Utopia Island Photo

Photographer’s Note

An old scanned image with a view of Tahiti from Moorea at sunset time.

Tahiti is the largest island of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. The island had a population of 169,674 inhabitants according to the 2002 census. The capital is Papeete, on the northwest coast. Tahiti has also been historically known as Otaheite.

Tahiti is some 45 km (28 mi) long at the widest point and covers 1,048 km² (404 sq mi), with the highest elevation being at 2,241 m (7,352 ft) above sea level (Mount Orohena). The island consists of two roughly round portions centered on volcanic mountains, connected by a short isthmus named after the small town of Taravao, which sits there. The northwestern part is known as Tahiti Nui ("big Tahiti"), and the southeastern part, much smaller, is known as Tahiti Iti ("small Tahiti") or Taiarapu. Whereas Tahiti Nui is quite heavily populated (especially around Papeete) and benefits from rather good infrastructure such as roads and highways, Tahiti Iti has remained quite isolated, its southeastern half (Te Pari) being accessible only by boat or hiking.
The vegetation is tremendously lush rain forest. The wet season is November through April.
Tahiti was estimated to have settled by Polynesians between AD 300 and 800 coming from Tonga and Samoa, although some estimates place the date earlier. The fertile island soil combined with fishing provided ample food for the population.

Although the islands were first spotted by a Spanish ship in 1606, Spain made no effort to trade with or colonize the island. Samuel Wallis, an English sea captain, sighted Tahiti on June 18, 1767, and is considered the first European visitor to the island. The perceived relaxed and contented nature of the local people and the characterization of the island as a paradise much impressed early European visitors, planting the seed for a romanticization by the West that endures to this day.

Wallis was followed in April 1768 by the French explorer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville who was completing the first French circumnavigation. Bougainville made Tahiti famous in Europe when he published the account of his travel in Voyage autour du Monde. He described the island as an earthly paradise where men and women live happily in innocence, away from the corruption of civilization. His account of the island powerfully illustrated the concept of the noble savage, and influenced the utopian thoughts of philosophers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau before the advent of the French Revolution.

From Wikipedia

*Scanned image*

Muse, John_F_Kennedy, riclopes, syd1946, AiresSantos, evanrizo, atilgone, chrisnet, leonorkuhn, carper, josepmarin, vinicio, john_c, jhm, sufi, salvator, JCG has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

AthaPan (0) 2007-01-22 4:05

Ciao Paola!

This is really a nice sunset, and the pp is really good.
Buena serinata!

Ciao
Saki

Muse (31059) 2007-01-22 4:07

Hello Paolo,
Un très joli lever de soleil sur un endroit charmant.
De belles couleurs et un excellent pov.
J'aime bien la silhouette du catamaran sur cette eau calme.On se demande d'ailleurs comment il va avancer :-)
Best regards
denise

waidas (130) 2007-01-22 4:12 [Comment]

Show Comment

brevbrev14 (372) 2007-01-22 4:32

ciao PAolo, devi amare molto il mare, si vede dalle tue foto...
Anche questa è molto bella!
mi piace soprattutto la posizione della nave e i colori speciali di questo tramonto..
Bella!
ci stiamo avvicinando alla tua 500a vedo....!:)
ciao e buona giornata!
Valeria

John_F_Kennedy (31994) 2007-01-22 4:53

A great sky shot. The light give the picture a nice atmosphere. Very nice shot from interesting place.
Achim

pastadog (12821) 2007-01-22 4:56

Wow, fantastic shot with so many beautiful elements: amazing blue and red tones, beautiful sea with ripples, pretty silhouettes; the intense red on sea is particularly outstanding, bravo! Daniel

riclopes (33131) 2007-01-22 5:02

Olá Paolo, excellent quality of this scanned imaged from 2000. Since we don't have snow, we take the chance of showing some paradises on Earth. The colors are incredible and the sky really seems like a big fire over the island. Very attractive image!
Ciao,
Ricardo

delkoo (34726) 2007-01-22 5:16

hi paolo
nice POV, nice colours, of this paradise,
despite of the scann it is a shot.
regards
didier

syd1946 (17965) 2007-01-22 5:18

Hello Paolo,
Very nice title you choose for this wonderful sunset!The boat makes the scene more dramatic and adding more interesting.Excellent work and capture!

Have a nice week,
Thomas

AiresSantos (42826) 2007-01-22 5:41

Hi Paolo,
Fantastic colours and contrast in this very gorgeous composition. Very well framed, great POV
TFS and have a nice week
Aires

Gerrit (36229) 2007-01-22 6:45

Hi Paolo,
excellent positioning of the boat in thisflaming sunset scenery.
Regards, Gerrit

ben4321 (9807) 2007-01-22 6:57

Outstanding colours here Paolo, and a simple, well balanced and effective composition.
I like how the area of deep red in the centre is framed by the cooler colours surrounding it.
Good work.

Cheers,
Ben

trigomiro (379) 2007-01-22 7:12

Ciao Paolo,
complimenti per il bel poster, con le tonalità fredde del blu e quelle calde del rosso che si completano e si integrano a vicenda. Anche la posizione della barca così decentrata è stata una scelta azzeccata. Guardare questa foto fa venir voglia di essere su quella barca.
Ciao
Pier

evanrizo (456) 2007-01-22 7:44

Hi Paolo.
The view is very beautyful, looks very effective with all this composition.All are very good placed here.And this color in the background is the vignette to this photo.
Thanks very much.

atilgone (4749) 2007-01-22 8:01

Hello Paolo,

Great colors! So good pastel tones. It is like a painting. TFS
Kind regards

sebinho342 (18784) 2007-01-22 8:14

Hi Paolo, a great moody shot here, sounds paradisiac and brings us almost in times of colonization, discovery of this island ... Such a remote place and so dreamy for occidental as us.
A great shot, full of emotions, i really love it:)

barrufeto_77 (25935) 2007-01-22 8:39

Hi Paolo.

As usual, excellent colours. The ship adds an extra point in the picture.

My compliments!

Rgs, Oscar

chrisnet (20376) 2007-01-22 9:47

Hello Paolo
What a amazing sky! I like much this sunset atmosphere, very nice place well captured.
Regards
Christian

leonorkuhn (13981) 2007-01-22 12:13

Hi Paolo,

Fire in the sky! Lovely place, superb sunset colors.
Have a nice week
Ciao
Leonor

nursez (1903) 2007-01-22 12:47

Hi Paolo,
a wonderful sky with great colors,the boat fits so well there.well done.

carper (65598) 2007-01-22 13:05

very good one in your serie Paolo,
fantastic colours, good pov and very nice quality photo, fantastic job I like it a lot.
gr. jaap

josepmarin (34063) 2007-01-22 13:42

Ciao Paolo,
es esto el paraíso? Esta puesta de sol en un lugar tan bello ha de ser una experiencia inolvidable.
La foto es una maravilla, su contraluz, los colores del cielo y del mar, el ambiente tranquilo y relajante, todo es perfecto para crear una gran foto.
Bellísima!
Ci vediamo,
Josep

tcht (7298) 2007-01-22 14:07

Hi Paolo
Impressive colours from this take. The boat is a nice addition to the scene and you shot this at the perfect time with enough blue sky and lighting on water to match the orange rays.
Regards
CheukHin

rhizomes (15325) 2007-01-22 14:17

Hi Paolo,
The sky looks on fire ! I like this view with nice placement of the boat.
Christophe

vinicio (22428) 2007-01-22 19:21

Hai una buona vena di "paesaggista" Paolo, colori molto belli e bella panoramica, complimenti.
Ciao
Vinicio

jinju (14265) 2007-01-22 22:34

Hey Paolo,

stunning colors here, again as usual for you, a nice seascape. A bit of a shame about the scan quality.

jhm (83276) 2007-01-23 4:58

Hi Paolo,

Colour and the light together with the dark environment care for a wonderful picture and excellent composition, nice reflections too! TFS.

Have a nice day,
John.

markstaples (15670) 2007-01-23 5:00

The quality is superb for a scanned image. The colours are so vibrant, I love them. The water looks almost metallic. Nice positioning of the silhouetted boat and hill.
Best wishes
Mark

john_c (24635) 2007-01-23 11:15

Hi Paolo,
The exotic tropical hues and tones are alluring and although they appear to be oversaturated, I recognize these tones from a family member's South Seas voyage around the world in a sailboat. I like the positioning of the boat here on the left. Truly a painting, and little lost in the scan. Well captured.
John

Mistral (13776) 2007-01-23 13:41

Ciao Paolo,
che cieli e che colori!!!
Hai scelto il momento giusto (piovoso inverno europeo) per far sognare i lontani mari del sud...
Buona serata!
Luca

RGatward (19749) 2007-01-23 23:42

Pretty scan, sharp detail on the boat. This is just a classic shot of how I imagine this place to be.

salvator (18905) 2007-01-24 3:36

Ciao Paolo,
Colori superb e composizione e punto di vista eccellenti. Il colore del cielo e la profondità è straordinario.
riguardi migliori. Salvator.
(sorry my Italian is not very good.)

sufi (9568) 2007-01-24 3:40

Merhaba Paolo, my friend...
Oh My God... The colors are incredible... Perfect point of view, perspective and light. Also perfect reflection on the sea. The silhouettes of the boat and the island are wonderful... Of course, great shot...
TFS...
Stay well..
Salim.

JCG (25741) 2007-01-24 3:42

Hi Paolo,

A scan of any beauty, this landscape of dream is splendid with superb colors. The inclusion of the boat in the image accentuates the paradisiac side of the photograph, it is very pleasant. A beautiful composition, cheer and thank you Paolo.

With all my friendships,

Jean-Charles

agbonavita (0) 2007-01-24 8:46

Wonderful place Paolo. I look magic on sky!
thanks for share this momment with us.

Hugs
Andre

picardo (2298) 2007-02-12 11:16

Hi Paolo
The picture looks really beautiful and the PPs is fantastic. Doesn't seems to be a scanned picture; it really looks like a digital picture.
TFS
Picardo

MarieAnge (524) 2007-03-05 10:33

Hello Paolo,

It looks like modern art !... What a beautiful shot with rare modern colors. Is it postwork or just what you have seen ?... It's the most strange sunset I have ever seen !... Congratulations.

Photo Information

Copyright: Paolo Motta (Paolo) (40753)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2000-08-00
Categories: Nature
Camera: Nikon N80
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Summer 2000 - Round the World, Your favorites II° [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2007-01-22 3:57
Favorites: 1 [view]