ROOFS OF DUBROVNIK Photo

Photographer’s Note

ROOFS OF DUBROVNIK

“You must try Dubrovnik before you go home…” So sang Liza Minelli in the Broadway classic, “Ring Them Bells” about a globetrotting young woman who leaves in search of love.

In the past I’ve sent photos taken in Croatia — in Split and Trogir, including Green Net — Red Boat. But the real jewel in the crown of the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia is Dubrovnik. In order to work on a book, I have had to curtail my TE activities. But once in a while an addict needs “a fix,” and as a quick fix, I am submitting a shot from last month when the Crystal Serenity on which I was lecturing made two visits to Dubrovnik. This photo was shot on the second visit, July 24.

Historically, it is known that as far back as the Stone Age, this region was inhabited. During the early Christian era a village flourished on top of a nearby mountains. The term “old town” refers to a settlement that was established at Dubrovnik in the 7th century, and which since the medieval times has been a walled city. It is possible to climb to the top of the massive walls and see the city from the level of the roofs. It costs 20 Croatian Kuna (HRK), or between three and four dollars for the opportunity do the perimeter of the city. The views are spectacular, but the 90-minute walk can be an exhausting venture — especially in the hottest days of the summer. The views include the spectacular Adriatic sea, and the countless medieval buildings.

Nikon D70, 18-70 mm Nikkor lens, tripod.

matt_harris_42, kdialyna, feather, papagolf21, alvaraalto, carper, meltemi, jhm, keribar, berek, gunbud, MLINES, singuanti, Henryk_Bilor, Tue, happypoppeye, axiotea, dorte_s_t, PixelTerror, stego has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

matt_harris_42 (151) 2007-08-17 11:14

Hi Bulent - I really like this picture. Composition and frame are excellent. The detail is really nice, with the tiled roof in the foreground and the domes and churches in the distance. You've really captured the architectural character of this place...I'd love to go there...
Regards,
Matt

kdialyna (3068) 2007-08-17 12:19

Good evening Bulent
Wonderful composition with the roofs from tiles to fill your frame and the dome between them, goes up to the sky.
Very nice colours and light supplement your scene.
My warm regards
Kostas

feather (49860) 2007-08-17 12:53

Very good and unusual shot from the city walls. The temptation might be to take a wide angle view, landscape format, but the portrait forat is perfect here. The tall bell tower is placed well in the frame and the other church and dome are good for overall balance. Good DOF and focus on the closer roof. Well done
Kath

jasmis (50360) 2007-08-17 13:07 [Comment]

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PJE (19437) 2007-08-17 13:19

Bulent I always love the chance to get onto a rooftop to take a photo like this. The multi colored clay tiles are very attractive in this photo. Add to that the long perspective makes this a very enjoyable presentation. Thanks for sharing!

erel (11540) 2007-08-17 14:19

MERHABA
Harika bir grafik yakalamışsın damlarla hoş da bir kompozisyon olmuş ellerine sağlık EREL

alvaraalto (5231) 2007-08-17 15:42

Hi Bulent,
Great to see you took my advice about pictures from above so quickly :)
The result is lovely with these two towers extend above the fascinating rooftiles.
groet Rob

AROBN54 (10757) 2007-08-17 18:00

Warm greetings, Bulent,
I like your views from above shots. This one is nicely composed with the tall tower to the right and I love all the shapes and patterns you have shown. It's an amazing view, for sure. Well done! Warmest regards.
Shelly

jurek1951 (25990) 2007-08-17 21:49

Hi Bulent,
Splendid architecture photo, details are very spectacular,Composition is very attractive, perfect quality and the vivid colours,
Georg

carper (64804) 2007-08-17 22:33

a very nice image Bulent
the point of view is very nice, the detailed roofs are an eyecatcher, the contrast with the blue is realy nice, the image is nice to look at, very fine job Bulent, with a good note, well done and have a nice day.
gr. jaap

Valerka (8159) 2007-08-17 22:40

Hi, Bulent,
It's a glorious shot of a splendid city.
A real puzzle of roofs, so well viewed and shot! It's one of the best shot of Dubrovnik ever!
TFS
Nice WE
Valerka:)

meltemi (9746) 2007-08-18 0:34

Hello Bulent,
a sea of red/orange roofs, I think it looks wonderful. You really have a keen eye to spot these kind of shots, you chose a very well angle that gives lovely depth and also splendid architecture picture with all these these roofs, you did very well with the two domes so we can see the scale. I like the repetitive patterns and textures of the roof tiles and the geometric figures of the roofs which have enhanced the composition. Lovely note too.
Warm Regards.
Stella

papagolf21 (56353) 2007-08-18 2:18

Cher ami Bulent,
Je reste toujours admiratif devant l'homme qui saute les continents et nous apporte de bien jolies photographies avec tout son art.
Par dessus les toits, j'aime cette prise de vue que rien ne laisse soupçonner le temps qui passe.
Amitiés.
Philippe

Bluejeans (32269) 2007-08-18 3:17

Ola Bulent
Bela foto sobre os telhados desta cidade de Dubrovnik , gostei muito da cor das telhas bonito efeito visual , gostei da torre aqui em primeiro plano ,o ceu ficou muito bonito !!!
Um abraço Gonçalo
Bom fim de semana

jonathan_hart (22576) 2007-08-18 4:05

hello Bulent
nice view of the roofs, fine light and colours, good depth
regards
jo

jhm (82487) 2007-08-18 8:49

Hello dear Bulent,

You use excellent the roofs as great composition, specially see we the lovely tower, but also the background can we see two small towers above the roofs.
A panorama above the roofs!

Have a nice weekend,
John.

recepyuksel (17786) 2007-08-18 13:00 [Comment]

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paura (38388) 2007-08-18 19:11

Bulent,
Very beautiful and interesting composition here, on this roofs shapes and lines. This is really a very nice photo.

Regards

Paulo

keribar (42748) 2007-08-18 22:51

Hi Bulent,
We have of course heard about the roofs of Dubrovnik, but rarely have I seen such a striking picture of them. I wish the picture had some more contrast, at least this is the way I see on my monitor.
This image may ignite my decision to go there very shortly.

Friendly yours - Izzet

kensimage (8541) 2007-08-19 8:45

Nice layers here, Bulent, with all the criscrossing roofs. The uniformity of those roofs makes for a great effect, a real old town atmosphere. I have two small suggestions. One, the horizon is a bit too centered--maybe crop off the sky above the tower. Second, you might use Levels and or Shadows/Highlights to ameliorate the midday-sun glare from the roofs. But I like the overall look! Regards, Ken.

berek (28901) 2007-08-19 9:10

Merhaba Bülent bey,
çatı kompozisyonlarını her zaman sevmişimdir. çok başarılı bir kadraj olmuş. ellerinize sağlık. iyi pazarlar.
B.Erek

jwmunro (6575) 2007-08-19 10:35

Hello Bulent -

Roof tops can, in many cases, provide an unusual view or perspective of a city. With this image the choice of a portrait format was very good considering the uniformness of the majority of the scene broken by the near church tower and the dome in the BG. Also, the roof line in the near FG is a leading line up to the church tower. I think I might have polarized this image a bit to try to provide some richer tones and add a little density to the sky. Anyway, well presented.

Thank you for sharing.

John

Clementi (44047) 2007-08-20 3:26

Hi Bulent,
I really like this picture.Splendid architecture photo, details are very spectacular,Lovely note too.
Giorgio

MLINES (10884) 2007-08-20 21:18

Hi Bulent. This is a place which i 'd like to visit one day. You show the rooves, which is really a trademark for this city.Ideal vantage point, good blue skies. TFS. Murray.

Angshu (33641) 2007-08-21 0:27

Hello Professor "A"
A fine collage of the roofs taken from a high POV. The reddish tiles offer a good graphism with the tower perfectly placed. I like the balance between the tower & the dome on the left. As always a fantastic note to accompany the picture.
Warmest Regards
Angshuman

Graal (57909) 2007-08-21 0:30

Hi Bulent,
good shot, very nice view. I know it place and taken photos from walls of Dubrovnik, too. Well composed image and interesting informations. Good work.
Gr., Aleksander

jemaflor (39357) 2007-08-21 3:59

Hi Bulent,
Well framed with a good vertical format, good effect with these lines in the foreground, tfs.

gunbud (27851) 2007-08-21 18:13

Hi Bulent,
Excellent POV that renders this fine view of these croweded roof tops that are seen in striking details and clear true colors. As usual a very informative note as to the history of this famous city.
Regards, Tom

singuanti (15240) 2007-08-22 19:53

Hi Bulent. I bet it was a lot of fun taking pictures of these roofs. You've got no shortage of repetition or strong graphics. It was smart to keep the focus on the foreground and let the DOF take care of everything else. Another good note too. Good work Bulent!

Henryk_Bilor (20365) 2007-08-23 1:05

Hi Bulent
Hmm, I went home from Tatry, missing Dubrovnik, but I didn`t know...;)
Nice capture of these roofs. Interesting structure and good light.
Regards

Tue (25608) 2007-08-23 13:33

Hej Bulent,
I've heard and read that Dubrovnik should be a beautiful old town. This photo gives a wonderful impression with this view over the red(-ish) roofs of the city, creating such a nice effect. The addition and placement of the tower and dome in the shot are excellent too. Good work, thanks for sharing!
Regards,
Lars

happypoppeye (4060) 2007-08-23 20:12

An interesting photo Bulent. Sharp and detailed, with good color and good horizontal composition.

The vertical placement is what I'm not sure about. Maybe a bit too much sky. I think the photo would be better with a higher POV also, putting more of the roofs in the frame (I know, that probably wasn't possible without renting a balloon or helicopter). As for this POV, I think a crop of some of the sky may help, getting rid of some of the "dead space" (although most don't call a nice blue sky dead space), and bringing the horizon line out of the center of the photo...

It's still a good shot as is though, with a great note. Just one that could be improved with a little altitude gain in my opinion.

Nice work.
John

axiotea (16093) 2007-08-24 0:02

Hello Bulent
Nice POV overlooking Dubrovnik's roofs! The belltower, and domes break the general 'horizontality' Nice old tiles colors and textures.
Cheers
Marilyn

dorte_s_t (2285) 2007-08-27 4:04

Hi , Bulent .
It is such a pleasure to read your personal and humorous coments . I always learn something new from your notes !
This photo radiates a very pleasant atmosphere , heat and haze . Nice to be lifted up to roof level and enjoy the colours ,perspective and structures of Dubrovnic !
My compliments !!
Greetings
Dorte.

sayan (2609) 2007-08-30 2:43

Hello Prof. Aatalay,

This is a nice POV. Roofs and only roofs everywhere. Nice framing with the tomb amongst the roofs. Nice work indeed.

regards

Sayan

PixelTerror (86088) 2007-10-14 9:08

Hi Bulent,
A nice framing idea to present to the roofs of Dubrovnik and their warmth against a blue sky. We can see here that summer is not the best season for taking picture because of the harsh light that washes out colors, only possibilities to minimize this are to shoot early morning or late afternoon, not always possible to match it with a busy schedule I know...
Have a nice day,
Jean-Yves

stego (22352) 2008-01-06 14:55

Hello Bülent,
I had missed this beauty. You made a gorgeous compo with the roofs and the towers. We have the FG roof leading our look to the first tower and enhancing the depth, which is very well placed and the other one on the left nicely balances it. I it was mine I would probably use more saturation, but I recognize that such would hurt realism and I actually like those colours that remind those of print copies originated from negative film.
A bit of more sharpness wouldn't be bad. I wonder if the BG isn't a bit out of focus. Anyway, that's me being too picky, as it is hardly noticeable.
Regards, José.