West Facade Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

The third 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.

dip, Budapestman, phwall, trekks, jjanczyk, npecanhuk, dareco, ChrisJ has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

dip (12410) 2009-05-29 0:49

Hi Stephen,
beautiful architecture image,excellent framed and composed,
natural colors and good lighting,
very good stitch work as well!
Greetings,
Dimitris.

Budapestman (41042) 2009-05-29 0:56

Hi Stephen,
Great architectural photo. The composition is splendid, beautiful details and colours. The time was superb to taking a photo. Congratulations. Have nice weekend!
George

phwall (5424) 2009-05-29 1:08

Hi Stephen,
Good angle you've captured on this wonderful piece of architecture, good clean sharp details too.
Good post work putting the three shots together, invisible stitch
A very good shot, well done.
Regards
Peter

daddo (11283) 2009-05-29 1:12

Hi Stephen. I find a lot of this grey stone dreary but in this shot the lovely blue of the sky and flowering bushes have liven up the colour range. Beautiful light that enhances the details of the stonemasons' art. Regards. Klaudio.

John_F_Kennedy (30689) 2009-05-29 2:46

Wonderful architectural view to this church. Good POV, colours and perspective.
Best wishes,
Achim

trekks (14260) 2009-05-29 4:17

hi Stephen

A wonderful capture of this bright scenery and strong color contrast of the church architecture so well placed in the composition with the green and a perfect blue sky to go with it. Sharp and nice clarity in your capture.

Well done.

tfs, bill

Nicou (43889) 2009-05-29 6:02

Hello,

Un cadrage centré parfait, superbe image, quelle belle géglise, avec le tourelles, le merveilleux buisson fleuri, de toute beauté.

bravoe t amitié

Nicou

darek1978 (11143) 2009-05-29 7:45

Hi Stephen,
Great POV and perfect composition. This sky with some clouds looks just fabulous. Excellent light managment and wonderful colours. Well done!
Regards,
Darek

Giorgio (8628) 2009-05-29 8:05

- Une autre vue de cette impressionnante église, vraiment un superbe édifice, le cadre a vraiment l'air d'être paisible et beau, le cadrage accentue encore l'effet massif, c'est très réussi, bravo !
Passe un excellent week-end.
giorgio

rodgerg (23125) 2009-05-29 10:59

Hello Stephen,

J'aime beaucoup cette composition et le POV choisi. le contraste entre le petit chemin oblique et la façade de l'église très symétrique est très réussi.
Excellent WE à toi,
Roger

npecanhuk (13093) 2009-05-29 11:11

Hello Stephen!
Soft light and colors, very suitable sharpness, frontal view of this façade, everything gathered allowed me to see so perfectly and nicely the architectural details of this church! Then you cleverly composed it with its surroundings and the picture is very attractive and pleasant!
TFS - congratulations!
Have a happy week-end!
Neyvan

jjanczyk (1672) 2009-05-29 11:12

Hello Stephen,
Stunning shot!
Beautiful, natural colours, amazing composition.
TFS
Jolanta

amaryllis (17087) 2009-05-29 12:15

bonjour Stephen
une superbe photo de éléments pour cette magnifique église avec un porche à l'architecture remarquable, une luminosité excellente, netteté et couleurs douces sur cette façade avec un beau cadrage avec l'arbre en fleurs sur la droite
belle réalisation
juliette

Fis2 (45238) 2009-05-29 12:52

Czesc Stephen!
A wonderful facade.
Super light and colors.
Good frame.
Well done.
Regards
Krzysztof

dareco (17024) 2009-05-29 17:02

A very enjoyable series of this interesting and beautiful place!! This really shows your own style which I love. I can usually pick your pictures out in the gallery. Nice work, lovely colors and pov. TFS

ChrisJ (69588) 2009-05-29 19:08

Hi Stephen

A marvellous blue sky with good sharpness, colour & composition. Excellent textural details in the front of the old stone church & a good note. Tfs!

TopGeo (21423) 2009-05-30 4:02

Hi Stephen,
Great POV and perfect composition this wonderful piece of architecture, with the green and a perfect blue sky good clean sharp details also.A technique that gave good result and appreciable quality of colour
Compliments
Georgios

ophelcia (5297) 2009-06-01 1:40

Hi Stephen:)
I found this shot as with its open door it is inviting me inside....
Blooming trees, the spring is coming...the benches(???) in the FG are the best introduction into the topic:)
Best regards, G.

ilDottore (3982) 2009-06-02 3:59

Hi Stephen,
It;s stunning work!
I especially like postcard-like composition, charming architecture and light.
The sun is making colours very vivid and is adding some optimism to the composition, where the ancient serious churs plays a main role.
Pleasure!
Chris