Ha Canyon and a chapel, a photo from Lasithi, Crete

Photographer's Note

The rough Cretan landscape is "tore apart" by dozens of canyons, big and small. The most "famous" among them is the Samaria Canyon, the longest in Europe (18 km), which can someone cross, relatively easily in 6-9 hours. One of the most "wild" and beautiful is the Ha Canyon, located about 10 km north of my hometown, Ierapetra.

Although it's not long (1.800 m) is very dificult to cross. The first men crossed it in 1987. You 'll have to be a very experienced canyoneer to try to pass it and even so only with special equipment. The "walls" reach from 250 to 450 metres high. There are 27 waterfalls between 8 and 36 metres high and a lots of small lakes. Only in few points you 'll be able to walk and most of the time you'll have to swim or climb using ropes. Many times you' ll have to hang from a rope without seeing the place where you 'll "land". Some friends who have crossed it, told me that when they reached the end of the canyon it was getting very dark so they had to sleep in sleeping bags hung from the cliffs.

Here you see the entrance of the canyon, and an always present in the Greek countryside, chapel.

coco, bostankorkulugu, Paolo, barrufeto_77, macondo, syd1946, cunejo200, vincz, zips, a_i_ren, evanrizo, Deepforest, Angelillo, teutza, Scharan, Emiel_Skyfreak, josepmarin, cengiz, gelor, Wanda1, siolaw, Vato_Law, bakes888, elmec, craiggc, Xalkida, deblink, Henryk_Bilor, Budapestman, pablominto, yogi32, photovolos has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

bigboroboy (1098) 2006-11-10 5:56 [Comment]

Show Comment

coco (30433) 2006-11-10 6:34

Hola Hercules.
¡Qué podría decir de esta luz!
La luz hace que la foto sea diferente. Le da un punto de candidez muy agradable. Eso sín contar la composición y el lugar que vemos.

Por cierto, que hasta hace solo 19 años no se haya cruzado este lugar... eso es hace muy poco tiempo.

Ta leme.

barrufeto_77 (28876) 2006-11-10 6:47

Hola Hercules.

Una compo muy inteligente con la iglesia rompiendo todo el marrón de la montaña.

Realmente una bonita foto.

Un saludo y disfruta el fin de semana!

bostankorkulugu (40760) 2006-11-10 6:55

another great shot from you irakli...the low POV worked really well here and this little church looks so cute below those rock masses...congrats my friend...
korkut

Paolo (41206) 2006-11-10 7:09

Hi Hercules, amazing view, with a fantastic contrast of colours and an excellent composition, POV and quality.
thanks, and have a nice w.e.
ciao

sayan (2617) 2006-11-10 7:11

Hello Hercules,
Wonderful contrast here. Lovely colours, particularly the sky is so blue. The mountain colours and the white coloured house adds a nice contrast. Lovely sharpness.
Regards,
sayan

macondo (17949) 2006-11-10 7:44

Greetings, Hercules. A most imposing shot, with the white house adding contrast and depth to the composition. I like the stark shadow on the right wall of the canyon, as well as the way the 'V' points down to the house. Very sharp, and well composed. Excellent.
Regards,
Andrew

syd1946 (18663) 2006-11-10 8:14

Πολυ ωραια "Ελληνικη" συνθεση.Για μια ακομη φορα ειναι πολυ πετυχημενος ο τονος των χρωματων.Πολυ εντονα χρωματα σε συνδυασμο με τον φωτισμο που μ'αρεσει πορα πολυ, δημιουργεις πραγματικα μια πολυ ωραια εικονα.Μπραβο Ηρακλη!

Θωμας

cunejo200 (7281) 2006-11-10 8:19

Hi Hercules,
The white chapel makes a good contrast to this Cretan landscape. Well presented with beautiful colors and good DOF. Regards. Danilo

delkoo (68) 2006-11-10 9:48

hi hercules
Beautifully crafted,There's something very attractive about this shot, the contrast between the small white chapel and the huge and dark
arid mountain

ta leme
didier

vbl (1421) 2006-11-10 10:30

Bonita foto, y curioso lugar. colores fantasticos
saludos

zips (1958) 2006-11-10 10:59

Nice photograph. The building in the forground gives the photo a good sense of scale.

You also took it at what appears the correct time of day to capture the warm sunlight.

Great Job.
Aloha, JB

a_i_ren (1315) 2006-11-10 11:50

Excellent graphism here, Hercules! Colors and contrasts are amazing, spectacular canyon entrance. The chapel gives us an idea of the cliff`s height,-great POV.
Compliments!
Inna

sebcz (2345) 2006-11-10 11:54

Hi Hercules!
I love the light here. It is not an easy shot as you had to deal with such contrasts. But you did it well which resulted in this splendid compo. The blue is just hypnotizing.
Regards,
Seb

evanrizo (456) 2006-11-10 12:22

Γεια σου Hercules.
Καλά το καδραρισμα, ο συνδυασμος, φωτισμός και χρώματα ειναι πολύ πετυχημένα.
Πολύ καλό και το σημείωμα σου.

AthaPan (0) 2006-11-10 12:55

Irakli kalispera

I apolitita tis fotografias kai ta diaforetika epipeda einai panemorfa.

Filika
sakis

Deepforest (9260) 2006-11-10 13:53

Hi Hercules,
It seems me very typical view for Crete. I like the composition and beautiful contrast of colours. It must be real oasis of peace...
Well done my friend.
Best regards from Poland,
Andrzej

Angelillo (9322) 2006-11-10 14:17

Hola Hércules,

Vaya cielo! Y, por contraste, ¡vaya blanco el de la pequeña capilla! Es una imagen muy bien contrastada, sólo tres colores, prácticamente, y un gran relieve. Es interesante la nota y se puede imaginar lo escarpado del lugar, gracias al punto de vista. Es muy sugerente pensar en la dificultad del lugar, tierra casi virgen! Buen fin de semana,

Angel.

teutza (10590) 2006-11-10 15:33

yellooo!!:)
what a great imposing place!!
i like the colour of the sky!!
have a nice day!
teo

Scharan (14144) 2006-11-10 17:23

Olá Hercules
Uma foto maravilhosa, amei o ponto de vista, as cores são lindas e vivas, um ótimo contraste, textura e luz. Parabéns.
Grande abraço,
Vera.

jjbach (9322) 2006-11-10 17:34

Γειά σου Ηρακλή,
Το εκκλησάκι ανάμεσα στους καφέ βράχους κάνει μία υπέροχη χρωματική αντίθεση που σε συνδιασμό με το γαλάζιο ουρανό δημιουργεί μια εντυπωσιακή σύνθεση.

Φιλικά Γιάννης

Emiel_Skyfreak (3002) 2006-11-10 19:07

Hi Hercules,

Again a very nice shot. Very strong tones and contrast between white and dark tones. The effect of the polarizer is really really strong, maybe it's due to the monitor I'm behind now, not my own. A bit too strong for my taste, but not very disturbing. Good sharpness. Good positioning too, well balanced compo, having the church more to the right, and the "V" mentioned before somewhat more on the left side.

TFs.

leo61 (0) 2006-11-11 2:30

Hi Hercules!
Good composition with wonderful light and well done with the portrait format.Verry nice colors and a fantastic contrast with the white chapel.A great shot.
Regards,Leo

vincz (19099) 2006-11-11 3:32

Excellent contrast and saturation. The deep blue sky on the rocks is fantastic. Very well seen.

brevbrev14 (140) 2006-11-11 4:05

Hi Hercules!i love this little white chapel of your country!...really i love your country...
About the shot...i like a lot the minimalist composition you used...a great contrast gives more importance to the subject..i like a lot this kind of countryside..
Very good work!
ciao!
Valeria

josepmarin (55007) 2006-11-11 6:49

Hola Hercules,
buen encuadre vertical para recoger toda la belleza del lugar. Me gusta mucho el gran contraste que forman las rocas y la piedra, de tonos marrones y oscuros, con la gran blancura de la pequeña iglesia, tiene mucho impacto a la vista.
Además, el cielo con este maravilloso color azul, tan limpio, completa una gran composición, amigo mío.
Un cordial saludo,
Josep

cengiz (3591) 2006-11-11 6:50

great colors and tonnes
compliments
cengiz

Graal (88784) 2006-11-12 2:43

Hi Hercules,
fine vertical composition, nicely contrast between the white chapel and dark mountains. Great colours, good used polariser.Well done photo.
Gr., Aleksander

Wanda1 (13948) 2006-11-12 5:21

Hi Hercules,
The white chapel stands out so nicely against the backdrop of the stark mountains, also giving a good sense of scale of the mountains I like your vertical composition. Well photographed!
Regards
Wanda

gelor (3229) 2006-11-12 5:24

Bonsoir Hercule,
Superbe image tant dans sa composition que dans cette opposition de couleurs. Félicitations !
Gérard

siolaw (37568) 2006-11-12 5:47

Hi Iraklis,
Real good one!
Superb greek colors, perfect sharpness...excellent light and texture of the rocks..
Well seen
Laurent

Vato_Law (12718) 2006-11-12 6:15

Hello Hercules,
The light! or delight? well I think both of them can be adopted here because the light causes this photo to be a delight to the eyes. Beautiful this little chappel lost in the most middle of thie rough mounatins. I love the contrasts between the chappel and the rocks and between the rocks and the sky.
Excellent compo!
Cheers.
Paulo

bakes888 (18499) 2006-11-12 23:24

Hi Hercules. Nice photo. The rugged background is a wonderful contrasting backdrop for the chapel and really makes the chapel stand out. Well captured and thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Paul.

elmec (12210) 2006-11-13 16:03

Hello Hercules!
Wow!
Such a lovely place! I like the light makes the details so sharp and clear!
Great is the white small chapel between the high mountains!
Great done!
Best regards!

craiggc (2509) 2006-11-14 5:40

Excellent note Hercules, great to read these facts about your home island.
Your shot shows the scale of the canyon very well and it's simplicity is really nice
Well done!
Craig

vinicio (23415) 2006-11-14 10:36

Beautiful view with strong colors, I like the high contrst between the white of church and the rocks togheter the sky, well composed, compliments.
Ciao
Vinicio

Xalkida (11740) 2006-11-14 17:36

Απίστευτη αντίθεση το λευκό του ξωκκλησιού με το καφέ των βράχων! Πανέμορφη, μπράβο Ηρακλή!

deblink (2548) 2006-11-14 18:25

Hello Hercules,
The church looks great amongst all this stone. The sky contrasts well with the colour of the rock formations and this makes for a great composition. Thank you for sharing.
Cheers,
Debbie

Henryk_Bilor (20797) 2006-11-16 4:36

Hi Hercules
Impressive entry to the canyon. Great composition with this little chapel against a big rocks.
Lovely colours and lighting.
Regards

Budapestman (82620) 2006-11-20 14:58

Hi Hercules!
Fascinating atmosphere! Colours are gorgeous and glittering. Its an expressive POV and spectacular composition. Picturesque shot! Thank you, nice days
George
:) tomorrow

pablominto (53744) 2006-11-24 3:49

Hello Hercules,
I like the simplicity of this fine composition!
The golden rock, the little white chapel, and above hovering the blue sky... Awesome!
Gretings,
Pablo -

bazal (7900) 2006-11-24 17:01

Hi Hercules.
A mineral composition playing with the textures of the rocks and with the incredible contrasts of the area. Great light management that allows you to show these fantastic colors.
Thanks for sharing.

daddo (18517) 2006-11-26 5:25

Greetings hercules. What a dramatic composition. Basically two predominant colours- brown and blue. And then the white chapel, like an exclamation mark. The light adds to the impact of the whole. Regards. Klaudio.

photovolos (931) 2007-10-24 12:23

Ηρακλή πήγα πίσω στις παλιότερες φωτογραφίες
σου.Αυτή μου πήρε τη καρδιά...Λιτή,λακωνική θα
'λεγα σκηνή.Εκφραστικό το χρώμα των βράχων,το
πάλευκο και κομψό σχήμα της εκκλησίας,ο πλαγιος θερμός φωτισμός!Ολα είναι υπέρ..
Ξέρεις να διαλέγεις φίλε,συγχαρητήρια.