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Grey sky over Pena (Feather) Palace


Grey sky over Pena (Feather) Palace
Photo Information
Copyright: Jose Pires (stego) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3200 W: 556 N: 4020] (12352)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-06-13
Categories: Castles, Architecture
Camera: Olympus E-300, 14-45 mm Zuiko Digital
Exposure: f/8, 1/125 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Map: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Date Submitted: 2008-05-09 15:08
Viewed: 319
Points: 68
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
I visited very few "world class romantic places", but even so it's easy to me to believe that the hyperbolic statement found in the first paragraph of the Wikipedia page on this palace isn't far from the truth: "...[it] constitutes one of the major expressions of 19th century Romanticism in the world". And this palace is far from being the only thing that makes worth a visit to the little town of Sintra and its surroundings, an area the just outside Lisboa that is listed in UNESCO World Heritage Sites as the "Cultural Landscape of Sintra".

The palace was built by the German/Hungarian prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Fernando II of Portugal, whose family ruled in what is now Slovakia, who was married the Portuguese queen Maria II in 1836. Two years after his marriage, he acquired the place where lay the ruins of a Hieronymite monastery that had been built in late 15th century, first as just a chapel of Our Lady of Pena. The only thing that remains of that chapel is the main altar. The construction of the palace, which became the royal summer residence for a few years, was finished between 1847 and 1852. The architect was a German general and mining engineer who was also an amateur architect, Baron Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege, but it's believed that Ferdinand and his wife participated actively in the project, namely in the inclusion of many decoration details. A bit like Palácio da Regaleira, which was built a few hundred meters down the hill some 50 years after by a eccentric millionaire, it presents several decoration details inspired by a variey of influences, like Gothic, Manueline (a kind of Portuguese late Gothic), Moorish and Indian, some with a symbolic meaning.

Location (latitude, longitude): 38.78777,-9.3903

----
Update: Following paura's request, I posted a WS that shows the face of the girl that appears on the top of the turret.
japiey, ribeiroantonio, tober, Romatou, maltese, feather, xuaxo, Didi, mydrjoe, paura, lucasgalodoido, parbo, Jardim, jusninasirun, Docarmo, Benedict, josepmarin, zeca, UnTrained, AiresSantos, Gerrit, Floydian, axiotea has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To Floydian: Contour linesstego 1 05-16 05:43
To UnTrained: Too much PPstego 3 05-14 10:14
To xuaxo: penasxuaxo 4 05-12 12:35
To parbo: Late visit?stego 1 05-11 16:24
To Jardim: Tempo cinzentostego 2 05-11 16:20
To feather: Pena / Featherxuaxo 6 05-11 09:46
To Didi: Expositionstego 2 05-10 21:16
To paura: Bonita?stego 4 05-10 17:14
To ribeiroantonio: Chuva, pessoas a maisstego 1 05-10 15:37
To feather: Feather or Stone? :Dstego 1 05-10 06:47
You must be logged in to start a discussion.

Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • japiey Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1611 W: 315 N: 2211] (8079)
  • [2008-05-09 15:11]

Hi Jose,

Great in composition and the lights give a special mood to the concept.
I like the balancing there with the human presence ...
EXCELLENT.

jp

Está muito bonita mas para mim tem três pessoas a mais (as do centro e do lado direito)! O dia estava de chuva mas o céu cinzento ficou muito bem, a dar uma boa ideia do tempo que muitas vezes faz na Serra de Sintra.
António

  • Great 
  • tober Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 215 W: 0 N: 114] (1147)
  • [2008-05-09 17:37]

Hi Jose, the combination of the colourful texture of the beautiful walls with the grey sky is excellent. Normally, I am always in favour of sunny weather. But this case is exceptional. If it the weather was clear, the effect could not be such impressive. Congratulations, Tolga

Belle composition , Jose et une complémentarité de tons qui est très bienvenue . Et la jolie Lady est photographiée de tous les cotés !

François ,

Hello Jose
Une très belle lumièe et une composition très intéreesante qui donne l'impression que ces gens se déplacent dans un univers de poupées. Ce ciel gris accentue cette impression!!
Du très beau travail, amicalement
hervé

I couldn't help but be drawn to this by your strange title.(?) ;D
Funnily enough I critiqued a post from here a couple of days ago. It had a grey sky then too. Despite the grey sky there is a special kind of light that has enabled you to capture wonderful detail and excellent sharpness. The composition is first class with the tight framing on the right and the lower tower on the left creating an imaginary diagonal line. I love the inclusion of the girl looking ahead (Rapunzel in her tower?) The man with the hat watching her is good too. The other participants are less desirable but I'm not suggesting there is anything you can do about them (Maybe change the colour of the pink bag?) All-in-all a very strong image. I like it a lot.
Kath

  •      
  • xuaxo Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2300 W: 106 N: 2009] (3644)
  • [2008-05-10 4:42]
  • [+]

Olá José
Uma composição muito interessante. A Pena vista (e sendo vista) de forma menos esperada.
~
Não tenho a certeza neste caso, mas grande parte dos topónimos (ou afins) "pena" significam "rock, stone, boulder" e não "feather", normalmente devido às características do lugar. (Compara com penha ou penhasco.) A pena das aves vem do latim "penna", enquanto que a pena geológica vem de "pennia".
Mas não sei qual é esta Pena em Sintra.
Bom fim-de-semana,
F

  • Great 
  • Didi Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5933 W: 3074 N: 7110] (26686)
  • [2008-05-10 7:30]
  • [+]

Bonjour cher José
Qu'est ce qu'ils sont en train de photographier ? l'orage qui semble imminent ?
L'attitude des touristes est intéressante.
Je note aussi un bon équilibre d'exposition avec le ciel; une sous exposition a pu être évitée.
Obrigado.

  • Great 
  • vincz Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2899 W: 87 N: 4820] (16692)
  • [2008-05-10 7:48]

Ah dis donc la qualite est vraiment top sur cell-la. Les couleurs d'abord qui rendent si bien sous ce ciel si gris. C'est excellent. La compo ensuite avec la dame a gauche dans la tourelle. Super. Bravo.

Olá José

A composición, pra min, é perfecta e gosto muito do precioso e forte contraste entre os grises que dominan a imaxe e o amarelo oscuro da torre. Muito ben tamén a ampla e documentada nota.

Bom fim-de-semana,
JR

  • Great 
  • toto Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2221 W: 82 N: 2200] (11942)
  • [2008-05-10 13:28]

Bonsoir,
belle photo de ce palace situé a Sintra au portugal pas loin de Lisbone, ville ou je suis allé lorsque j' avais 18 ans, mais malheureusement je ne possèdais pas d' appareil photo et je n' ai pas pu fixer de pareils monuments, grâce a des gens comme vous, cela est réparré et j' ai revu avec plaisir ce superbe palace.
Merci du partage.

Amitiés Thomas

Hola Jose:

De nuevo visitando tu galería. Sabes que soy un amante de las formas y estilos arquitectonicos, pero cuando los acompañas con personas que no advierten el click de tu camara, salen tomas trascendentales como esta.

Me gusta la composición, las tonalidades, y el equilibrio armonico que se aprecia en la escena. Excelente.

John

  • Great 
  • paura Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 3448 W: 8 N: 2202] (17408)
  • [2008-05-10 14:46]
  • [+]

José,
Uma beleza de fotografia, amigo. Cores, detalhes, ajustes, tudo muito bom. A menina, mesmo sem saber se era bonita, ficou linda pelo seu ângulo.

Abraço

Paulo

Olá José,
uma fotografia bem interessante essa, cheia de detalhes pra se ficar observando, além do detalhe da moça sendo fotograda, gostei do contraste entre o prédio amarelão e céu cinzento, ficou muito bom isso.
Parabéns e Abraço!

  • Great 
  • parbo Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1410 W: 15 N: 1501] (5489)
  • [2008-05-10 19:27]
  • [+]

Olá José,

You captured a great moment while another capture is already in scene. Also its very interesting how did you follow the model in WS too ;) Yellow, cylindrical facade is eye catching in under dark sky and between other dark textured facades. You captured a great moment very cleverly.

Parabéns e Abraço!

Ertugrul
PS. Sorry for my late visit, I was on assignment.

  • Great 
  • saigon Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 476 W: 7 N: 356] (4706)
  • [2008-05-10 23:38]

bonjour JOSE.
magnifique region que j'ai eu l'occasion de visité!
amitiés....aldo.

Olá José,

Que Pena o tempo estar cinzento e com cara de chuva mas pela cara do senhor de chapéu a rapariga loura é bo...nita ;). A foto está com umas boas cores e com uma boa definição, isto é, está boa.
Júlio Jardim

Olá José!
Gostei da foto, principalmente pela maneira diferente de mostrar o Palácio da Pena, na bela região de Sintra, que visitei em 2004!
Geralmente, procuramos tirar as pessoas de nossas fotos, principalmente os turistas que muitas vezes são em número exagerado! Você aproveitou este "problema" para fazer uma foto diferenciada!
Abraço,
Neyvan

Jose, this one is a hoot, pictures of people taking pictures, and the site is so fantastic. Great capture here, super color and detail and depth, well seen.

Greg

Hello Jose. Grey sky looks good and always brings out the color in the composition. Nicely captured architecture with interested parties taking up snapshots at the view. Thanks for sharing and best regards. Jusni

  • Great 
  • euryan Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1101 W: 121 N: 1665] (7309)
  • [2008-05-11 20:47]

Great shot. I like this unique take on a classic Portuguese icon. The girl and the palace stand out nicely against the dark clouds. Very nice.
Regards,
Ryan

Olá José,
Ficou muito interessante, esta foto. Apesar do céu plúmbico, há uma luminosidade forte incrível nas pessoas e na cor do edifício.
Além disso, a imagem está muito original - é divertido descobrir as várias linhas traçadas pelos olhares das pessoas; diga-se de passagem que os digníssimos senhores (incluindo você) parecem estar em órbita, em torno da moça e há uma pessoa lá atrás, esta está saindo pela tangente :-)
Já a moça, esta, de Rapunzel na foto principal, transforma-se em Julieta (como bem disse o Francisco), no WS.
Um abraço,
MCV

despite the gloomy day, the capture is clear.
benedict

  • Great 
  • mikeo Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 918 W: 89 N: 828] (6228)
  • [2008-05-12 1:53]

Hello Jose,

I love the set of colours here! They are amazing!
Dark cloudy sky, great yellow tower, grey wall on the right...
Mood of this shoto is also incredible!

Good job!
Greez,
Mikeo

  • Great 
  • Stepan Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4684 W: 83 N: 3654] (23596)
  • [2008-05-12 10:06]

This amazing light makes it unreal. As if it was a theater scene, with a grey curtain in the back. Really troubling.
You did it very well.
Stéphane

Olá Jose,
excelente encuadre asimétrico, con mucho grafismo y una luz muy especial, gracias al cielo gris y nublado, que tiene un fuerte contraste con los tonos que decoran esta magnífica arquitectura.
La pareja que se hacen fotos mutuamente, y el hombre que contempla la escena, dan un toque dinámico y muy simpático.
El WS también es una buena foto.
Un abrazo,
Josep

Olá Jose,
A really great composition and nice timing capturing the blond girl posing for photo. Despite the grey sky, you managed very well to get a clear shot with good contrast and beautiful colors. Thanks for the WS revealing us the face of your (and somebody else) model. ;-)
Abraços
Ricardo

Olá José,
a good composition by the small tower, huge space for sky and the facade at the right, all added by some people for life, the view along the facade and some background chimneys. The very clear part of the building has a very huge difference against the sky which is a bit strange in my eyes. This appears sometimes when there is this grey coming from the back. But I can not resist, it looks like a bit too much PP.
Lieben Gruss, Ulf

Oi amigo ,
Bela composição de cores fortes , o amarelo chama bem atenção do olhar , mas a rapariga ficou melhor ainda , gostei de ver o ceú bem cinza de dramatismo a foto , parabéns!!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

  • Great 
  • zeca Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2555 W: 162 N: 3423] (14811)
  • [2008-05-14 7:56]

Olá José!
Além da qualidade impecável de nitidez e cores (o amarelo saltou muito bem do cinza!), gostei muito da composição, onde os personagens são ótimos! O fotógrafo capturando a sua musa loura enquanto o senhor de chapéu admira-a com satisfação. Um primor de cena, muito bem capturada por olhos espertos e bem preparados.
Abraço,
Zeca

Bonsoir José,
cette tour est magnifiquement lumineuse et contraste amoureusement avec les autres tours. cette jolie fille ressort également parfaitement.
Cordialement
JMarc

  • Great 
  • Gerrit Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3773 W: 80 N: 4522] (22043)
  • [2008-05-14 13:44]

hI jOSE,
WONDERFUL AND FUNNY COMPOSITION IN FANTASTIC COLOURS.
rEGARDS, gERRIT

Ola meu Amigo
An excellent perspective of the Pena Palace with nice photographers in scene.
I like so much details and how you framed it. Nice colours and light
Hugs
Aires

Hi Jose,
Well, it seems some people have problems with the strong colours and pp. For me colours can't be strong enough, as long it stys within the limits of course. Maybe because they are not used to see this from you?
That yellow tower is making the picture, but also the woman on the tower for a great balance to the dominate right side.
About the pp. There are strong contrast lines around the objects and the sky, that looks a bit fake and it's to obvious. You should have feather that out for about 5px for smoother lines. I have not really a problem with this, or it must be the woman her arm, else it doesn't bother me that much.
Regards, Henk

Salut José
La luminosité donne un bon éclat à l'image et fait bien ressortir les détails architecturaux ainsi que les couleurs. Les personnes ici sont bien positionnés et donnent un impact dynamique...les deux hommes semblent intéresser par la belle blonde ;) et je suis sure que tu n'es pas le seul à l'avoir photographiée! Sympa la 'modern princess'!
Un petit coucou depuis Paris!
Marilyn

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