Ants In Sintra Photo

Photographer’s Note

After seeing batalay post a photo from Sintra a few days ago here. I decided to look over my photos from this same area.

Indeed, this UNESCO World Heritage area is dotted with amazing sites. My favourite being the beautiful Pena Palace. The palace dates back to the early 1800's when it was bought by King Consort Dom Fernando II of Saxe Coburg-Gotha. On the previous site were the ruins of the Hieronymite Monastery of Nossa Senhora da Pena. The King decided to re-build it with his romantic tastes.

The results are strong colours in the different parts of the castle, with fantasy type shapes (especially the clock tower as seen in batalay's photo).

Here I was trying to get a different view of this oft-photographed monument. I loved the purple and yellow complementary colours in this photo. But in order to truly appreciate the scale, I captured this mother and daughter touring the site (they are tiny compared with the dramatic walls of the castle). I also wanted to try and capture the detail in the tiles, with the beautiful windows.

Sharpness is a bit lacking, as it was taken with my awful Fujifilm P&S, but I still like the colours.

Hope you like it.

elihesamian, rjb874, avene, messenger1, Paul65, mikolaj_kawa, jonathan_hart, niphredil76, cfreire, euryan, edytungkal, calexica, Jeppe has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

messenger1 (1029) 2008-02-05 20:44

Hello, David -
There are so many good elements to this shot, and they come together to make a really great image. The composition, the perspective, the colors, the light - all well done.

Atousa (3434) 2008-02-05 23:41

Salam David,
An interesting shot of this castle..the architecture n colours are also special n interesting.tfs
Regards,
AtousA

mikolaj_kawa (29755) 2008-02-06 1:14

Hello David! Original point of view. Nice composition. Good colors. Very good capture. Well done!

avene (10938) 2008-02-06 2:30

hi David,
I definitely like this shot, the colours and patterns are absolutely amazing. smart point of view, it shows enough details to appreciate how elaborate the building is, still giving the sense of the palace as a whole. and you're right, the people let the viewer appreciate the scale.
excellent shot, I like it a lot. and I see no problem with sharpness.
best,
Kristine

jonathan_hart (22570) 2008-02-06 6:21

well composed with the people, good light and colours, this building is marvellous :))
regards
jo

rosaline (0) 2008-02-06 12:19

Stunning shot and good composition. Love the effect of the light coming off the tiles. The impact is superb and the sharpness is excellent. Very nice work.

pedru (1649) 2008-02-06 13:05

bonsoir
tres belles couleurs
une compo sympa
bravo

capthaddock (28640) 2008-02-06 17:55

Aha, I'll be (near) there in just a few days, I have a soft spot for azulejo tiles, what I wouldn't give (except the market retail price :-)) for the bottom part of my kitchen to be decorated with them. Certainly not lacking sharpness, what's lacking is the top of the spire above the yellow dome, I wish the lens was wider.

meyerd (1498) 2008-02-07 9:56

Hi David,
thanks for this for me unexpected monument from Sintra. It reminds me of what the major of Tirana said a few years ago: "never let the population as a whole decide what color to apply, they will always choose grey".
Best regards
Dietrich

elihesamian (26091) 2008-02-10 8:31

Hello David,
a colorful architecture photo,captured in a great POV with a good perspective,details are fine and well documented,too.although you had a strong light but well managed it,good result,Thanks,
Best
M

Guy_Velazquez (0) 2008-02-17 12:03

Hola David, espectacular foto, bellos colores y detalles de los edificios y palacios. Me encanta esta foto. Un saludo.

cfreire (11647) 2008-03-12 4:50

Hi David
Good shot with nice colors and details and the people on the ground is like ant indeed. Creative composition. Well done, regards, Consuelo

Kenny10pin (19301) 2008-03-17 6:30

great human touch here, I like the inclusion of the people, well shot

euryan (8345) 2008-03-24 13:44

The "ants" are exactly the element that makes this photo work. They give scale and life to the photo. They balance the composition, and they are cute. Interesting and creative composition from a very famous location.
Regards,
Ryan

edytungkal (4519) 2008-03-27 0:01

Absolutely this shot is better with such beautiful details of Pena Palace, i like the angle you have chosen and inclusion the people on foreground really an important point to the picture. Beautiful colours and sharpness is ok. Good shot David, tfs.

daniel

rbcy1974 (20742) 2008-03-27 6:05

Hello David
Very nice point of view,
I like the colourful elements of the shot, great perspecive, very well done
Regards
Daniel

calexica (1243) 2008-04-07 1:31

Hey David,
A stunning shot of this impressive building. There are so many details to look at in your picture ... I like that. Excellent colors & contrast, perfect POV. Congratulations!!!
Greetings,
Natasha

Jeppe (18623) 2008-08-11 11:15

Hi David
A fine view you present here - I like the composition and inclusion of people to give us the true sizes.
tfs
Jeppe