The Clandestine School, a photo from Attiki, Attica

Photographer's Note

Mt. Penteli, the most bald mountain in prefecture Attikis, is situated about 25 km north of Athens. This happened because of some big fires in the past... Despite it, Mt. Penteli (1.109 m) remains attractive for many reasons. You can visit the astronomical station -10' on foot by Penteli square- Penteli Monastery (a great one, with even a museum-"Clandestine School", it is at the picture), Davelis' cave. The mountain produces high quality marble since ancient times. This marble was used for the construction of the Parthenon and numerous other buildings.

The Clandestine School

After the fall of the Byzantine Empire, Greece came under Ottomans rule for 400 years. Churches were turned into mosques and the operation of schools was outlawed. Children nowadays who moan about having to go to school would benefit from a visit to Athens' only clandestine school which is now operating as a museum. There they would see how clandestine schools were organised with monks teaching children to read and write the Greek language risking their lives if they were found. It is thanks to the Greek Church that our culture and language did not perish in these 4 centuries.

Tue, Emile, singuanti, weswang, Xalkida, aloyho, Fixfocus, Galmeida, quantabeh, jemaflor, Didi, alvaraalto, anakin, supereira, gepall, Steft, Schultzy, jpdeloof, Janice, Gix, kent_s, Maritsa, papagolf21, rmorillo, apache, capthaddock, bebel, LCannon, vsinopoulos, gelor, cherubin, bazal has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Tue (25798) 2005-04-10 18:43

A very nice picture! I like the light and the nice warm colours! Really good picture, well done! :-D

Emile (20348) 2005-04-10 20:44

Very good pic, very well composed, nice colors and light.Interesting note.
Congratulation.

weswang (18223) 2005-04-10 22:44

Hi Ioannis, A very well taken indoor photo. You have used the lighting condition there very nicely. I noticed that you did not use flashlight. This makes the photo very deep and clear in all levels. I especially like the light coming out from the left corner of the cave. A excellent indoor shot.

singuanti (15250) 2005-04-10 22:49

Hi Ioannis. A wonderful shot with some special lighting that really makes the shot. You don't say anything about a tripod but you must have had something for that 1/2 exposure. Also I don't see any noise which would typically appear in this kind of shot. A fine shot and most useful note!

Xalkida (11740) 2005-04-11 1:46

Καταπληκτικό εσωτερικό πλάνο Γιάννη! Έχεις πετύχει τον φωτισμό τα χρώματα και την ατμόσφαιρα πολύ καλά! Μπράβο!

aloyho (6705) 2005-04-11 1:58

Hi Ioannis,
A very impressive shot and very good tonal control. You have planned well not to let the light source at the top of the cave to appear. It would be distracting if it does. The note is interesting and useful too. Thanks and regards.

cessy (13647) 2005-04-11 3:21

very nice capture, John,
I am sure it's very difficult with the light, but you managed to take this picture wonderfully. well done

Fixfocus (9385) 2005-04-11 3:28

Something different which I like a lot,John!
Comes along with a very interesting note.
nice picture with perfect technical quality!
well done!

ballyna (1689) 2005-04-11 5:01 [Comment]

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faubry (35335) 2005-04-11 5:02

very nice shot with good light and warm colors, thanks
francine

Galmeida (12559) 2005-04-11 8:52

What a excelent capture and also guidelines to this picture. Very well composed, framed and with precious details. You well managed the indoor light conditions.

Very good job and composition!
Regards
Fernando

lukie (0) 2005-04-11 10:38

Good job here, pictures in such places are more difficult then outside scenes. Good sharpness and thanks for the note.

Luc.

Kenny10pin (19301) 2005-04-11 10:52

interesting shot, I like the way you took this shot, very good dark shot, but good details from this, well done

quantabeh (5205) 2005-04-11 11:06

hi John,
I find these cultural/scenery shots you have shown lately very interesting and informative. I agree that it is important to remember history and heritage and what has made a country and culture strong and these photos are just perfect for that purpose.
thanks,
good shot!
Behrang

jemaflor (69035) 2005-04-11 12:34

Hi Ioannis,
The light is very well captured on your photo, an atmosphere shot. Good sharpness too, well done.

alexlie (5359) 2005-04-11 13:34

Hi John!
Your photo is good composed; the light and sharpness are great. I like very much such places. It is an attractive museum? In Germany (Nuernberg) I visited a very interesting one, upon schools in XIX and XX century.
Regards.

Didi (48938) 2005-04-11 13:39

Bonjour John
C'est une très bonne réalisation photographique.
La scène est parfaitement décrite par le texte et par l'image.
De belles couleurs dans ce joli décor historique.

Hello John
It is a very good photographic realization. The scene is described perfectly by the text and the image. Beautiful colors in this pretty historical decor.

alvaraalto (5473) 2005-04-11 15:54

Hi John.
Thank you for this little lesson in history with this beautiful illustration. I like the compo and the warm colours.
groet Rob

anakin (2775) 2005-04-11 16:26

Interesting and nice shot, very good work with the colours and lights.
well done

MvS (4163) 2005-04-11 17:41

Nice scene and pleasant light.
Thanks,
Magnus

supereira (9576) 2005-04-12 8:13

Good shot.I like the composition and point of view.Good textures,light and warm colors.I like the contrasts between the colors.Good job!

gepall (1830) 2005-04-12 9:33

A difficult shot to capture due to the difference of the light.
Very good use of metering and framing

Steft (5975) 2005-04-13 5:42

Very intresting photo about the clandestine schools. I als sometimes complain about school, but if you consider that education not always is something normal...

The light is good and a like the darker parts around the cave, because it is like a natural framing. The colours are very warm, and although you didn't have that much light, the dolls are very detailed. Intresting pic!

Schultzy (5446) 2005-04-13 13:11

Hi Ioannis,
Very interesting story, that's an important part of TE !
Your picture is very well done, the conditions seems difficult but the result is perfect.

Peter

Janice (4402) 2005-04-14 20:31

Lovely historical scene Ioannis. The light is good, showing all teh details. Well done. And your notes are very informative too.

Gix (3565) 2005-04-15 2:20

Hi Ioannis,
Interesting note, the story is always repeating the same situations...!
Well done, the light seems difficult (1/2 second and no tripode!) but the result is nice.
ciao, Giorgio

kent_s (1911) 2005-04-15 3:43

Hi John

Already when Isaw the thumbnail I knew this must be a good one. The composition is great. The sharpness is fantastic. I also appreciate the good note. It's what TE actually is about Leraning about the world thru photograpy

Well done twice both the pic and the commet

jpdeloof (2546) 2005-04-15 4:07

hello Ionis.
The photograph corresponds very well to the note.
Beautiful management of lighting, very beautiful work.
JP

At tomorrow

Maritsa (358) 2005-04-15 16:04

Φανταστική φωτογραφία για κλειστό χώρο! Έχεις πετύχει τον φωτισμό και τα χρώματα. Καταπληκτική δουλειά!

papagolf21 (76611) 2005-04-16 3:53

Cher Ioannis,
Merci de nous présenter un témoignage du passé (reconstitution) ! Certains jeunes ne se rendent pas toujours compte des difficultés rencontrées par nos ancêtres pour apprendre, et à continuer à lire et à écrire !
La note d'accompagnement est excellente.
Merci de nous faire partager ces moments précieux.
Amitiés.
Philippe

rmorillo (273) 2005-04-20 9:44 [Comment]

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Salocin51 (0) 2005-04-21 3:39

Impeccable exposition, pour un peu on se croirait presque au coin d'un feu de cheminée grâce à cette lumière rassurante.
Bravo pour cette atmosphere chaleureuse que seul un bon temps de pose relativement élevé sait retranscrire.

apache (1426) 2005-05-06 16:19

Hi John,
Nice shot of a part of history of your nation. I like the colours in this shot which gives an originality to what must have happened here. Good notes to go along with it.
Ranjith

capthaddock (28790) 2005-05-13 10:06

Aah Pendeli, I remember the hours I spent utterly lost in the area trying to find the road to the new airport. Luckily I did not miss the flight. The light is nicely balanced here, the note does an excellent job of explaining the scene, but the faces of the mannequins at right belong more in a Prada display at a boutique than suffering schoolchildren.

john_c (24662) 2005-05-25 1:03

Hi Ioannis. A most unique and interesting portrayal. Very well composed with just the right amount of light. The detail is very sharp with an excellent POV. A well executed capture with a most useful note. Regards.

LCannon (2796) 2005-06-12 22:56

Interesting how important learning to read and write was, a life risking task, now taken for granted by some. Very informative photo, thanks for sharing.

vsinopoulos (263) 2005-06-16 10:42

Φίλε Γιάννη, εξαιρετική φωτογραφία και μάλιστα με πολύ δύσκολες συνθήκες φωτισμού. Η ποιότητα είναι γενικά αρίστη, πολύ καλή λεπτομέρεια και πάλ χρώματα. Το σημείωμα σου πολύ καλό και ενημερωτικό. Μπράβο!!!!

Βασίλης

gelor (3229) 2005-08-15 4:47

Merci pour les explications : une bonne leçon d'histoire ! Très bonnes composition et traitement de la lumière. Je me pose des questions cependant sur ce qui figure à gauche. Qu'est ceci ? Merci pour ce document.
Gérard

coco (30433) 2005-09-10 17:13

Hi Ioannis.
When I've seen the thumbnail I thought that it could be... well, I was wrong. I thought they would be real people... he, he, he.
Perhaps, then would be a more interesting subject, but now is good.
Well captured and... did you use tripod?

nbournas (3229) 2005-10-18 10:43

Poso exei allaxi o kosmos apo tote etsi Gianni? Poli omorfi ikona, meros tis istorias mas. Nikos

sixTL (8594) 2005-11-20 2:36

Hi John, very nice shot. I like the light and composition. Well done John!
Regards Artur

cherubin (1971) 2005-11-24 12:30

geia sou Gianni!
afto pou mou aresei sti fotografia sou, pera apo ton eksoxo fotismo kai to kalo kadrarisma (an ki ego mprosta sou eima o mathitis, telospanton...), einai h yperoxi eksigisi pou dineis, etsi oste kai oi filoi mas tou eksoterikou na mathainoun gia tin istoria mas kai gia tis mikres leptomereies pou diamorfvnoun ton politismo tis patridas mas!
kai pali sygxaritiria!
filika
xerouveim

bazal (7900) 2005-12-09 9:34

Hello Ioannis.
It's very interesting to discover this part of Greek story which is not so well known for us. Nice composition and good light management. Many thanks for sharing !