschöpft. ;-)
Schöner Blick in den Kanal mit all diesen reichhaltigen Fassaden, sehr schön in die Details und mit dem Zuschnitt gute Tiefe. Ich glaube, da muss ich auch noch mal hin.
Noch trübe hier und kühl, Lieben Gruss, Ulf

Guenther (6669) 2008-06-19 2:41

Auch diesen berühmten Ausblick hast du sehr gut eingefangen ... beeindruckend wie voll das Touristenboot ist, die sind nicht abgesoffen, hoffe ich :-) Jedenfalls sind die Touris eine schöne bunte Ergänzung.

Nchmals Grüße
Günther

Loic_bzh (6951) 2008-06-19 3:24

Salut Frank,

belle photo d'un de mes endroits préférés! J'en ai d'ailleurs une semblable dans ma galerie, mais de nuit.

Tu as redressé les distortions dues au 18mm?

Bonne journée,

Loïc

testmaniac (11832) 2008-06-19 3:46

Hello Frank, very nice street photo! Excellent composition and atmosphere from Bruges.
TFS and have a nice day!

Phil

josepmarin (33611) 2008-06-19 9:42

Hallo my friend Frank,
This one is a city that I want to visit, because with photos like yours we can imagine how pleasant thing that must be walk along its streets and canals, and enjoy a medieval really magnificent architecture.
Your photo is very attractive, and catches the tourist local environment, with very much dynamism.
Regards from the warm (28ºC) and sunny Barcelona.
Josep

edal (6563) 2008-06-19 10:49

Hallo Frank!
It really shows the magic of medieval architecture. Your photo is excellent in all aspects - pov, colors, sharpness and narration.
Friendly,
Anton

Graal (57312) 2008-06-19 10:55

Hi Frank,
very nice reportage from Bruges. I like the old architecture - here and in WS. Good work. Beautiful town.
Gr., Aleksander

chawax (5757) 2008-06-21 0:36

Hi Frank,
Very nice point of view. The buildings are very beautiful and have very warm colours. I love the way the boat on the river invites us to board in to visit this city. Exposure is very good, no dark areas on the picture.
Regards,
Olivier

jhm (81817) 2008-06-21 0:44

Guten Abend Frank,

Bruges, this is one most the photographing place, the Rozenhoedkaai.
You know Bruges, that is my second city is where I every week coming.
Incredible, but you can always make the most beautiful pictures in this most safty city in Flanders.
Splendid composition and very attractive colours.
My compliments my friend.

Have a nice weekend,
John.

emjleclercq (14133) 2008-06-21 23:57

Very nice view of one of the canals of Brugge, with very natural colors. Apart from the tourist boat in the center, nothing has much changed since the Middle Ages in this one.

All the best,

Emmanuel

barrufeto_77 (25619) 2008-06-22 12:16

Hi Frank.

After view this pic...I want to get back to Brugues, I want to get back to Brugues, I want to get back to Brugues...

Excellent POV and colours with the lovely B&W WS..

Rgs, Oscar

jmcl (13721) 2008-07-17 13:31

Hi Frank,

Beautiful old buildings and gentle reflections .. very nice. I love the way the three prominent spires/towers form a triangle .. take care, John

Jakab (3408) 2008-07-27 2:20

Hallo Frank,
hier kam wirklich alles optimal zusammen, sogar das Wetter war gutmütig. Die oberen und unteren Linien der Häuser laufen in einen Punkt zusammen und so entsteht ein angenehmer Raumgefühl im Betrachter. Sehr gut, dass die schattigen und beleuchteten Teile schön ausgeglichen sind.
Viele Grüße
László