Mirila: View for the Soul Photo

Photographer’s Note

We were en route into the Velebit Mountains to walk in the Paklenica National Park and into the Paklenica Gorge. We stopped at some mirila (singular mirilo). These are the flat rocks on the ground you can see here, with smaller upright rocks standing at each end. Mirila mark the final resting places of the souls of the deceased. When a person died they were wrapped in a shroud and taken there and laid on the flat rocks facing East. The upright rocks mark the head and feet. At this point it was thought the soul left the body, facing east to greet the sunrise. The body was then taken to be buried at a churchyard near the coast, leaving the soul on its mirilo. This practice continued until the 1950s.

As before the water is the Velebit Channel in the Adriatic Sea. It was about 7:30am and very hazy so I struggled a bit with the background to bring out the detail.

It rained later that day so I didn’t get many photos.

ISO400, 24mm,

japiey, snunney, Floydian, cbrman, skippy007, robiuk, Photo65Net, dareco, riclopes, Wandering_Dan, josepmarin, danyy, UlfE, Emile, plimrn has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

japiey (9521) 2008-07-03 1:49

Hi Kath,

Beautiful composition, leading the vision from the rocks to the mountains.
Fine tones, and warm lights.
The houses in the shores are a lovely vision.
Excellent share.

jp

Paolo (40755) 2008-07-03 2:03

A long depth of field in this beautiful view, Kath, with warm day light and beautiful colours to.
thanks, ciao

snunney (35522) 2008-07-03 2:09

Hello Kath,
The long deep view across the bay with everything in sharp focus, apart from the very hazy background, makes for a fine image. Very nice early morning light. Interesting commentary to complement the photo. If I have a criticism it would be that you appear to over compensated as regards the contrast, presumably to bring out the detail in the far coastline.

Floydian (30970) 2008-07-03 2:24

Hello Kath,
A two layerd picture. The foreground looks very warm with great light while the far background is suffering from good light. But i see the work you put in to it and although it looks a bit soft in that part, i find the contrast between both parts very well composed. Also for the sharpnees we see the foreground with lots of detail while further away things are getting softer.
Nevertheless a fine composed shot which gives a nice impression on the area.
Regards, Henk

cbrman (19051) 2008-07-03 2:37

Hello Kath,

Des traces du passé pas si lointain que cela. 1950 n'est pas si vieux.
Dans tout les cas, il s'agissait d'un endroit bien choisi pour y être inhumé.
La vue est splendide et ta compo mets bien en valeur le décor.
Bien vu !

A+

Dominique

skippy007 (7355) 2008-07-03 6:29

Hi Kath, Interesting scene, captured in good detail & natural looking colour.
The stones are placed in an interesting manner & resemble a body laying down. Good depth looking over the water & on to the hills. Interesting & informative note.
Thanks
Santo

Tobias__Ortmann (2591) 2008-07-03 7:36

Hi kath nice new shot.
That makes me remember to our trip 2 years ago we settled in the near of split down.
Unfortunately we hadn´t much luck with the weather but the Landscapes and the atmosphere is great in croatia.What I really like is the light here it only shines to the stones and behind it seems to be a bit darker.
Also the composition is great.GOod shot Kath
well done
Toba

robiuk (10763) 2008-07-03 7:45

Very peaceful post today, Kath.
I like your covering not well known cultural facts of
this region. Also, you did a great job making the
BG contrast match the one in the FG.
Like the layered composition as well!
Well done,
Robi

Photo65Net (43096) 2008-07-03 10:09

Kath,
Your use of the diagonal is great here.
Of course, as always in your gallery, technical parameters are perfect, very good job on this one,
Regards,
JB.

dareco (17104) 2008-07-03 10:13

A very interesting note with this, something I have never heard of before. A beautiful scene!! I like the lighting in the fg, and the background is very pretty. TFS and have a happy day!

riclopes (33135) 2008-07-03 10:15

Olá Kath, I like the title and story of these flat rocks. It's a beautiful view for the souls and I wouldn't mind living here after passed away ;-) The composition has a nice reading with all these horizontal layers. I like the softness of the water surface - it seems a very peaceful and quiet place.
ric

Wandering_Dan (3297) 2008-07-03 10:33

Hi, Kath -

A nice different take on your Croatia trip, both in the photo and the note. The use of diagonals is good, and the DOF is fine, but what I particularly like is the way you picked up the slanting early morning sunlight.

Best,
Dan

josepmarin (34131) 2008-07-03 11:33

Hello Kath,
This setting with the succession of planes that show us different elements of the landscape, and that ends in an a bit stumped BG, works very well to obtain a great depth and a fantastic sight.
I like the contrast between the stones that they symbolize the souls of the deceased, the village surrounded with trees, and the sea.
Beautiful composition, and good informative note.
Best wishes,
Josep

gilou530 (35710) 2008-07-03 13:26

salut kath
une grosse PDC dans ce cadrage pour donner autant de détails sur ce panorama, l'emploi du 24 est trés bien vu
amitiés
gilbert

danyy (69499) 2008-07-03 14:11

Bonjour Kath,
un POV bien choisi avec aussi l'inclusion d'en avant plan avec des pierres. L'altitude permet de donner beaucoup de profondeur. Sans doute un trsè bel endroit pour de longues balades sous des conditions climatiques agréables.
Best regards.
Daniel.

coco (28146) 2008-07-03 14:48

Hi Kath.

Croatia must be a wonderful place and, in fact, your pictures show us a wonderful place and I love it.

Nice view and also good deep for this landscape.

Well done.

gneufeld (15235) 2008-07-03 17:01

Hi Kath,
This looks like one of those paces where you are unsure what to take a picture of? Good capture and another fine presentation of your trip. well done and TFS. Gerald

Graal (58786) 2008-07-04 0:23

Hi Kath,
nice composition, interesting landscape from Croatia. Good POV You had. I like it. Well done photo.
Gr., Aleksander

trekks (14334) 2008-07-04 1:48

hi kath

Very lovely landscape shot to show this nice view of valley and river. The FG stones and color makes a good contrast to the rest of the shot. Nice composition.

tfs, bill
later

rodgerg (25079) 2008-07-04 3:47

Hello Kath,

A superb landscape, a beautiful photo. I like especially the formidable depth of field and the rocks with nice colors in the FG.
Have a good evening,
Roger

UlfE (9188) 2008-07-04 11:47

Hi Kath,
A really great post together with your informative note and comment on how you struggled with the background. A very good idea to post a photo of something that was quite a challenge to capture. I could really feel the difficulties when looking at the picture. I understand that “the cemetery” is the main subject, but the view itself is really beautiful and I would perhaps have tried to take an alternative picture with something else than the bright stones in the foreground. I have a feeling that the downhill trees would have worked better and created a better balance between the foreground and the background.I fully understand though that you sometimes would like to post a picture that tells a story rather than a perfect picture. TFS and have a nice week-end!

Cheers,

Ulf

Angshu (34141) 2008-07-06 20:56

Hello Kath
I would always remember what you'd said about composing in a diagonal. This is a perfect example of that! The layers and depth makes this picture, starting from the rocks in the FG, to the greenery to the houses with red roofs & then the blue waters. Well done!
Best Regards
Angshu

Stepan (27175) 2008-07-10 23:31

The calm sea makes it really peaceful. I guess it must be a typical view from Croatia. The soft light is cool too.
Stéphane

Emile (20151) 2008-07-20 7:39

Hola Kath.
Wonderful composition, the rocks are sharp and lighted in contrast with the small town and mountains in the back, the shadows due to the bad weather creates a nice mysterious effect in that area. Good perspective and depth. Nice panoramic view of the small town captured from a good high POV.
Well done. TFS.
Cheers.

plimrn (19740) 2008-11-25 10:12

Hi Kath,
What a fascinating custom; the stones are well- framed against the broad view beyond. As you knew, it really takes both pieces to make a compositon. I never knew about the tradition that makes this shot so TEable.
HLJ, Pat