Chapel in Drakia Photo

Photographer’s Note

Drakia chapel

Displayed here is a Greek Orthodox chapel in Drakia, high up Mount Pelion. It’s altitude is approx 650 m. Drakia is on the secondary road that connects beach resort Agria on the Pagasitic bay with ski resort Chania (altitude 1200-1450 m. ) This one of the most scenic mountain roads of the Pelion peninsula.

I like the utilitarian look and the bold architecture of this chapel as faithful servant of the local congregation. It’s morphology is neither classic Peliotic nor Greek-Orthodox.
The façade shown here is orientated towards the valley and is directly exposed to the rough mountain weather. The other more sheltered facades are easier to maintain.

Mountain villages in the Pelion region share more or less the same structure. A part is situated along a mountain road. This is the mostly the main road of the village. The rest of the village, with as core element the church square with its giant platane trees is glued to the mountain flank and is serviced by a complex set of steep, curved and narrow paths which mostly are only accessible on foot or by donkey.
This chapel is located on a low spot of Drakia.

Three more captures of Pelion mountain villages are
here (Makrinitsa) and
here (Agios Lavendrios) and
here (Lafkos)

PCS2 tech: ran the Pt lens plug-in to correct for the vignetting, slightly cropped, altered the contrast, saturation, curves and levels for the whole pic and some elements separately, enhanced the colour surfaces, -edges and luminosity, USM-ed (two steps), added a frame and saved for the web.

exif data

Camera Manufacturer : Canon
Camera Model : Canon EOS 30D
Exposure time [s] : 1/1000
F-Number : 5.6
Date taken : 2006:10:04 15:45:27
Exposure bias value : -2/3
Metering mode : Evaluative, Multi-segment (5)
Exposure mode : Av-priority
Focal length [mm] : 17 mm (35 mm equiv)
Colour space : sRGB
image width : 3504
image length : 2336
Contrast : High
Saturation : High
Sharpness : Normal

imrek, jhm, john_c, nwoehnl, UlfE, TeresaT, syd1946, Xalkida has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

imrek (4) 2006-10-23 5:01

Hi Bert,
very well choosen low pov and the diagonal compositin works particularly good, use of polarizer is great, it gives superb contrast with luminous building...good work!!!
best regards,
imre

jhm (83742) 2006-10-23 6:45

Hoi Bert,

De kwaliteit van de ze foto is zeer goed, het verticale perspectief voor een mooie verlenging van het gebouw, de staal blauwe hemel zorgt vooreen egaal bovenstuk dit maakt het contrast alleen maar beter. Niet benauwd zijn Bert om een hogere F waarde intestellen, ik weet intussen dat dit type van Canon dit vrij goed aankan. Goed gedaan.
Bedankt voor uw bezoek.

Groeten uit een vrij zonnig Vlaanderen met temp van 18.2°C en dit bijna einde oktober.
John

john_c (24635) 2006-10-23 10:06

Hi Bert,
A clear crisp image with superb contrasting features. This low angle POV gives a very special view of the chapel, and I especially like the way the two crosses are visible in the windows. The framing and tight cropping are tastefully applied.
John

carper (66108) 2006-10-23 11:41

ja ik vind hem mooi bert,
prachtige uitsnede, goede details en prachtige contrast, mooie composition. goed werk, fijne week.
gr. jaap

nwoehnl (120) 2006-10-24 14:12

Good archi detail from the Greek "highlands", Bert. The upward angle is simple but plays out quite effectively, and the worn-out texture of the walls as well as the rusty elements add interest and character. The sky is deeply polarized, perhaps even slightly too much so, but overall this is a good job and as always comes with a fine annotation.

UlfE (9250) 2006-10-24 15:26

Hi Bert,

A wonderful shot. I really like the POV. The composition is very good and I love the deep blue sky. Have nice week my friend!

Cheers,

Ulf

TeresaT (10733) 2006-10-24 17:58

Hello Bert,
Nice view of this Chapel you've capture here.
The POV is fantastic and the saturated blue sky is amazing and really contrast with the white walls of the chapel.
Regards
Teresa

syd1946 (17999) 2006-10-25 7:29

Hello Bert,
I like this low pov you choose for your shot.Very well composed image,great perspective to the top.Contrast between the deep blue sky and the Chappel works very well with the "saturated" detail on the wall.I enjoy it!

Have a nice day,

Thomas

jrj (34779) 2006-10-26 4:48

hi bert
Nice details of the chapel, creative angle, and then of course the incredible blue sky of Greece. Well seen

Scharan (13955) 2006-10-26 20:38

Olá Bert
Você ousou nesta composição...realmente ficou diferente. Boas cores e contraste marcante.
Bom trabalho Bert!
Grande abraço,
Vera.

Stepan (27175) 2006-10-27 1:51

Maybe a little "too much" sky, but a beautiful summer light and atmosphere. The blue sky is pure and impressive and the building's texture is interesting, thanks to the sharpness.
Stéphane

Xalkida (11740) 2006-10-27 2:29

Excellent low POV and a fine blue sky! Well done!