PATRON SAINT OF PHOTOGRAPHERS Photo

Photographer’s Note

PATRON SAINT OF PHOTOGRAPHERS

Venice is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and romantic cities in the world. From its beginnings 1500 years ago as a loose federation of scattered villages, its population increased, and a network of canals were created. The city emerged as the watery maze we know today, best described by architect-urban planner Le Corbusier as a "a perfect cardiac system!"

The City on the Lagoon is unique for its canals that serve as streets, its bridges as crosswalks, and the Grand Canal, wider and longer than any of the other canals, as the main boulevard. Plying its “streets” are the gondolas, small barges, power boats, water taxis, and, in the case of its main boulevard, water busses or “vaporetti.” The Grand Canal, a serpentine waterway resembling a backwards letter “S,” has a length of approximately 5 km (3 miles). For those who have not visited this magnificent city before, but will have an opportunity in the future, I recommend taking a public waterbus, a vaporetto, through the Grand Canal and even circumnavigating the city to get a good lay of the land. But even before that, I suggest a glance at the map-like areal shot submitted by Massimiliano Raineri.

I was envious of my TE-friends who were able to descend on this extraordinarily photogenic city, in order to attend the meeting and to do a group photoshoot. I took this photograph eight months ago while the vaporetto on which I was riding gently approached a curve where the Church of Santi Geremia e Lucia came into view. An inscription on a large wall visible from the canal explains that the church is the site for the remains of Santa Lucia, moved when the nearby church of Santa Lucia — designed by Palladio — was torn down in 1863 to make way for the building of the railroad station (appropriately named “Santa Lucia). One of the most venerated of saints, St. Lucy is the patron saint of eyesight, the blind, lucidity; and she is also the patron saint of photographers. She had originally hailed from Syracuse on Sicily, but her body was stolen in 1039 and removed to Constantinople (modern Istanbul). Then in 1204 it was stolen by Dodge Dandolo (who was ironically half-blind himself) and brought to Venice.

I dedicate this image to the TE members who visited Venice last week, and especially to Paolo Luigi Germano and Renzo Bonan who organized the landmark meeting. I am also hanging the image on the walls of my theme gallery, Life on the Venetian Canals.

Morac, casperduppy, papagolf21, judesta, tober, dareco, MLINES, azaf1, jhm, snunney, ymrk, paololg, belido, asajernigan, Wandering_Dan, Didi, maximage, delkoo, windosil, vinicio, Clementi, TGULUMSER, bostankorkulugu, jorgi, meltemi, Cricri, BWJ, Graal, paura, Photo65Net, gunbud, jafadabret, rikko77, gracious, yedirenk, ChrisJ, Tue, Charo, Kielia, Bluejeans, mikolaj_kawa, emjleclercq, didemay, xuaxo, Silversnow, Angshu, jwmunro, leonorkuhn has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Morac (19890) 2009-04-10 14:12

Bonsoir Bulent,
With this beautiful picture of this church in Venice thank you to teach me that Saint Lucia and the "patron-saint" of photographers.
Amicalement
Marc

papagolf21 (55926) 2009-04-10 14:22

Bonsoir, mon bon ami Bulent,
Venise : quelle ville pour les marins ! Tout flotte et rien ne roule. Un silence divin !
En plus, nous bénéficions de vues magnifiques, des architectures qui étonnent à chaque intersection de canaux !
Encore un pur régal à travers cette belle composition.
Amitiés.
Philippe

buscape (3401) 2009-04-10 15:27

Hello Bulent,
wonderful upwards view to the buildings and good choice of vertical format. Lovely warm light and beautiful colors. Great composition with the superbe clouds in the background.
Best wishes,
Helmut

judesta (992) 2009-04-10 15:37

Hi Bulent

Beautiful natural colour, I like your upward POV showing the dominance of the buildings, the cloudy sky a wonderful backdrop to this historical church. Again thank you a the very informative and appropriate history lesson.
Cheers
Jude

tober (3886) 2009-04-10 17:25

Merhaba Sayın Hocam, fotoğraflarınızın her biri bir belgesel değerinde. Venedik'te fotoğraflar genelde yukarıdan kanala doğru çekilir ama siz kanaldan yukarıya doğru çekerek bu tarihî kiliseyi sıradışı bir açıdan görüntülemişsiniz. Bulutlar da ayrı bir hava katmış. Elinize sağlık, saygılar. Tolga

dareco (17024) 2009-04-10 18:23

Very beautiful architecture, and I like the lighting, colors and framing. TFS

MLINES (10840) 2009-04-10 20:16

Hi Bulent, A bold and striking vertical image from this city of Canals. Your words give a fine insight into all your photographs and this is no exception. It would certainly have been good to meet the trekers there to go to good locations and discuss matters of interest. I like the yellow earthy tones in this image very well, and the water is essential too. TFS. Murray.

jhm (81659) 2009-04-11 0:37

Hello Dear Bulent,

Venice a very lovely old city with fantastic old buildings.
You write self extraordinarily photogenic city.
Very nice composition, real colours, lovely presentation together with the dome and tower as real eye catchers.
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice Easter weekend,
John.

jonathan_hart (22564) 2009-04-11 0:45

very nice place, i just feel that the frame is a little bit too "narrow" (i don't know if this is the appropriate word) maybe for some reasons
happy Easter
jc

snunney (34026) 2009-04-11 1:05

Hello Bulent,
A fine composition of this beautiful church, which benefits greatly from the lovely ambient light. Well complemented by superb colours and clarity.

ymrk (8307) 2009-04-11 1:06

Merhaba Sevgili Hocam,
Çok güzel bir mimari görüntüyü,yine aynı güzellikte olan ışık ve bakış açınızla yansıtmışsınız.Gökyüzü de çok ılıman bir görüntüye sahip...
Sevgilerle,iyi haftalar!

Yağmur

azaf1 (15541) 2009-04-11 1:25

Good morning dear Bulent

Indeed Venice is a perfect destination for photographers and last week's meeting was certainly a great event. The capture is very suggestive of the photographic temptation the rest of us missed :(

Argiris

ifanik (20462) 2009-04-11 3:18

Very beautiful POV and nice colours my friend
Well done
Best regards
Nick

paololg (13144) 2009-04-11 5:38

Ciao dear friend,
I am touched and deeply moved for the photo and the dedication to all the participants to the meeting in Venice.
When we have done the photo of group in Piazza San Marco I have said: this photo we also do us it for our friend Bulent, and our thought flies on the other side of the Ocean, turned to a great photographer, but above all, to a great person which you are. Thanks dear friend, I hope to know soon you, even to Treviso. This, for us Italian, it is not a happy Easter, we are still crying the 300 dead, the 1500 wounded and the 27000 people without house of the earthquake in Abruzzo, but my happiness is as much in to be able to wish you, with the heart, a happy Easter.
Ciao, have a nice w.e.!
Paolo

belido (16019) 2009-04-11 5:57

Hi Bulent,

incredibly beautiful architecture...this smells History. Your choice for this framing is just perfect. The image is very well balanced in its elements and the exposure was also well managed. One thing that proves what I'm saying is the sky with all its details. Just great!
Regards,
Carlos

asajernigan (13879) 2009-04-11 6:53

Bulent,
This is a nicely composed shot of this fine church. The vertical format works well showing the height of the structures while allowing us to see closeup detail. The lighting and colors are great with excellent sharpness.
TFS,
Asa

Wandering_Dan (3171) 2009-04-11 9:23

Merhaba, Bulent -

Fascinating note to go along with a neat photo. It's a different view of Venice from the ones we usually get.

I saw your discussion with Jean-Christophe over whether the frame is too narrow. I don't get that feeling, for two reasons: First is that it's clear you shot this from a moving boat, which gives you limited options. More important, to my mind, is that Venice is crowded and narrow to start with, and the admittedly squeezed visage here conveys that feeling.

Besides, photography is taking risks. How else do we improve?

Best,
Dan

carper (63998) 2009-04-11 10:28

very nice one my friend,
the shot is nice good details and lines, fine balance, the contrast is fine. I looks me a pleasure to visit this old city. thank you for the note and have a very good weekend.
regard jaap

Didi (35680) 2009-04-11 11:40

Salam Bulent
I tought before that you were in the meeting.
Very interesting tight frame oh this magnificient architecture, very good lights exposure management.
Best regards my friend

maximage (13237) 2009-04-11 13:57

Bonjour Bulent,
Très belle image de Venise. Une lumière douce et belles couleurs. Excellente atmosphère typique de cette belle ville.
Amitiés.
max

delkoo (33904) 2009-04-11 15:26

hi bulent
Your photo has a pretty well chosen pov and an elaborated composition that helped to enhance the interest of the place, with also excellent exposure and sharpness!

have an happy Easter.

didier

windosil (762) 2009-04-12 5:17

Happy Easter, Bulent!
This is a beautifully balanced composition, with 3 main and many subsidiary verticals. The soft colours of the buildings are perfectly trapped between the colours of the water and the sky.
Thanks for the excellent note; I'll never be there, but can enjoy it through you.
Winifred

berek (28750) 2009-04-12 5:28

Merhaba Bülent bey,
bulutlarla mimari beraber konuşuyor harika olmuş. iyi tatiller.
Burak

mesutilgim (36232) 2009-04-12 7:56

Selam sevgili Bülent,
Galiba bu TE'nin misyonuna ve kurallarına en iyi uyan üye sensin !
Bu kare de sadece fotoğrafik kalitesi ile değil verdiğin bilgi notu ile de muhteşem.
Bilmediğim pek çok şey öğrendim bu kez de !
Tebrikler, teşekkürler
Selam ve sevgilerimle

MESUT ILGIM

vinicio (22252) 2009-04-12 9:31

Unknow story and place, but very interesting note of yours, next time I'll visit Venice I'll visit this church, maybe the Saint make me a more good photographer :)
Compliments for all Bulent, and thanks.
Ciao
Vinicio

lestans (15398) 2009-04-12 11:06

Hi Bulent!!

what a nice view of Santa Lucia church in Venice! You captured it from the boat.
Very well composed, sharp, perfect!
It would be really nice if you would be with us last week! and anyway I think that when a TE friend comes and visit Venice should write to me and to other friends living close here, it is always possible to arrange a little meeting!

Ciao!!!

Livia

Clementi (42833) 2009-04-12 12:57

Ciao Bulent,
in these days Venice is present with a lot of photos, it is always it but the meeting has increased the number. I like this for the delicate colors and for the particular atmosphere that you have captured.
good job
Giorgio

TGULUMSER (12410) 2009-04-12 13:39

Bulent Bey merhaba,
Venedik'e fotografcilik hastaligina yakalanmadan gitmistim. Ben de oradaki TE toplantisina cok ozendim. Bu guzel sehri baska bir gozle ve hava ile dolasmak harika olurdu. Kareniz sahane, oradaki her kosenin fotograflamaya deger olduguna dair guzel bir ornek,
Elinize saglik,
Iyi haftalar,
Tulay

HondeR (692) 2009-04-12 14:23

Merhaba Hocam,

Masal kitaplarina kapak fotografi olacak bir calisma...
renk ve detaylari ile coook ozel bir paylasim...

ellerinize saglik
hasan

bostankorkulugu (33330) 2009-04-12 15:27

tablo tadında bir kare olmuş bülent bey, klas bir venedik klasiği... selamlar, sevgiler... korkut

KemaLMerT (11074) 2009-04-12 18:37

merhaba, nefis bir kare, elinize sağlık.selamlar.

jorgi (3798) 2009-04-13 0:18

Hi Bulent,

thank you for the dedication and i hope next time timming will be more friendly for all of us. Venice is such a nice place with so many photographic opportunities and it is almost impossible to return home without some excellent photos. This image is like a window back to this wonderful place with most warm light and most natural feeling to it. Like being there, enjoying the ride and admiring built beauties gathered in quite small area, all competing for attention and admiration.

My best regards,
jeri

meltemi (9744) 2009-04-13 3:33

Hello Bulent,
although it is not one of the standard view of Venice, yet it has all the standard elements of the famous city. However, your point of view gives a surprising result. I love the golden light that enhance the colours. It's a wonderful clear and bright capture of that interesting city. ( I have so many slides from Venice, perhaps in the future I'll post one of them).
All the best.
Stella

Cricri (42773) 2009-04-13 4:13

Bonjour Bulent
Une vue de Venise pas courante et qui ne manque pas de charme, intéressant cadrage serré sur différents bâtiments, bon POV, couleurs et lumière qui filtre ce gros nuage blanc, belle note
Happy Easter
cricri

barrufeto_77 (25601) 2009-04-13 12:16

Hi Bullent.

For sure, is an amazing place for photographers and an excellent city for visiting 2,3,4 times....

Excellent POV and colours!

Rgs, Oscar

TopGeo (21385) 2009-04-13 13:31

Hi Bulent Excellent composition with this beautiful picture of this church in Venice and with fantastic place and old buildings with beautiful architecture. Excellent note thank you
Happy Easter
Georgios

BWJ (1771) 2009-04-13 13:39

Hello Bulent,
The angle from which the picture was taken enhances the sense of perspective and architectural details. Lovely clouds in the background are a beautiful combination with the textures and softly rendered color tones. The shot is quite pleasing to the eye. Your presentation of Saint Lucia, the patron saint of photography, is perfect for TrekEarth.
Kind regards,
Betty

hay_kes (28554) 2009-04-13 23:27

Merhaba Hocam,
Kartpostal gibi, mükemmel bir çalışma.Elinize sağlık.
Selamlarımla..

hAyAti

Graal (57220) 2009-04-13 23:48

Hi Bulent,
an interesting fragment of Venice. Good informations in note. Fine quality of photo, too. Well photojob.
Gr., Aleksander

paura (37736) 2009-04-14 3:47

Bulent,
The shapes mix in very interesting here in the sht from a nice point of view. Excellent framing, friend.

Regards

Paulo

Photo65Net (43084) 2009-04-14 3:55

Hello Bulent,
Amazing architecture melting-pot.
I like the result, great job,
Have a nice day,
JB.

gunbud (27523) 2009-04-14 6:11

Hi Bulent,
This fantastic Venitian architecture is very well suited to the tighly cropped vertical format.
Love the richly textured details to this majestic scene that looks so lovely framed between the blue sky and green lagoon.
Regards, Tom

PJE (19353) 2009-04-14 6:35

Good Morning Bulent. I looked at this photo last night and now again this morning. The thought occurred to me that it is rather sad that Venice is showing signs of decay as of late. Besides that this photo you are sharing does show signs of beauty in architecture. I love the arrangement and flowing lines inside the frame here. You do have a very intelligent eye for composition. On the other hand my critique cannot be complete without mentioning the position of the large tree almost in the center of the frame. Somehow or in some way I would have liked to see it off to the side by choosing a different angle of viewpoint. Just my honest gut feeling Bulent and I hope you can appreciate it. Thanks.

Sedef65 (720) 2009-04-14 7:38

Bülent Bey , gerçekten çok güzel bir çekim olmuş.

Renkler,ışık,kompozisyon ve çerçeve seçimi hepsi mükemmel.

Kutlarım

Sedef

AiresSantos (41272) 2009-04-14 23:49

Hi Bulent
Fine POV and colours in this very good picture. Excellent view of the church Saint Lucia and the "patron-saint" of photographers.
TFS and greetings
Aires

jafadabret (38907) 2009-04-15 8:27

Bonjour Bulent.
Cette vue de Venise est originale. J'aime cette architecture entre un ciel superbe et l'eau verte sous une belle lumière. Je pensais que la patronne des photographes était sainte Véronique qui avait recueilli l'image du Christ en épongeant sa face ensanglantée lors de la passion. Le nom de Lucie, lui, signifie lumière et le photographe écrit avec la lumière.
Amicalement,
Jacques

Fis2 (45166) 2009-04-15 13:27

Witaj Bulent!
Wow Venice !
Excellent shot.
Beautiful colors.
Very interesting POV.
Good work.
Warm regards
Krzysztof

photoray (1182) 2009-04-15 14:43

Hello Bulent,
Excellent depiction of the architecture of the ages, crowded into an increasingly diminishing space. Good detailing and color saturation.

Good job,
Ray

rikko77 (5484) 2009-04-16 8:26

Hi Bulent,
wow, didn't know photographers have a patron saint :-) anyway, I don't know what's more interesting...your pic rather your note? Don't know...meanwhile, I give you my "smile".
Have a nice day!
Rikk

emka (21131) 2009-04-16 13:56

Hi Bulent, Splendid view of this church. Beautiful light and a very good POV. I also make two photos of it. My photos were made a bit earlier and are not so good. but for fun I send one in WS.
This time I finally succeed in going through Canale Grande with a water bus. It was my third try. once, it went shorter way, then - quite other direction to Giudecca and San Giorgio. But now I had good weather and I have the photos of many palaces.

warm regards

Malgorzata

[workshop] [compare] +

gracious (20017) 2009-04-16 19:26

Merhaba Prof.Bulent,
Selamlar!
Always like to read your useful notes before the image!
very informative indeed!
captured well with the specticular view while riding on the boat in the canal! loved the colour and the sunlight very much over the place!
many thanks for the sharing
take good care and warmest regards
Tony

yedirenk (7125) 2009-04-16 19:37

merhaba Bülent Hocam,
kadraj ve kesiminizle harika doku ve detay zenginliği yakalamışsınız.renkler,ışık ve netlik enfes.bu güzel karedeki herşey Venedik in tarihi atmosferini hissettiriyor.ellerinize sağlık.selamlar

Cevdet

aadilj (17950) 2009-04-18 1:43

A very nicely composed image Bulent, tis been finely nuanced and very well handled. I like the hues and the tones on the buildings

archimatica (13160) 2009-04-18 3:05

Hi, Bulent.
Beautiful natural colours, original pov and great "atmosphere".
Really a good job.
Complimenti, e buon week end.
Renzo

ChrisJ (69464) 2009-04-18 3:47

Hi Bulent

I've learned something today. I had no idea St Lucy was the patron saint for photographers. A superb Venetian postcard shot with good color & sharpness. Tfs!

Tue (25608) 2009-04-20 3:01

Hi Bulent,
A great photo from Venice, taken from the water - of course. :-) I find the vertical composition you chose excellent, with the dome and tower well placed on both sides. The colours are attractive too in this pleasant sunlight. Thanks for sharing!
Regards,
Lars

Charo (31651) 2009-04-20 15:48

Hello mi amigo Bulent,
The capture of Saint Lucia is unique, a little light around here, almost always from the photograph or the Grand Canal or from San Marco.
Taken together with a wonderful note.
Best regards,
Charo

Kielia (8167) 2009-04-21 11:35

Hello Bulent,
very nice POV and the format works also very well to give us an impression of this famous place. The typical colors of Venice are very pleasant, but it is the sky that makes this impression really fascinating. Reading your note was a pleasure too. TFS!
Warm regards
Harriet

Bluejeans (31529) 2009-04-22 5:21

Ola amigo ,
Linda esta igreja de Veneza de arquitectura bastante interessante , bonita a sua torre de tijolo vermelho , o céu tem umas nuvens magnificas , gostei muito das cores , boa utilização da foto na vertical , parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

mikolaj_kawa (29366) 2009-04-24 14:05

Hello Bulent! Wonderful architecture. Amazing church and marvelous tower. Nice lightness, very nice natural colours. Good POV and composition. Original picture. Well done!

pablominto (39884) 2009-05-03 5:06

Hello Bulent,

The light is wonderful here and conveys the taste of Italy very well!
Inclusion of water works well with the composition, and it rightfully belongs in an image from Venice hehehe...
Good details and attractive colours, a balanced composition with depth!

Greetings,
Pablo -

devimeuxbe (55665) 2009-05-03 7:27

Hello Bulent
you found a beautifull vision on the city. The light is nice; The cropping interesting to focus the architecture
well done
Bertrand

Yar (795) 2009-05-04 11:57

that's just marvelous, the tree, the tower, the dome. and the shabby texture makes the photo very charming, too

emjleclercq (14125) 2009-05-09 14:24

Well, the patron saint of the photogrpahers did not forget you at that time, because you had some light under a cloudy sky, and the chance to take the picture from a canal (I only visited Venice in 1981 when I was a student, without much money to take anything else than the vaporetto...).

All the best,

Emmanuel

pboehringer (770) 2009-05-14 8:34

Bulent,
so there is a patron-saint for us? LOL! Now I know where to direct my prayers before I trigger my camera.
Nice image taken from the vaporetto. I especially like that huge cumulus nimbus plaed between the dome and the tower.
Peter

didemay (2401) 2009-05-15 2:59

Bulent uzun bir aradan sonra tekrar Merhaba,
Asagidan kanal ile baslayan bu aci, dikey kadraj tercihin ile Venedik'i cok guzel vurgulamis. Cektigin zaman, gokyuzunun kosullari guzel isigi daha da guzel pekistirmis.
Eline, gozune saglik. Ailene kucak dolusu sevgiler.
Not: Turkiye turu var mi bu sene?
Didem

xuaxo (5627) 2009-05-15 10:28

Hello Bulent,
Interesting mix of buildings. Not a usual picture of Venice.
Greetings,
Francisco

Silversnow (2077) 2009-05-19 13:39

Very interesting photo indeed, full of details, colorful, well exposed and heavy with history, that your very substantial notes always bring to the fore :)
Too bad that work of art of a city is still slowly sinking in the lagoon...

Angshu (33235) 2009-05-24 22:26

Hello Professor 'A'
A very different picture from Venice. I had no idea that Saint Lucia was the patron saint of photographers! But how, considering the era the saint lived in, which was much, much before photography developed? Or is it because St. Lucy was the patron saint of eyesight, the blind, lucidity, it has been extrapolated for photographers as well? The bell towers balances the dome very well. A good tight composition & an excellent note as always!
With Warm Regards
Angshuman

Greg1949 (8507) 2009-06-12 4:15

Bulent, you have some really interesting stuff in your gallery. This one seems to me to span a thousand years or so from the power boat in the fg through the old structures in the bg, and this all appeals to me. I like the verticality of the shot, was it perspective corrected? Colors and details are awesome as always, great work.

Greg

jwmunro (6728) 2009-06-29 15:06

Hello Bulent -

From the thumbnail I expected to see a photo of a painting as it is balanced and composed like one of the masters. Well done!

I visited Venice back in the 1960's and my time on the lagoon was cold, overcast, and rainy. I came back with fading memories, the smell of canals still lingers, and no images.

Thank you for sharing.

John

leonorkuhn (13435) 2009-07-11 17:32

Hi Bulent,

Very beautiful capture of this old church. There are a variety of architectural styles in this small space. Venice is really unique. Excellent job!

Have a nice sunday
Leonor