CELEBRATING COLUMBUS Photo

Photographer’s Note

CELEBRATING COLUMBUS DAY

October 12, 1492 is the date traditionally accepted for Christopher Columbus’s first arrival in the New Word. Having convinced his Royal patron, Queen Isabella of Castile and Aragon, that a naval route to East Asia could be found, on August 3 he had set out on a westward course out of Barcelona. And with a vagabond crew distributed in three rickety ships, he had sailed directly into history.

Landfall had taken place at a hitherto unidentified island in the Bahamas, but just eight weeks later, the explorers had sailed off to another island, Hispaniola, presently shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti. How ironic it is that in crossing the Atlantic Ocean, they believed they found a passage to India, accordingly dubbing the islands the “West Indies,” when in reality the far more expansive Pacific Ocean still lay on the western side of the continent, “the New World,” that they had discovered. (Had Columbus known the circumference of the earth that Eratosthenes had correctly determined 1800 years earlier, he would have realized this was not Asia.)

The Crystal Serenity on which I was sailing visited Barcelona on August 3, and I took the present photo while waiting to rendezvous with my good friend José Pires, (stego), who was visiting from Lisbon.

Nikon D200, shot in RAW+jpg, 28-200 Nikkor zoom lens. The particular vantage point showing Christopher Columbus, perched atop the 20-meter (about 60 feet) column, and pointing toward the west is, I believe, compositionally the best. Showing more of the column would have dwarfed the statue. But, the image is wracked by troublesome noise which I was unable to remove. Anyone who can rectify that shortcoming, please feel free. PS. Taking up the challenge, Andreas Leo Urban Leo61 has produced a near perfect correction which he has posted as a ws.

PS Warm regards to all, specially to the Spaniards and Italians among them. In the United States Columbus Day is generally celebrated by Italian Americans. I am grateful to Emile De Boyrie, Emile, who pointed out that the Island of Hispaniola is divided between the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Bulent

meltemi, jhm, zeynepe, stelli, PixelTerror, Colombiana, Emile, AROBN54, Wandering_Dan, Felip, TGULUMSER, azaf1, stego, ahmetgedikli, ChrisJ, emka, Dpbours, MLINES, windosil, zmey, danos, BWJ, zeca, avene, jpinkham, bostankorkulugu, Didi, isabela_sor, kibele66, Angshu has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

mesutilgim (36928) 2008-10-11 22:55

Selam sevgili Bülent,
Ne güzel, takvime uygun bir konular buluyorsun hep ! İşte bilim adamlığı farkı bu olsa gerek.
2009 için ben de oturup bir konu takvimi yapacağım ve TE postlarımı ona göre ayarlıyacağım.
Bu kareye gelince, bütün işlerin gibi bu da usta işi. Bakış açısı, kadraj, renkler herşey yerliyerinde. Bir de Atlantiğin sürüklediği yağmur bulutları eklenince, nefis bir fon oluşmuş.
Açıklayıcı notlar da mükemmel.
Tebrikler
Selam ve sevgiler
MESUT ILGIM

meltemi (9746) 2008-10-11 23:14

Hello Bulent,
what an impressive sky you got there, very deep blue with the contrasting clouds well textured in a special formation, and a very creative, excellent perspective and presentation of this monument. The morning light brings a pleasant warming glow to the scene enhancing all the details. A note that is a pleasure to read, as always.
All the best.
Stella

carper (65106) 2008-10-11 23:28

thank you my friend for the CELEBRATING COLUMBUS day shot here, yes it was important that he was first arrival in the New Word. Thanks for the good note Bulent, the photo you said it yourself can be done much better, but oke it's just a moment to take a photo, thak you Bulent for this memory day.
Have a fine day.
regard Jaap

Buin (37834) 2008-10-12 0:31

Hallu Bulent!
An impressive way to show this worth-seeing column with its beautiful details. The different structures of the sky and the column are somehow stunning and create a wonderful contrast here. In the best way - an eyecatcher!
Greetings from autumnal sunny Germany!
Frank

oriolm (1142) 2008-10-12 1:40

brilliant colors, nice sky!

jhm (82759) 2008-10-12 2:46

Hello friend Bulent,

Quality and sharpness are superb.
Also the splendid light cloudy sky, make this image extraordinarily lovely, and attractive.
Thank your very much for the usual perfect note, I learn every day something on TE, certainly through people as you.
Lovely vertical composition, TFS.

Have a nice say,
John.

zeynepe (9344) 2008-10-12 3:25

Merhaba Bulent Bey,
The Columbus Monument looks like it's still lived in with your great POV.
You captured the details of the monument perfectly.And you note is great and meaningful as it sends to us true messages.
Congrats and have a nice weekend,
Zeynep

stelli (2951) 2008-10-12 3:28

Excellent composition with Columbus showing towards the sky which is an excellent background to this picture! Thank you for sharing! Regards Stella

belido (16627) 2008-10-12 4:45

Hi Bulent,

excellent vertical framing shot. Such a nice subject against the contrasting blue sky. Very well done!
Regards,
Carlos

leo61 (43438) 2008-10-12 5:29

Hi Bulent!
Good shot of this nice collumn and a great contrast with this wonderful sky.Interesting note,too.
There is some noise in the sky,that`s why I tried a workshop.
Regards,Leo

[workshop] [compare] +

anokutan (7726) 2008-10-12 5:34

Bülent bey merhaba,
Bakış açısı,kadraj,ışık ve nefis bir arka fonla birlikte mükemmel bir çalışma.Tebrikler ve selamlar.

PixelTerror (86282) 2008-10-12 7:27

Hi Bulent,
So this is an anniversary, good image of the most italian of spanish explorators and the column stands out well over the sky bakground, just the sky is a bit grainy.
Have a nice day JY

Colombiana (2544) 2008-10-12 7:39

Hi Bulent,

Happy Columbus day!
The column is a great piece of
art to commemorate this important day.
In Latin America--or at least in Colmbia,
Columbus day is an important holiday.
Very pretty photo!

Warm regards,

Maryori :)

Emile (20007) 2008-10-12 7:54

Hola Bulent.
Sorry I have to correct your wonderful note with just a small point, you wrote "the explorers had sailed off to another island, Hispaniola, present day Haiti." but really the truth is that The Republic of Haiti occupies the western third and the Dominican Republic the eastern two-thirds of the Hispaniola Island. Just small correction I hope you don't mind.
Last month a visited Barcelona and met few TE members like Josep Marin (josepmarin) and his wonderful wife Pili, Oscar Redondo (barrufeto_77 ) and Sergio Nieves (sergio1) wonderful persons, I always will be grateful to them and hope one day they will come to visit Dominican Republic.
Your photo is very good captured from an upward POV and great details and beautiful colors.
Best regards and wish you a nice Sunday.

[2] +

AROBN54 (10783) 2008-10-12 8:38

Warm greetings, Bulent!
Ah, this is wonderful!! I have been to Barcelona and photographed this same statue, but not with such excellent results. Great perspective and POV, beautiful light and detail and that sky backing it up is just incredible. Outstanding shot and as always, a most marvelous note! Many thanks and warmest regards,
Shelly

setenay (7604) 2008-10-12 9:11

Bülent Bey Merhaba,
Genel kültürünüz ve arşiviniz zenginliği sayesinde konu- kompozisyon seçiminiz de harika olmuş.Columbus anıtını bütün detaylarıyla,gökyüzünün engin maviliğinde sonderece net ve görkemli sunumunuz için tebrik ederim.Bulutlar ne güzel desen yapmışlar.Anıtı görme şansım olmuştu ama bu kadar detayını yeni farkediyorum,elinize sağlık.Saygı ve selamlarımla
setenay

Wandering_Dan (3257) 2008-10-12 9:35

Merhaba, Bulent -

I suspect that, if Columbus had known the true circumference of the Earth, even he would have been daunted by the task; he didn't know there was any land between Europe and India, and no way could he have taken provisions for as long a journey as that would have been. Sometimes bad information does yield good results (though perhaps the Native Americans wouldn't see it that way).

In any case, there was some knowledge in Europe of the existence of lands to the west, whether Columbus knew that or not; the Vikings had established colonies in Newfoundland.

The photo here appeals to my sense of minimalism; I wonder, though, if positioning the column just slightly - and I mean slightly - off-center to the right might not produce a more interesting scene. As for the noise, I sometimes use Noiseware Professional, a Photoshop plugin; I believe Stan Olbert (whom I haven't seen around here lately) likes Neatimage. None of them are perfect.

Last thought before my travels: In Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, there is a 12-meter (yes, meter) statue of President Niyazov, covered in gold, that rotates to face the sun (or so the sun can face him, I suppose). Something to contemplate while admiring Barcelona's good taste here.

Best,
Dan

Felip (3905) 2008-10-12 10:41

Merhaba Bulent,
I'm writing this note on 12th October, and I've found your image of the monument of Columbus, quite inspirating for me. The shot is fabulously bright and clear, and those clouds contrasting against the blue sky, make of it a perfect background to the monument. The only pity is that the brass lyons that guard the statue, don't appear in the image.
Kind regards

Felip

TGULUMSER (12514) 2008-10-12 10:56

Bulent Bey merhaba,
Barcelona'da gormeye deger yerlerden birini, konusuna uygun cok guzel goruntulemissiniz,
Elinize saglik,
Tulay

azaf1 (15547) 2008-10-12 11:18

Merhaba Bulent Bey
My congratulations of Columbus day with this very impressive composition in the background of the playful sky and its sharp details. Barcelona is ceratinly a great holiday destination for its monuments and easy going life.
Best wishes
Argiris

stego (22374) 2008-10-12 16:40

Hello Bülent,

Probably you were shooting this one when I first saw you in the distance. :)

It's an effective presentation of the monument. Although there isn't anything giving a clear sense of scale, I think that everybody will understand that it must be quite imposing, because of the clouds and that it will be assumed that the height of the statues will be at least 2 meters or little less than that.

I read what Dan has written and your reply to him about the compo being too centered. While I believe that placing the column just slightly off center would also be effective, I agree with you that Columbus' arm pointing to the left is enough to break the boredom that could result from the excessive symmetry.

About the noise on the clouds, that is something that I come across very often and I rarely find any effective solution to it. Leo did a good job in his WS, but while I agree that the elimination of noise and grain is "prettier" and I do the same myself often, it lacks realism, namely because I think that the origin of the "flaw" is that the clouds are really grainy in reality and somehow the camera sensors amplify that grainy appearance and introduce noise. I am just wondering here, I have never read anything about it.

As usual, the note is very informative and thoughtful and reminds that the date you chose for posting it couldn't be more appropriate.

I am pretty sure you won't mind a few comments on your note. Emile already pointed that Hispaniola isn't exactly present day Haiti, as Haiti occupies just one third of the island of Hispaniola. As far as I know, after Columbus landed in an island of present day Bahamas, he landed somewhere in Cuba and only then he sailed to Hispaniola.

Columbus didn't sail from Barcelona in his first voyage under the Spanish flag. He did it from Palos de la Frontera, a small town in the Southwest Atlantic coast of Spain. I don't know of the veracity of it, but I have heard that people from Catalonia were forbidden to take part in the exploration of America for centuries. That sounds odd, because Catalonia/Aragon was one of the main maritime powers of the Mediterranean Sea from the 13th to the 15th century and probably they had much more knowledge of navigation than the rest of Spain, but it seems that there isn't any Catalan among the most famous Spanish sailors, explorers and soldiers of the 16th century.

You may have already heard about the many doubts that surround the true origin of Columbus. I let myself carry away writing too much about this to be included here, so I posted those writings in this "discussion".

Warm Regards, José.

yedirenk (7421) 2008-10-12 18:24

Merhaba Bülent hocam,
Bakış açınız ve kadraj tercihinizle bu şahane anıt daha da etkileyici görünüyor.çok güzel bir eser gerçekten.mavi gökyüzü altında başdöndürücü bir heybette.elinize sağlık.selamlar,saygılar

Cevdet

ahmetgedikli (21946) 2008-10-12 20:31

Bakış açınız, notunuz, sütunun görünümü, netliği, uzunluğu arkada mavi-beyaz fon herşey güzel...
Ellerinize sağlık, selamlar hocam.
Ahmet

ChrisJ (70335) 2008-10-12 23:17

Merhaba Bulent

A marvellous blue sky & its Columbus Day in the US tomorrow. Good sharpness & upward pov on the column. Tfs!

emka (21744) 2008-10-13 3:53

Hi Bulent, You had a wonderful journey on Crystal Serenity, you could visit so many beautiful places and to meet many friends from TE. Earlier in Turkey, now in Barcelona. It is a pity that Baltic Sea was not on the way:) Indeed, splendid shot of the Columbus on the column and interesting historical note. Beautiful sky and lovely angels.

Warm regards

Malgorzata

Dpbours (220) 2008-10-13 14:18 [Comment]

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jrj (34779) 2008-10-14 1:22

Hi Bulent - one have the impression here that you played with your life in the middle of the roundabout to have this pov of the Colombus statue in the harbour...
Anyway you sure put the guy up with this version. Oddly his not pointing to the new land - but sure enough somewhere out to the sea..

MLINES (10884) 2008-10-14 4:06

Hi Bülent, A fine POV of a very impressive statue. The placement/cropping works well. There is a smaller version of this in Barcelona also. Your notes as always are very interesting. TFS. Murray.

zmey (7280) 2008-10-15 5:57

quite imposing: that west-pointing statue against the blue sky... the big question is though: should we commemorate this day as the start of a genocide or celebrate it as the great discovery?

regards
kristaps

danos (32708) 2008-10-15 6:17

Hello Bulent,
impressive the statue of Columbus in Barcelona,that contrast perfect in the blue sky. Wonderful stillness, beautiful colors ,it is really nice the way the great sense of dimension interacts with those colors.The informative note is great.
Academic consensus is that Columbus was born in Genoa, though there are other theories.Several historians have speculated that Columbus may have come from the island of Chios in Greece.The argument supporting this theory states that Chios was under Genoese control at the time, and was thus part of the Republic of Genoa, and that he kept his journal in Greek and Latin instead of the Italian of Genoa.

Warm regards,Danos

BWJ (1773) 2008-10-15 10:57

Hello Bulent,
You have chosen the perfect picture to celebrate Columbus Day! I remember so well the poem "1492" and the story about the three small ships Queen Isabella gave Columbus (Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria).

Beautiful clear details of the statue contrast nicely with the blue sky and feathery clouds. You mentioned the worry about noise. The sky in this picture seems very natural when there is a cloud cover of cirrus clouds.

Your note gives a good history of Columbus Day as well as other worthwhile information regarding the camera and composition of the picture. Thanks for being a great model for the rest of us.
Warm wishes,
Betty

toto (18729) 2008-10-15 21:50

Bonjour,
belle photo de cette colonne qui avec ces sculpture estbien jolie a admirrer, vous avez bien su nous la restituer pour que l' on immagine sa grandeur.
Ce ciel bleu légèrement nuageux est des plus beu et donne un superbe effet a votre photo.

Amitiés Thomas

edal (6571) 2008-10-16 8:29

Merhaba Bulent Bey,
Very good shot from an excellent pov. Vibrant colors for the statue and the sky.
Friendly,
Anton

zeca (20026) 2008-10-16 20:40

Hello, professor!
Beautiful details! The exposition against the sky is not easy and you did it very well, preserving the blue sky as well. Your note is very good, as always. TFS!
Regards,
Zeca

avene (11056) 2008-10-17 8:09

hello Bulent,
I see that others have already mentioned that slightly more off center placement of the statue might create a more dynamic composition, and I also see that the issue of noise has already been dealt with (just curious - how did the noise get there in the first place? D200 is pretty much noise-free, unless ISO is 1200 or more).
the sky is great, I like a lot how high and immense it feels, I find it works well as a symbol for great discoveries.

with best regards,
Kristine

jpinkham (848) 2008-10-17 18:58

I love both the way your low shooting angle emphasizes perspective -- and, implicitly, the historical stature of Columbus -- and the way you've added interest with this backdrop of clouds. You also bring a pleasing clarity of detail, and I think centering the pillar in the frame was apt for this image. Great note, too, Bulent. Thanks again for taking us to a place we might not otherwise get to visit.

Jim

bostankorkulugu (33708) 2008-10-17 23:46

barselonaya gideli 16 yıl oldu... bu anıtı hatırlıyorum tabii ama bu kadar hoş detaylarla bezeli olduğunu ya fark etmemişim ya da tamamen hafızamdan silinmiş... yine eşsiz bir notla süslenmiş hoş bir kare... selamlar, sevgiler profesör...

Didi (36204) 2008-10-18 7:16

Hi dear friend
In Paris there is la Tour Vendôme et la colonne de la Bastille.
This one is magnificient with nice sculptures; The sky on background is helping to make a great and nice composition.
Friendly regards.

sucaattin (356) 2008-10-18 23:34

Merhaba Bülent bey,
Ne kadar güzel bir görüntü, elinize sağlık. İnsanın gökyüzüne, bulutlara doğru yükselişinin göstergesi olan bir fotoğraf. Renkler bütün varlığı ve tonları ile fotoğrafınızda belirgin bir şekilde görülmekte.

isabela_sor (42197) 2008-10-19 0:28 [Comment]

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kibele66 (2910) 2008-10-20 2:37

Merhaba Bulent Bey,
I tried to make a similar capture like this with the Zeus Statue in Athens, I tried to make Zeus live in the clouds. However my clouds were full of heavy rain, my camera soaked and surely the photo didn't looked glorious like yours:))
Nice POV and contrast, details are sharp and beautiful too.
Your notes accompanying the photos are like a lecture and I learn a lot.
Thanks!
selamlar ve sevgiler
Sibel

vascao (192) 2008-10-20 16:11

Merhaba Bulent
Spectacular image. A privileged POV, highlighting the column against this incredible sky.
[]'s
Sergio

Angshu (33815) 2008-11-11 19:48

Hello Professor 'A'
Had the inclination to respond to your invitation & do the WS immediately, but then seeing what Leo has done, I couldn't have done anything better! While the column is impressive, I am equally impressed by your framing instead of being overwhelmed by the height. Instead we can see the statues at the bottom with the statue of Columbus very prominent. I was wondering if it would have made sense to have the column off-centre more to the right, leaving more room for Columbus to point his finger towards. Since I've not seen this column myself & add to the fact that you're a much better judge always about such visual aspects, maybe not.
With warmest Regards
Angshuman

barrufeto_77 (25829) 2008-12-04 23:28

Hi Bulent.

One of the best picture of Columbus statue I've ever seen...(which is 5 minutes walking from home)

Nice background and colours!

Rgs, Oscar