South Portal Photo

Photographer’s Note

The second in a series of pictures taken in and around the church of Saint-Peter-De-La-Tour at Aulnay in Charente-Maritime.

The picture is a vertical stitch of three images.

The Church of St. Peter in Aulnay de Saintonge, Poitou, is regarded as one of the finest Romanesque churches in western France. Located in a peaceful setting overlooking a pasture at the edge of Aulnay village, its beautiful architecture is enhanced by an extensive, fascinating array of Romanesque sculpture inside and out.

Known in Latin as Aunedonacum, Aulnay's history begins in Roman times, when it was a small town along the road between the prominent ancient cities of Poitiers and Saintes. In the Middle Ages, the road continued to be used, especially as part of the pilgrimage route from Paris to Santiago de Compostela.

The first known church in Aulnay (of unknown date) was called St-Pierre-de-la-Tour, which was given to the Benedictine monks of St-Cyprien Abbey in Poitiers in the 11th century.

In the early 12th century, the church was transferred to the chapter of Poitiers Cathedral. Shortly thereafter it was rebuilt, most likely under the direction of Poitiers' canons, in about 1140 to 1170.

A few changes and restorations were made in later centuries, including the top half and spire of the tower (13th/14th century) and the reworking of the west façade (15th century).

The above information was extracted from an article on the Sacred Places web site. The full text of the article can be read here.

For French speakers, there is quite an extensive article about the church on the French Wikipedea site here.

Gerrit, Budapestman, Buin, besnard, KLB, PixelTerror, mikolaj_kawa, jlbrthnn, gildasjan, jhm, dareco, Didi has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Gerrit (36269) 2009-05-28 0:59

Beautiful church Stephen,
The timpan is impressive and so is the photo.
You've taken it from a great angle and the foreground greenery is a fine topic.
Regards, gerrit

Budapestman (42810) 2009-05-28 1:02

Hi Stephen,
It's a beautiful architectural detail with attractive POV and spectacular diagonal composition. The colours and lights are amazing, excellent shot and note. Have a nice day!
George

Buin (38258) 2009-05-28 1:41

Hallo Stephen!
This facade really is worth to be shown here. I like all these details one can detect here - and the well-kept surroundings of this venerable building. This entrance is so elaborate and impressive! The quality of this photo really is outstanding.
Greetings from verycool and rainy Germany!
Frank

besnard (31064) 2009-05-28 2:04

Bonjour Stephen
Elle est bien jolie cette église. C'est incroyable la richesse du patrimoine religieux dans ta région.
Merci pour le partage et bonne journée.
Nicole

KLB (18279) 2009-05-28 2:10

Hello Stephen

A very elegant presentation of this impressive Romanesque facade. The stitch is perfect and imperceptible, you've done a great work.
The light is beautiful, very well managed, and the fine sharpness offer many details.
And what a sky !

Regards
Karine

SNOOP_Chan (840) 2009-05-28 2:16

A very good crop, showing us the entry to the church. The gate is pretty impressive and u caught very well the details on it. Good colors and great sharpness, wd!

Nicou (45711) 2009-05-28 2:18

Hello,

Fantastique vue de cette église, quelle entrée, une mervielle, cet arche tout travaille, avec le beau par, la belle verdure, mangigique image, le cadrage latéral est superbe.

bravo et amitié

Nicou

PixelTerror (86839) 2009-05-28 3:26

HI Stephen,
Not easy to get these huge buildings in the box, good stitch here and a very nice frontage but some downtuning of the brightness would do good I think
Have a nice day JY

gilou530 (35680) 2009-05-28 3:45

salut stephen
une prise de vue qui nous donne un petit aperçu de cette belle cathédrale, une lumiére magnifique pour mettre en valeur les belles pierres, superbe
amitiés
gilbert

wolf38 (13111) 2009-05-28 4:28

Hello Stephen. A further detail of this impressive building. Exemplary, best light composes. The portal is a work of art of first class. Very beautifully. Best regards, Wolfgang.

jurek1951 (26144) 2009-05-28 5:01

Hi Stephen,
Architecture is wonderful, very good details. Very beautiful perspective. this view says everything. Excellent contrast and colors.
Georg

mikolaj_kawa (31259) 2009-05-28 5:04

Hello Stephen! Nice lightness. Very nice colors. Good take. Well done!

jlbrthnn (38927) 2009-05-28 5:59

Bonjour Stephen,
On peut voir et apprécier la complexité et la richesse de ce portail. le point de vue est intéressant, et descriptif. Un très beau travail. Bravo.
Bonne journée
Amicalement
Joël

darek1978 (11499) 2009-05-28 8:40

Hi Stephen,
This cathedral looks very impressive in your picture. The low angle makes the church seem large and imposing. The sky is great and so are the colours.
Well done!
Best regards,
Darek

gildasjan (24133) 2009-05-28 9:22

Bonsoir Stephen
Je constate qu'il y a toujours de beaux ciels en Poitou-Charentes.Ici encore un bel ouvrage du patrimoine bien logé dans ce carré.
Bonne soirée
Amicalement
gildas

jhm (83328) 2009-05-28 11:54

Hallo Stephen,

Saint-Peter-De-La-Tour at Aulnay in Charente-Maritime have a wonderful church, what a lovely entry.
Very impressive with intricate detail and wonderful warm colours
Sharpness and clarity are superb and good presentation.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John.

Fis2 (46395) 2009-05-28 12:54

Witaj Stephen!
Beautiful portal.
Good POV, interesting frame and perspective.
I olve old architecture.
Good work.
Regards
Krzysztof

dareco (17104) 2009-05-28 15:49

When I look at your pictures I am always reminded of how much I'm lacking in the composition department :) Nice job once again and very good detail. TFS

delpeoples (6756) 2009-05-28 18:49

Hi Stephen, I love this shot. I love the angle you've used, the square framing, the cropping of the church, the excellent light metering and the clarity of the image. Excellent! TFS, Lisa.

Flavia (10202) 2009-05-28 23:01

Hi,

Nice composition including a green triangle with the loan to add colour contrast and deph to the scene.A sharp picture showing all nice details of this old church.

Regards,

Flavia

Graal (58720) 2009-05-28 23:31

Hi Stephen,
another interesting fragment of cathedral. Beautiful portal and details of architecture. Good presentation. I like it.
Gr., Aleksander

Didi (36442) 2009-05-29 9:30

Hi Stephen
I usually use this way of framing recently and it's giving a good result.
Very good lateral perspective and good sharp picture.
Well done.
Best regards

cobra112 (11918) 2009-05-31 14:09

Hi Stephen. An interesting lightning perspective in excellent DOF. Very good details.

Roberto