• Köln • Photo

Photographer’s Note

One of the biggest landmarks of Köln (in English Cologne) and even Germany: the magnificent Gothic cathedral.
The construction has last as long as the dimensions of this church: from 1248 to 1880!
It is 144 meters long, 45 large and most impressive 43.5 meters high.
The tower is with 157 m the 2nd tallest after the Ulm Cathedral in south Germany.

Coming back from Frankfurt that day, I decided to stop in cologne in order to have this shot in my gallery.
19h00: I arrived in Köln, grey sky, little tour in the city
20h00: going slowly to this famous pov
21h00: awaiting blue hour and illuminations
21h20: sky starts to be darker, but lamps are still off
21h30: lamps finally switch on!
21h40: I took this shot... hope you like it.

saxo042, isabela_sor, dip, ChrisJ, sandpiper, Bartleby, cbrman, Chanizard, feather, cherryripe, xavshot, thor68, avene, Sistercosmo, paololg, Muse, BelCan75, atha2pan, Bruno40 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

AiresSantos (41400) 2009-06-28 23:05

Hi Didier
Amazing colors and reflections in this wonderful night picture.
I like the contrast between the colours. Sharpness and light management are excellent
Have a nice week
Aires

saxo042 (15148) 2009-06-28 23:11

Hi Didier,
You have successfully captured only the most beautiful parts here, and avoided all the ugly things like cars and other irrelevant details. The light and composition here are exceptional!
Kind regards
Gunnar

isabela_sor (41913) 2009-06-28 23:25 [Comment]

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dip (12410) 2009-06-28 23:54

Hello Didier,
famous pov of an famous cathedral in the famous city;)
amazing colors and light,
a wonderful blue hour image!
Greetings,
Dimitris.

sanjibbehera (60) 2009-06-28 23:57

Hi Didler,

truely awesome and great shot.
Also the color contrast is good.
Thanks for sharing.

ChrisJ (69588) 2009-06-29 0:22

Hi Didier

Fantastic warm cold colour contrasts between the amber & blue, with good sharpness & reflections. Tfs!

sandpiper (1559) 2009-06-29 1:00

Hi Didier

Excellent long exposure. Great POV and composition. Brilliant sharpness, colours and details. Well worth waiting for.

Chris

dmarizz (2322) 2009-06-29 1:15

Hi Didier,
I am fond of nightshots and blue-hour-shots even if sometimes ... I arrive late and they are often more black than blue. Here the lighting is perfect for a long exposure. Personally I prefer shorter exposures in order to capture the choppines of the water surface. Given you marvellous fast lens, a choice like f/8-4s-ISO200 could also have produced a great result.
Congratulations, Dario.

bema (8463) 2009-06-29 1:48

Hello Didier,

wow, what a marvelous capture, great work!

have a nice day, warmest regards Bernd

SNOOP_Chan (808) 2009-06-29 1:58

Hello Didier, nice colors in your photo, the Dome looks very interesting in this light, and the bridge also. tfs!

Bartleby (4680) 2009-06-29 2:07

Salut Didier,
et bien on peut dire que tu ne lâches pas l'affaire facilement! Et tes efforts sont récompensés...une superbe heure bleue, un POV excellent...bravo!

Philippe

cbrman (18691) 2009-06-29 3:18

Hello Didier,

De superbes couleurs dans cette image. J'aime beaucoup le pont qui par son éclairage et par sa structure est la vedette de l'image. La cathédrale en arrière plan est très bien placée et est la cerise sur ce gâteau nocturne.
A+

Dominique

Chanizard (123) 2009-06-29 4:14 [Comment]

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jjcordier (24140) 2009-06-29 5:41

Didier
On est nombreux à avoir tenté la photo de cet endroit mais, là, le résultat est particulièrement beau à l'heure bleue et avec ces sublimes reflets colorés.
Amitiés
JJ

feather (49848) 2009-06-29 9:26

You had plenty of time to choose your POV and it was well worth the wait. The composition is excellent with the bridge nicely carrying the eye to the cathedral. There is still plenty of light left in the sky and at this time of year probably for a good hour or more. Exposure is top notch.
Kath

cherryripe (18794) 2009-06-29 10:43

Salut Didier
Heureuse de te trouver toujours ici o~u les images sont mieux mise en valeur que chez la concurrence.
Excellente qualtié avec une nettété impeccable, beaucoup de profondeur, des couleurs sublimes (surtout les jaunes) et une composition bien pensée avec le pont guidant l'oeil jusqu'à la catédrale.
Bonne soirée
Nikki

barni (14423) 2009-06-29 11:54

Salut Didier
Fantastique l'impression de tranquillité que dégage l'image.
Bonne soirée
Christophe

npecanhuk (13093) 2009-06-29 12:27

Hello Didier!
The bridge and the Cathedral are magnificent and your nocturnal picture is awesome, with superb photo qualities! I specially enjoyed the colorful lights all over the image!
TFS - congratulations!
Best regards,
Neyvan

MarianneS (14262) 2009-06-29 14:36

Oh, la belle bleue! Oh, la belle orange! ;-)) Serait-ce une invitation pour le prochain feu d'artifice à Liège???
Une photo aux couleurs vives; l'éclairage du pont, tout orange, est un peu surprenant mais il lui va bien je trouve, surtout pour contraster sur cette belle heure bleue.
Bises. Marianne

coco (27598) 2009-06-30 2:02

Hi Didier.

Well... what could I say about this photo? It's obvius this one is a great great photo. And your composition and the way you managed the light too.
This long exposure also gave a nice texture in the water.

Well done.

jimkil (524) 2009-06-30 3:47

Hi Didier
A fantastic blue hour here. Man you travel Europe lots...... why don't you save an airfare for coming out here? ;-). Top notch perspective, wonderful colours and exposures, what more can you ask for.
Regards
Jim

Dyerco (8866) 2009-06-30 7:20

Hi Didier
Wonderful reflections that get nicely blended together with the long exposure. The church and bridge are crisp and sharp.
Nicely done.
Phil

emka (21143) 2009-06-30 10:59

Hi Didier, Wow! Marvelous photo with the bridge and beautifully lit cathedral. I lived there one year so it is an image very close to my heart. I was in Cologne in time of the jubilee of hundred years of Koelner Dom, with fireworks from this bridge. When it was.....
Amazing colours and clarity.
Regards

Malgorzata

xavshot (61915) 2009-06-30 11:41

Bonsoir Didier
j'aime beaucoup la qualité de l'image et la gestion de la longue pose. Les couleurs sont tops. Bien joué.
Xavier

thor68 (5531) 2009-06-30 12:11

what a wonderful postcard from cologne! :-) excellent blue-hour-shot with terrific details and beautiful
colors - love the reflections on the smooth rhine. the sharpness on the structure of the hohenzollern bridge
is perfect, it just gets a little softer in the direction of the cathedral though.
great job & best wishes from not to far from there, thor.

avene (10886) 2009-07-01 7:07

hi Didier,
I'd give a lot to be sure that lights and weather stick to MY timetable :) love the photo, blue hour at its best, and the line of the bridge is perfect to lead the eye towards the illuminated cathedral. great shot, my compliments.

best,
Kristine

Sistercosmo (2521) 2009-07-01 11:58

Hi Didier,

yes, I like it a lot, your excellent blue hour shot of this famous cathedral and bridge!! It's a famed pov too, but your version is one of the best I've seen, with intense colors and an especially beautiful reflection.

Hope all is well!! Next time you're in Germany, take a right and head south! ;-))

See ya,
Linda

paololg (13238) 2009-07-01 14:06

Ciao dear Didier,
a suggestive image, done with your pleasant photographic style, always perfect and rich of details well defined. Superb management of the light of the colors, compliments!
Ciao, have a nice night!
Paolo

Yves-triga (3228) 2009-07-02 3:39

Bonjour Didier,
Jolie pose lente.
Tu as pris le temps,cela valait la peine.
vraiment très belle et explications interressantes sur la construction de cette cath.
merci de tes conseils pour mes réglages.
bien à toi.
yves

gilou530 (34731) 2009-07-02 6:08

salut didier
j'avais pas vu celle la une superbe heure bleue avec un cadrage nickel et des reflets dorées de toute beauté, excellent travail
amitiés
gilbert

darek1978 (11143) 2009-07-02 8:23

Hi Didier
A magnificent night time perspective on this impressive bridge captured during the 'blue hour'. The exposure is spot on with superb tones and clarity. Splendid work. Congratulations!
Best regards,
Darek

Yosedolo (1148) 2009-07-02 10:00

Salut Didier ,
C'est superbe . j'adore ce genre de traitement ou les couleurs pètent terriblement.Je suis pas un fan des photos urbaines mais au crépuscule c'est qd même un plaisir avec toutes ces lumières.
Bonne fin de semaine
fabien

scroller (2883) 2009-07-02 16:41

Hej Didier,
A post card indeed! Well handled the night lights and the exposure here. Nice and sharp in the best way.
Hälsningar
/Stefan

nemesiss (2657) 2009-07-04 1:54

Hi Didier,
You visited Cologne and not tell my about that ? OK, you see my images in september from that wonderfull citty. I thinq you are go on top of Cathedral.
Nyce blue hour. but mybe used one superangle lens ( mybe fish eye )
Cheers :)
Iulian

Muse (30591) 2009-07-06 23:52

Bonjour Didier,
Une magnifique vue nocturne et un pov très bien choisi.
L'édifice gagne à être présenté de nuit!
Des lumières et des couleurs superbes.
Très beaux reflets dans l'eau.
Je te souhaite une excellente journée
Denise

BelCan75 (2416) 2009-07-07 19:04

Hello Didier,

Amazing shot with great exposure, a wonderful view, great light and such beautiful details. Excellent POV with beautiful reflections and colours. Great work!

Greetings,
Ann

luighi (4054) 2009-07-08 11:17

Hi my friend Didier ,
he estado un tiempo sin aparecer por aqui y me encuentro con este foton.
Sencillamente espectacular amigo,Gran trabajo.
Un cordial saludo.
Luis

chrkont (3627) 2009-07-09 10:26

Hi Didier
You made a very good job here. The colors, the light, the reflections but most of all, time and POV are made this photo a masterpiece.
TFS - Regards
Christos

InasiaJones (19787) 2009-07-11 22:25

Salut Didier,

Alors voilà ce que j'ai manqué en cette soirée du 5 juin... Je ne peux que m'en mordre les doigts, puisque c'est pas demain la veille que je vais retourner en Europe... Et comme je n'ai pas fait une récolte astronomique d'images au cours de la dernière visite, j'aurais bien aimé ajouter ce légendaire point de vue à ma galerie...

C'est lumineux, coloré et exhaltant. J'aime comment tu as cadré, en ancrant l'armature du pont dans le coin supérieur de ta photo et en exploitant une ligne d'horizon élevée, évitant du même coup de mettre ça bêtement au centre.

Je trouve rigolo la description des événements que tu as mise dans ta note; ça m'est également arrivé de devoir attendre à la toute dernière minute avant de voir les lumières s'allumer, et je peux t'assurer que la nervosité me fait parler tout seul... :-P)

Bon dimanche!

André

donluicu (23901) 2009-07-12 14:15

la premiere fois que je l'ai vue, c'etait sur photosig...je l'ai trouvée magnifique, mais personne ne l'avait faite sur TE..
puis jjcordier l'a faite, magnifique, et la tienne est une merveille..
donc bravo a toi...
cet endroit merite vraiement des multiapparitions sur TE

ciao

claudeD (11154) 2009-07-20 11:38

Bonsoir Didier,

tu as bien fais d'avoir de la patience et d'attemdre le bon moment.Très belle prise de vue nocturne avec une excellente maîtrise des lumières.Excellent pov.Merc i pour le partage.

Salutations amicales du Luxembourg

Jean-Claude

atha2pan (3307) 2009-08-12 13:57

Hi Didier!
What an amazing photo.
I am really curious if this is a dynamic range increased photo (different photos merged together), because the lights are so fantastic. The only think making me curious is that you used 30 seconds and f16 and you still have such a great result....

Take care
S

Bruno40 (6440) 2009-08-28 5:25

Hi Didier,
This is a really beautiful photo in blue hour, plus the bonus of perfect and colorful reflections. the composition with the bridge leading to the cathedral is perfect.
very well done
jorge