Palácio Nacional de Queluz V Photo

Photographer’s Note

Another one of the series I shot back in November on this former Portuguese Royal Palace.

The following lines are a copy of the notes of my first post of the series. You can look at all the series by following this link.

This baroque/rococo palace, once a property of the Portuguese royal family, was built in the mid 18th century, on the place of another older palace from a noble man that fell into disgrace one hundred years before. It has clear resemblances of many great royal palaces from its times, notably in its "french style" gardens which design was much the work of a french architect Jean-Baptiste Robillon with the help of the dutch gardener Jose Van del Kolk, although much experts claim that it still is much Portuguese in some architectural details. Some call it the Portuguese Versailles", other compare it with Frederick the Great's palace of Sanssouci, near Berlin. I suspect that most european countries have there own "Versailles", so this is the closest one in Portugal.

Nowadays the palace is still used to some state ceremonies once in a while. Supposedly it's the official residence of foreign heads of state visiting Portugal and besides that some state dinner parties are held there when important foreign guest come visit the country.

It's actually a nice place to wander around, with its nice gardens and its non too excessive grandeur. Being less than 10 Km from home and with free entrances on Sunday mornings, I decided it was a good idea to go there and enjoy the Autumn sun one morning that I found myself at home with some time to spare until lunch. I confess I hadn't gone there since I was a child. Isn't it interesting and sad how we sometimes keep forgetting of the nice places where we can enjoy a couple of relaxing hours close to home? Consequence of TE, contrarily to what used to be my habits for these quicks weekend breaks, I brought the camera with me.

Links to info on the palace and its gardens: Wikipedia, Portugal Virtual, Planetware.

Location (latitude, longitude): 38.74974,38.74974

kiwi_explorer, siolaw, Thanhnguyen, ChrisJ, rakeshgupta, cunejo200, feather, jmcl, lucasgalodoido, zeca, salvator, Vinsachi, robertosalguero, riclopes has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

kiwi_explorer (12195) 2007-03-04 22:54

Hi Jose,
Very good photo quality in terms of color tones and sharpness... details of the architechture is quite clear. Composition is also very good ... excelent use of the tree and shrub to frame the building. Overall, an excellent photo. Well done!
Cheers,
Renier

MIG13 (0) 2007-03-04 23:48

Excelente ângulo do Palácio, José, em uma composição que bem se vale do jogo luz & sombra! Bom trabalho, amigo! Abraço! Miguel.

siolaw (25692) 2007-03-04 23:59

Salut Jose,
Belle presentation de ce palais, excellente lumiere et couleurs superbes, netteté impeccable, bon cadrage et POV
Amitiés
Laurent

UnTrained (0) 2007-03-05 2:12

Olá José,
well framed with the trees at the right and additionally with the shadows of those trees. Your light is well chosen to help us on each part of your capture if it is in shadow or light. I like the quality of the textures on the wall.
Lieben Gruss, Ulf

ChrisJ (69430) 2007-03-05 2:46

Ola Jose

I like the graphism of the whitewashed facade against the blue sky. Good sharpness & pov. Well done!

rakeshgupta (2670) 2007-03-05 2:50

Hi Jose,
The artwork on top of the Portuguese Royal Palace is looking great. Looks very peaceful place. Good sharpness and you perfectly managed between high intensity and dark shadows here.
- Rakesh

ribeiroantonio (21711) 2007-03-05 3:15

Cada vez me convences mais a tornar a visitar o Palácio de Queluz. Tenho gostado muito da visita virtual que nos tens proporcionado mas, não chega. A tua foto está muito boa, apesar da sombra das árvores não ajudarem muito à vista do edifício. Gosto muito da decoração superior.
António

cunejo200 (7157) 2007-03-05 7:56

Hello Jose,
Lighting, colors, and depth are particularly appealing in this well composed photo of the Royal Palace. Regards. Danilo

Silvio1953 (40677) 2007-03-05 8:43

Hi Jose, great composition with splendid architecture, wonderful colors, very well done, ciao Silvio

feather (49848) 2007-03-05 10:10

I agree with you; until taking photos seriously it was always something reserved for visiting places away from home. Photography has made me look at my surroundings differently too.
You have some excellent photos of this place; it seems that all four sides of the building have something of interest. The light was good and the shadows add extra interest to the scene. The perspective of the wide path carries our eyes nicely into the frame.
Kath

paura (37722) 2007-03-05 14:37

Bonita composição, José. As cores e demais ajustes fototécnicos estão muito bons para conseguir se ver essas lindas formas arquitetônicas.

Paulo

adores (15251) 2007-03-05 18:17

Olá José!
Tás mesmo um mestre no Palácio de Queluz!Esta perspectiva também não é muito comum. Gosto das sombras aqui, nem tapam muito da decoração que está sobretudo no topo. As árvores e arbustos também ficaram muito bem a emoldurar o edifício.
Bom trabalho!
Anabela

jmcl (13721) 2007-03-05 19:19

Hi José,

wonderful image .. great use of the natural framing of the landscaping .. I love the interplay of light and shadow .. another thing I find nice is that somehow for the distance .. maybe with the perspective .. the Baroque ornateness of the structure seems subdued in a pleasant way .. like a memory.

take care,

John

lucasgalodoido (16537) 2007-03-05 21:50

Olá José!
Bonito castelo, a foto está com uma nitidez e cores perfeitos! Apenas não gostei da sombra no castelo, mas mesmo assim ficou bom!
Parabéns e Abraço!

zeca (20024) 2007-03-05 22:43

Olá José!
Bela arquitetura! A luz penetrando por entre as árvores é bonita e projeta belas sombras!
Abraço,
Zeca

salvator (18743) 2007-03-07 3:48

Hi Jose,
Very nice composition, with beautifull sharp, clear details, and wonderfull colors.
Best regards. Salvator.

Bluejeans (31479) 2007-03-07 17:59

Ola amigo Jose bonita foto do Palacio de Queluz, gostei das cores , uma boa definiçao , gostei das sombras !!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

capthaddock (28640) 2007-03-09 15:49

Hi Jose - beautiful building, the lit and shadow parts have nice exposure, thankfully the November light is low enough for good light distribution.

robertosalguero (2759) 2007-03-18 0:00

What a beautiful building, ornated with fine details and elegance. Your perspective, use of natural light and good sharpness make for an excellent composition. The building itself is an awesome subject and you managed to captured it very well. Thanks Jose :-)

Roberto

rl245267 (784) 2007-03-19 16:02

Jose,

This is a nice shot of an interesting place. I really enjoy the look of this type of architecture. Also, one can see that this is a very beautiful and relaxing place.

Nice job,

Rob

riclopes (32823) 2007-03-27 3:40

Bom dia José, excelente série deste Palácio. É mais um daqueles que está mesmo aqui ao pé de mim, mas nunca lá fui. Todas as 6 fotos estão muito bem conseguidas, embora goste especialmente da 1ª. A qualidade é perfeita, com cores e luminosidade muito atraentes. Acho que ainda podias acrescentar umas aproximadas daquelas estatuetas lá em cima - uns pormenores contra o céu azulinho ficam sempre bem e enriquece ainda mais o teu tema.
Um abraço,
Ricardo

Tango7174 (0) 2007-06-04 21:28

Incredible resolution of both foreground and background. The shadows created by the trees on the bottom of the palace makes the lit top stands out even more, with all its fine architecture.
Excellent job José!

Thành.