May flowers III Photo

Photographer’s Note

After some timid tries done 3 years ago, shortly after I bought my DSLR, in pre-TE times [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6], I finally went out with the purpose of catching the amazing colours of Spring in my Alentejo. That is something that I have been wishing for years, but I have never been able to do it, God knows why. I feel a complete beginner in this field, even more than in other types of photography, but as in many other things in life, sometimes trying is as enjoyable as achieving. No matter the quality of the results, I enjoyed much the hours spent in the countryside, sensing the warm sun that finally arrived for good and the show of light, colours and scents of the fields, while trying to capture a bit of it with the camera.

I risk being unfair to many TE folks whose landscape work I admire much (I started writing down a 'short' random list, but it soon became too long), but I feel like referring here three of them that contributed for making me deciding that it was time to try shooting some Spring views myself: pboehringer and jwmunro with their recent posts of blossomed Californian fields that remind me much of Alentejo [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] and Zeynepe, who recently made an appeal in the form of a post ('Poppies are wanted!').

There you go, Zeynep, there are plenty of poppies here, although they aren't in majority. I have looked for a field covered mostly with poppies, but I didn't find any. I offer you this bouquet I picked 3 years ago.

The photo was shot in the outskirts of Crato, a tiny town very proud of its place in History, for it was the headquarters of the Portuguese branch of the 'Order of Knights of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem', also known as 'Order of Malta' and 'Order of the Hospital' (Hospitalary Knights), an important religious and military organization that was formed during the Crusades supposedly to protect the pilgrims that went visiting the Holly Land (Palestine). If you have never heard of them, probably you know about their rivals, the fabled Templar Knights.

Link to all my posts of Crato: *.

Location (latitude, longitude): 39.2834,-7.64748

---
Update 6-May-2008 : I attached a WS to a post that riclopes did a year ago showing a chimney that is located less than 200 meters to the right of the POV.

gracious, Docarmo, zeca, jjcordier, danos, AiresSantos, mikolaj_kawa, feather, pboehringer, JRushen, xuaxo, lucasgalodoido, lilimih33, Charo, bostankorkulugu, siolaw, paura, terminus, jwmunro, rabdelnoor, cfreire, trekks, JCG, Tue, ruisc_pt, robertosalguero, Emile, Atousa, maloutim, adores, edytungkal, jaywalker, axiotea, Wanda1, zeynepe, jvachon has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

gracious (20017) 2008-05-04 18:09

Hello Jose,
This is so beautiful with all the fg flowers and a great city view in such depth!
good colour contrast with sharpness and superb details in the shot
many thanks for the sharing and the useful notes
best regards
Tony

Docarmo (8830) 2008-05-04 18:32

Que encanto!
Esta imagem está deslumbrante! As flores estão muito bem colocadas na composição e os elementos verticais ao fundo deram um toque estético de equilíbrio com as árvores à esquerda, que não ficam atrás, fazendo um belo contraste com o azul límpido do céu.
Este meu palavrório todo só para dizer que eu adorei!
E sua nota está também encantadora, muito inspirada.
Parabéns!
MCV

zeca (20026) 2008-05-04 19:26

Olá José! Uma bela composição, cheia de cores e belos detalhes! As árvores à esquerda e a torre da igreja no segundo plano enriquecem o cenário onde as flores são merecidamente o tema principal.
Abraço,
Zeca

angela926 (1882) 2008-05-04 21:11

Hello Jose,
Very nice spring photo, excellent composition and
point of view, the foreground flowers are lovely,
beautiful colors and nice clarity, very good sharpness
and depth of field, good contrast against the blue
sky.
Angela

Csilla (1782) 2008-05-04 21:12

Hi Hose!
Wonderful colorful shot with super sharpness of this kind place and lovely flowers.
Thanks for sharing!
Csilla

leo61 (43398) 2008-05-04 21:31

Hi Jose!
A wonderful sprinimage,well composed with the tree at the side and the church on top.
This carpet of blossoms looks fantastic.
Reagrds,Leo

jjcordier (24606) 2008-05-04 22:00

Jose
Sous cette superbe lumière, cette prairie fleurie est magnifique! Très belle photo!
Amicalement
JJ

wolf38 (12719) 2008-05-04 22:27

Hello Jose. A picture for dreaming. Wonderfully. Outstanding composes. Best regards, Wolfgang.

vincz (19039) 2008-05-04 23:00

Excellent equilibre dans la compo avec l'arbre a gauche, le clocher lui repondant a dorit sous ce beau ciel bleu. les couleurs des fleurs printanieres sont superbes. Un fouillis ordonne. Tres bien fait.

AiresSantos (42010) 2008-05-05 0:46

Ola Jose
As tuas flores e uma belissima inagem do Alentejo onde podemos ver o sobreiro e a torre da igreja com o amarelo tipico.
Parabens pela nota
Um abraço Amigo
Aires

mikolaj_kawa (30019) 2008-05-05 1:31

Ola Jose! Amazing meadow, amazing flowers. Excellent light. Fantastic colors. Good capture. High Fidelity! Saudacoes!

tober (3946) 2008-05-05 2:53

Hi Jose, Alentejo is really an amazing place which has a tranquilizer effect with its amazing nature. Your photo is full of life with daisies, poppies and olive trees. The blue sky is also wonderful. Best regards, Tolga

dkeus31 (26176) 2008-05-05 3:31

Hi Jose,
the field full of flowers makes a perfect foreground here.
the tower is well placed also.
regards
didier

feather (49858) 2008-05-05 3:58

I was thinking of John and Peter when I saw this; I hope they see it too. You do yourself an injustice. I've had a great time following all your links. It must take you an age to upload ;D.
This is wonderful. Your low POV had given dominance to the beautiful flowers, yet the buildings on the horizon add something extra. There is a definite lead-in with the left edge of the flower field, and the trees do a great framing job for the image. Finally the variety of flowers and the colours are stunning; particularly the red of the poppies "lifts" them and makes the whole field very eye-catching. Good work Sr. flower-photographer.
Kath

[2]

UnTrained (0) 2008-05-05 8:01

Olá José,
a lovely meadow and the POV with the view up is pleasant. Not like the fantastic landscapes some of our TE friends show us sometimes, but nice and the landscape from there captured in good quality with a good POV and framing. No need to compare it against others.
Lieben Gruss, Ulf

sacavem (8251) 2008-05-05 8:43

Olá José,

Parabéns pelas tuas notas descritivas muito boas e trabalhosas de fazer.
Muito belas, estas fotos de flores camprestes no mês de Maio em pleno campo baldio onde o teu olho captou muito bem o 1ºplano com profundidade qb até à torre da igreja.

Um abraço,
Filipe

toto (18707) 2008-05-05 8:56

Bonjours,
belle photo de cette vue de ce village avec en avant plan ces jolies fleurs de toutes les couleurs.
Belle prise, bien vue, bel effet de cet arbre a gauche et de ce ciel bleu.

Amitiés Thomas

JRushen (394) 2008-05-05 12:57

Excellent shot Jose. Natural colour with good detail. Interesting note too.

xuaxo (5713) 2008-05-05 13:54

Olá José,
Não vi esta foto (data de ontem) antes de publicar a minha hoje; é coincidência termos escolhido o mesmo tema. Não tenho publicado muitas das flores de Abril e Maio e Portugal por pensar que já há tantas, mas na realidade não me canso de ver as flores dos nossos campos. Para a minha de hoje nem precisei ir longe.
Esta nem preciso dizer que está magnífica. A vila a aparecer aos poucos lá ao fundo também ficou bem.
O conjunto de papoilas em ws parece-me um pouco escuro.
Um abraço,
F

Scharan (13951) 2008-05-05 14:39

Linda foto com esta variedade de flores e cores em primeiro plano, José.
O céu bem azul ajuda a realçar a igrejinha ao fundo. Parbéns!
GA
Vera

lucasgalodoido (16601) 2008-05-05 15:39

Olá José,
muito bonito mesmo esse campo florido com essas Margaridas bem coloridas, acho que é esse o nome mesmo. A qualidade de sua foto está excelente.
Parabéns e Abraço!

lilimih33 (9872) 2008-05-05 15:43

Hello Jose!
What a lovely spring composition and what a beautiful flowers!
Nice perspective and very good sharpness!
Best regards!
Lili

Charo (31671) 2008-05-05 15:57

Hola Jose,
Una bella imagen primaveral con las amapolas mezcladas con las margaritas. Estupendo encuadre con los viejos olivos a un lado y la villa al fondo. Excelente profundidad y colores.
Un abrazo
Charo

denisn72 (6979) 2008-05-05 17:16

Hello Jose
Colourful and beautiful fresh flowers. That's a charming scene. I lik e the yellow and white church far away and the vivid blue sky. Excellent presentation. Great work!
Best regards
Denis!

bostankorkulugu (33522) 2008-05-05 17:17

beautiful spring shot jose... lovely colour combination of the flowers... the olive trees and the belfry on the background have created such a nice compo together... i took a few similar shots last week in Kos Greece, i may upload one soon...

all the best

korkut

emka (21331) 2008-05-05 23:49

Ola Stego,

Uma bela imagem destas flores coloradas. Gosto muito composição. As árvores à esquerda, olives? Variedade de flores e cores. Margaridas, papavers (?) moito lindas.

Malgorzata

siolaw (25728) 2008-05-06 2:29

Ola Jose,
You found a superb POV with this abundantly flowered foreground. Wonderful well saturated colors there. And well composed too with the willage wekk placed in the background.
Good you went to catch these colors!
Greetings
Laurent

danos (32364) 2008-05-06 3:46

Good morning José,
nice your shot dedicated to May.Excellent this colorful carpet of the flowers in the foreground and the outskirts of Crato in the background.Beautiful contrasted colors and superb details of the scene.Informative your note.

Have a nice week,Danos
PS Sorry for the lateness, i had a problem with Internet

paura (38310) 2008-05-06 8:28

José,
Está uma beleza de fotografia, amigo. O aspecto de composição "artística", que é a que eu mais valorizo nas fotografias, está excelente. Um de suas melhores, sem dúvida.

Abraço

paulo

terminus (561) 2008-05-06 9:17

Hi Hose,
you really got your Alentejo colors, yes you did. With a great composition too. TFS, Rafa.

pboehringer (770) 2008-05-06 9:44

Jose,
you're not a beginner at all and this image proof it very well. It is perfect, gorgeous and once more you're being the perfect ambassador for Alentejo. If I ever make it to Portugal I will go to this area. Your shots from there are so deeply inspiring and exactly what I always look for when shooting landscape.
Everyting in this composition is perfect. The tree at the left, the little town in the far background with the church's tower to the right and finally the close up to these marvelous flowers. I feel the scent ...
Peter

[2] +

jwmunro (6571) 2008-05-06 11:58

Hello Jose -

Kath sent me a link to this image as I am temporally off line with spring chores and maintenance around the house. I must say thank you for the tribute, but please don't sell yourself short as this and many of your images are top notch images.

IMO one of the best ways to portray a field of flowers is to get down in the flowers and fill the frame with the color and try to portray what it's like to be in the flowers. Another aspect I think that is important in this type of image is front-back sharpness. This can be difficult without a tilt-shift lens but it can be done with proper tripod positioning and careful attention to detail using a standard SLR lens. This image demonstrates both of these points. I do like your lower POV and the use of the hill slope to accentuate being in the flowers and this image is also sharp front to back. I do like the profusion of color with the red European poppies, the white/yellow daisies, and golden flowers filling in among the primary colors.

Composition, exposure, and all of the other technical details are spot on the money, bravo! I am glad I could inspire you to show us some of the Iberian spring glory - how about some more.

Later

Thank you for sharing.

John

rabdelnoor (2973) 2008-05-06 17:17

Hello Jose,
Beautiful spring colors on the foreground. Nice POV from a low point and having the city half hidden on the top of the hill. Thanks for the nice note and also for all the links that make us travel for some wonderful scenery.
Take care,
Ricardo

cfreire (11647) 2008-05-06 17:24

Oi, José
Esplendida captura feita com este ponto de vista que deixa em destaque este verdadeiro tapete de flores, que contrasta de forma maravilhosa, com o céu de um azul maravilhoso e a edificação presente. Excelente trabalho. Um abraço, Consuelo

mikeo (12113) 2008-05-07 0:33

Olá José!
You did it well! You showed flowers, you showed spring...Everything in a good composition with trees, buildings in the background. In the result it is a lovely postcard in a great quality.

Well done!
Greetings,
Mikeo

Greg1949 (8507) 2008-05-07 3:38

Jose, this shot has a nice breath of fresh air in it, It is beautifully captured with fine color and definition and a very pleasing composition. It is like a scene from a morning walk at the edge of the town, very well seen.

Greg

crckt (7074) 2008-05-07 7:02

Hi Jose,
This looks so pretty! It brought a smile to my face :) very uplifting and happy photo. I like it a lot, thanks for sharing.
Regards,
Shaeri

sagar (2307) 2008-05-08 6:31

Hi Jose,
Beautiful....thats all I can say. Lovely colors. The red-yellow-white combination looks well.
Regards,
Sagarneel.

trekks (14282) 2008-05-08 6:57

hi Jose

I can see this photo has received many critiques and all I can say is that it is very refreshing and cheerful to look at this view, with all its balanced color tone and lighting condition. Blue sky, sharpness, nice DOF. I cannot find any fault at all, or perhaps only the slight crop of tree at left although it is just my opinion. Good pov from low angle to show all the colorful flowers.

I really find this a well deserved post.

TFS, bill

kiks (6053) 2008-05-08 15:34

Hello Jose, the spring flowers with the village at the bg are very fresh and lovely but i like the most the very old olivetrees at the left. Incredible!
Best regards
KIks

Bluejeans (32173) 2008-05-09 5:24

Oi amigo ,
Magnifica foto de primavera , gosto muito destes campos cheios de flores entre as oliveiras é uma paisagem bem típica do Alentejo nesta altura do ano , bom enquadramento da foto com pequenos detalhes da vila no horizonte, parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

JCG (25263) 2008-05-09 13:02

Hi José,

A splendid spring sight and nicely composed, one with the impression to be lengthened in this field of flowers. I like much all these marvellous colors development with this beautiful light. Beautiful work and thank you Jose for the beautiful complementary photograph to very good quality.

With all my friendships and a very good WE,

Jean-Charles

jmdias (19171) 2008-05-09 17:27

zé

primavera em ptgl. sempre fui aí no verão e já peguei pedacinhos de outono.. aqui é a alma lusa em flor, com a torre bem portuguesa espiando ao longe e as oliveiras torturadas pelo tempo ao lado. Li´ndíssima luz, pov, cores, compo, tudo., parabéns

abraços

jorge

Tue (25608) 2008-05-10 2:30

Hi José,
A splendid view of this great field full of flowers with such a lovely spring mood. I also like very much to see the town and its church tower in the background and the inclusion of the tree on the left hand side was very good too. Charming and colourful photo with a great light, thanks for sharing!
Regards,
Lars

ruisc_pt (6206) 2008-05-10 11:07

Só os bons são humildes.. acho eu.
Esta foto é uma daquelas que eu gostava de ter conseguido fazer tb.
Todos nós temos a sensação de que os outros fazem melhor.. mas isso é que nos faz evoluir e procurar a satisfação nos êxitos que vamos obtendo.
Parabéns
Rui

robertosalguero (110) 2008-05-11 7:06

Ola Jose,

Is good to see you have flowers during spring. All we had so far is snow! Nice image from a low point to catch the blanket of flowers ahead of the church. The view is natural, well saturated and pretty. I think you were able to see the beauty of nature and compose an excellent image. Thanks Jose.

Roberto

Emile (19947) 2008-05-12 7:04

Hola Jose.
Preciosa composición con las flores de diferentes colores y el campanario al fondo. Esta muy bien captada desde un buen POV, quizás hubiera hecho un crop en el lado izquierdo para sacar los arboles de la foto, creo que le quitan un poco belleza, sobre todo la parte donde no hay flores.
Un fuerte abrazo.

jemaflor (39305) 2008-05-12 11:46

Salut Jose,
Un massif de fleurs très naturel et champêtre, très bien valorisé avec ce large premier plan, superbes couleurs.

COSTANTINO (22643) 2008-05-13 3:49

Hello JOSE
what a wonderful photo with all those flowers,very sweet
and delicate...Well capture of this moment romantic
bravo to you my friend
Costantino

marietom (31888) 2008-05-14 8:28

Hello José,

Magnifique, cette image printanière !
Le champ fleuri a une grande place, et c'est très bien vu.
Bonne soirée
Marie

Atousa (3434) 2008-05-14 9:34

Salam Jose,
This is really a beautiful view and shot..great pov n colours ..I really like to see wild flowers where ever they are!..tfs

All the best, Atousa

maloutim (3949) 2008-05-14 10:03

Bonjour José!
Le joli mois de Mai!
Oui, il doit être le plus beau de l'année, avec cette profusion de fleurs sauvages!
Merci de nous faire partager ce magnifique champ tricolore sous un ciel de rêve, avec le petit village en arrière-plan!
Une très belle composition et une note très riche!
Amicalement.
MarieLouise.

adores (15501) 2008-05-14 17:41

Olá José!
Bonita foto de primavera com esse campo florido, as oliveiras centenárias e até o topo da igreja. A composição está muito boa e as cores ficaram óptimas. Acho que os campos de papoilas não estão lá muito fáceis de encontrar e é pena, porque dão umas fotos bem bonitas.

edytungkal (4519) 2008-05-14 19:20

And this shot is one of the best compositions in TE galeries with perfect combination between the subject and the best weather and of course the beautiful flowers on fg really make it special. Congratulation Jose, i love this shot alot...

daniel

jaywalker (12190) 2008-05-20 12:47

Hi Jose, A really lovely spring picture, I love the foreground of flowers, the sharp quality really draws them out, very good colour & a superb composition, kind regards Wilson.

axiotea (16075) 2008-05-25 0:02

Salut José
Un joli tapis de fleurs bien présenté et qui dirige le regard sur la ville à l'arrière, depuis un bon PDV. Une image printanière qui fait du bien à l'esprit, sous une belle lumière et un beau ciel bleu.
Amitiés depuis la région parisienne
Marilyn

Wanda1 (10945) 2008-06-19 22:10

Hi Jose,
A very pretty image with all those beautiful flowers filling the foreground. Love the old trees and the church tower. This shot makes me long for summer.
Regards
Wanda

zeynepe (9342) 2008-10-28 0:55

Good morning Jose,
I am so sorry because 5 months passed and I didn't notice the most beautiful poppies in WS.
How do I say thank you for your lovely gift ?
I hope that you can forgive me :)
While I was searching my threads for arranging a TE meeting on this Sunday, I saw your photo.
Thank you again,
Warm regards,
Zeynep

jvachon (542) 2008-11-10 22:40

Hello Jose,
Such colour in the FG and the village in the BG.
Great DOF, colour and clarity.
The composition is very striking.
Good job!
TFS, Joni.