'Behind locked gates', a photo from Basse-Normandie, North

Photographer's Note

The park and gardens of the Château of the Dukes of Harcourt were constructed in 1635 by Odet d'Harcourt and expanded upon in 1714 and 1723. In the battles of the Second World War, after the Normandy landings the town was bombed for the first time on 30 June 1944; the château escaped damage. During fierce fighting against the British 59th Division on 13–4 August 1944 as the German forces retreated from the town they set fire to the château, which had suffered little damage up to that point. The fire destroyed many public archives, a library of nearly 15,000 volumes, and hundreds of family records. All that remains of the château now is the façade that can be seen here and some outbuildings.

Extracted from an article on Wikipedea.

Royaldevon, jhm, timecapturer, Noel_Byrne, ikeharel, saxo042, kathryn_weir, jlbrthnn, Tigerlily, pierrefonds, amaryllis has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Silvio1953 (97953) 2012-10-02 0:39

Ciao Stephen, fascinating view of abandoned building trought looked gate, lovely composition with beautiful symmetry, fine details, excellent clarity, wonderful colors and splendid light, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

Royaldevon (17713) 2012-10-02 0:48

Hello Stephen,

Your notes are interesting but incredibly sad. The thought of so much unnecessary destruction of books and records, as well as the building, is very sobering!

Your photograph clearly illustrates the sadness. The locked gate, the bricked-up windows and the empty, upper 'eyes' reveal the mood.
Without good light, you have been able to capture the details well, whilst the f/g path creates a direct lead.

Have a lovely day,
Bev :-)

jhm (122314) 2012-10-02 3:12

Hello Stephen,

A pity that wars, never bringing good news.
I see that almost all the windows are close with modern brickwork.
Your title fits excellent at this nice image of the old facade.
Excellent sharpness and clarity.
Very well composition and nice presentation. TFS.

Have a nice day,
John.

williewhistler (7229) 2012-10-02 4:33

Hello Stephen,
the muted tones reflect the melancholic recent history,the huge locked gates seem to capture the futility of it`s past.
Nice poignant photography.
Les.

timecapturer (30190) 2012-10-02 5:15

Hi Stephen
what a wonderful old ruin and what a shame it has not been restored. The stonework looks so beautiful and your shot with the locked gates is very evocative and superbly detailed. A compelling image with warm and subtle colours that make the ruin so attractive.

Regards - Brian.

Sergiom (39078) 2012-10-02 5:50

Bonjour Stephen,

Le regard suit naturellement le petit chemin dans l'image, pousse les barrières de l'entrée et s'arrête sur cette ruine aux couleurs passées sur fond de ciel gris. Bien fait et bien net.

Amicalement

Serge

dkmurphys (36709) 2012-10-02 6:00

Hi Stephen,
Attractive architecture and gate decorations. Pity for the place beiing abandoned. Well taken image, enjoy a fine afternoon.

Daniel

Noel_Byrne (7209) 2012-10-02 6:14

Hi Stephen,
Really nice capture of this destoroyed home. Even though so much is gone, and what remains is bricked up, it still alludes to its former glory and architectural wonder. This is the type of image and place I love. Thanks for the image and note, a sad note but fascinating.
All the best
Noel

ikeharel (37190) 2012-10-02 6:37

I have an idea Stephen: How about dismounting stone by stone and re-built as a facade somewhere else or a new edifice - In Jerusalem there is half an old street re-built like that.
Only amuze myself - pitty about the château left "naked" - yet your photo is immaculate with details, and that inspite of low light conditions.
Regards
Ike

Nicou (97509) 2012-10-02 6:44

Hello

Superbe le vieux mur avec la grille devnat quelle compo et iamge quel rendu sur cette facade de château avec les ouvertures au sommet fantaswtique compo et image
Bravo et amitié

Nicou

saxo042 (31790) 2012-10-02 7:53

Hi Stephen,
Your note gives interesting information to this wall. A very fine capture with many fine details of this building and many good colours too.
Kind regards
Gunnar

kathryn_weir (1742) 2012-10-02 8:31

Hello Stephen,
Another beautiful shot of this very sad facade. I like the feel of dereliction from the mal-aligned gate to the bricked up windows. This one shows greater depth of colour than your previous post and nice close cropped composition . Thanks to that grey sky for such even light
Tfs
Kathryn

jlbrthnn (79773) 2012-10-02 10:09

Bonjour Stephen,
On distingue mieux les détails, des murs et de la grille. Une photo historique intéressante et de bonne qualité. Bravo.
Bonne journée
Amicalement
Joël

Fis2 (73010) 2012-10-02 12:14

Witaj Stephen!
A very interesting gate and wall.
Good frame and colors.
Very impressive picture.
Have a nice evening
Krzysztof

siudzi (23831) 2012-10-02 12:16

Hi Stephen,
An interesting post submitted with a very good note. I'm sure this place was superb in the past...
Taken with a great symmetry, good exposure and sharpness.
Well done, tfs!

Best,
Malgorzata

Tigerlily (2339) 2012-10-02 14:25

Hi Stephen,
Excellent perspective, and technical detail..beautiful image with nice balance.

pierrefonds (48285) 2012-10-02 15:00

Hi Stephen,

The distance between the metal entrance and the castle is giving depth to the composition. The point of view is showing the details and colors of the ruins of the castle. There is a good contrast between the colors of the picture. Have a nice day.

Pierre

Graal (88784) 2012-10-02 23:22

Hi Stephen,
an interesting place and view of facade. Pity that it's ruin. Good symmetry and composition. Well note, good photowork.
Have a nice day.
Aleksander

Cricri (86295) 2012-10-03 10:58

Hi Stephen
Belle idée cette approche sur la porte, les détails et les couleurs sont bien rendue, le cadrage parfait, une belle réalisation
Belle soirée
cricri

amaryllis (30149) 2012-10-05 8:44

Bonjour stephen
Une superbe photo architecturale de ce chateau de THury, peut être un rapport avec la famille d hArcourt, village á côté de chez moi: HArcourt
Je pense que oui, je vérifierai
Une lumière difficile en NOrmandie mais le résultat est satisfaisant
Amicalement
Juliette