Precarious Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

This buiilding is called the "Swift's Nest" - built by some nobleman as a romantic getaway before the revolution. This small fariry tale type castle was built on a cliff overlooking the Black Sea, just west of Yalta. Take a close look at the way the building is actually hanging out over the edge of the cliff. It wasn't built that way, an earthquake after it was built took away some of the rock from the cliff, but still left the building standing. Now it's one of the most popular tourist spots in the Crimea. You have to enjoy it while it lasts, because it certainly will disappear into the sea one day. I would have liked to get that overhang against the sky so you can really see it well, however, that would have required a very big step down!

pierrefonds, lucasgalodoido, JCG, gervaso, ChrisJ, saxo042, ekinokswest, OLF, asajernigan, john_c, chpp, jonathan_hart, gneufeld, Leilani, AiresSantos, PixelTerror, delkoo, Dyerco, josepmarin, cherryripe, carper, tcht, leo61, danyy, Bluejeans, pasternak, jalab_temen, npecanhuk, MLINES has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

xavshot (63125) 2007-10-14 5:54

Bonjour Alvin
très impressionnant ! j'aime beaucoup cette architecture et le fait qu'elle semble tenir en équilibre sur ce rocher. Belle photo et bon choix du cadrage vertical.
Xavier

sebinho342 (18784) 2007-10-14 5:56

Impressive shot Alvin, what a place to build a castle (?), a house (?)
Yes this is a nest !
Perfect handling of settings and use of the polarizer, a beautiful one

pierrefonds (26625) 2007-10-14 5:58

Hi Alvin,

A good POV of the Swift's Nest castle and of the sea, the photo has a good composition, sharpness and nice colors. thanks for sharing.

Pierre

lucasgalodoido (16789) 2007-10-14 6:01

Olá Alvin!
Parece até que o castelo está pendurado! Impressionante essa visão! As cores e nitidez ficaram muito boas, valeu pelo registro!
Parabéns e Abraço!

JCG (25745) 2007-10-14 6:04

Hi Alvin,

Very beautiful building and vertiginous image. Effectively with the inevitable erosion this construction will disappear one day but I hope most later for possible. Very attractive and interesting photo.

With all my friendships and a good sunday,

Jean-Charles

gervaso (5686) 2007-10-14 6:06

Incredible! It really seems to be falling! Is it safe to stand there? About the picture itself, the composition is great, with excellent colors, specially the sky!

ChrisJ (70443) 2007-10-14 6:08

Hi Alvin

Good pov to illustrate just how precarious the floor of the castle is. Not sure I would walk there, especially if I saw any cracks in the pavement! Good sharpness & colour. Tfs!

saxo042 (16250) 2007-10-14 6:28

Hi Alvin,
Very interesting building indeed! The composition here is very good with the sunlit parts standing out. It is a balanced comosition, I hope the house is balanced as well.
Regards
Gunnar

OLF (3918) 2007-10-14 7:20

Hi Alvin,
Very interesting view about this castle and good choice of vertical pov. Colors are beautiful!
Interesting story too, hope a long life to this building...
Well done and thank's for sharing.
Regards,
Olivier

asajernigan (14284) 2007-10-14 7:51

Alvin,
This is a remarkable shot! Your POV and composition are outstanding here giving us a vertical view to show the height of the cliff while also giving us nice closeup detail of the castle. The lighting and colors are great with nice sharpness and DOF.
TFS,
Asa

fayeulle (26547) 2007-10-14 8:25

Hi Alvin
Outstanding architecture on the top of this cliff. What an idea to build such a small castle in a "rococo" style at this place.
Well framed and technically perfect
Cheers
JP

xavis (3176) 2007-10-14 8:41

hola,
Good picture that brings an special atmosphere of unreal, as it was a toys castle. The contrast colours works well, but may be I think that the sky is a little to saturated in blue colour.

Well done,

javier

john_c (24635) 2007-10-14 9:26

Hi Alvin,
Glad you didn't take that big step down...You obtained good lighting and shadow effects here and this perspective really dramatizes the overhang effect of the building. I like the rich hue of the water below. A good use of your wide angle in a vertical format.
John

chpp (4007) 2007-10-14 9:58

Hi
Very sharp image. and that castle pendind in the cliff..... Spectacular view and very well framed. Very nice colours
Great picture
cheers
chris

Fis2 (46365) 2007-10-14 11:24

Witaj Alvin!
Curious object and place. I like the frame and colors. Good composition. Well done.
Regards
Krzysztof

jplebrun (17316) 2007-10-14 12:34

Bonjour Alvin
très original comme construction, dans le ciel bleu il semble prêt à s'envoler tellement il prêt du bord bien vu
Salutations
Jean-Pierre

markstaples (15670) 2007-10-14 13:59

Hi Alvin
A great shot, well framed, you even managed to bring out detail in the shaded area. Excellent sharpness as always.
Best wishes
Mark

gneufeld (15233) 2007-10-14 16:14

Hi Alvin,
No fooling, looks like a few more people on that point would tip this castle into the sea - hope the geologists have this figured out so as to keep the place safe for tourists. A very well composed shot with excellent colors and perfect composition and details. Great shot and TFS. Gerald

Leilani (1371) 2007-10-14 16:46

amazing that they let people on it! Surely it must be unsafe? Really beautiful blues here. Rgds, Leilani

darrasin (2860) 2007-10-14 18:35

Hello Alvin! This is one of those you gotta see it to believe scenes. It goes straight into my favorites. From your shot, it already looks like it's about to fall. No need to risk life, the point is already well seen. The exposure, colors and sharpness are right on. I'm really surprised that they continue to allow people into it, it seems rather unsafe as is.

TFS
Doug

rminkow (1566) 2007-10-14 21:39

Hi Alvin..fantastic shot..great composition, great colors.

Roger

AiresSantos (42844) 2007-10-14 22:32

Hi Alvin,
Amazing place very well captured. Very good POV, colours and sharpness.
TFS and have a nice week
Aires

cbrman (19051) 2007-10-14 22:34

Hello Alvin,

Il faut avoir le coeur bien accroché pour vivre à cet endroit !
On a l'impression que ce batiment va basculer dans le vide à tout instant !
Impressionnant !

A+

Dominique

PixelTerror (86837) 2007-10-15 0:47

Hi Alvin,
The most impressive here is the pov, a mm one to give the impression the castle is about to fall from the cliff on one side, and is flying over the water on the other, makes the pciture even more spectacular.
Have a nice day,
Jean-yves

delkoo (34754) 2007-10-15 2:17

hi alvin
incredible place!! certainly a good place to fish,
The clarity of this image is excellent. Well composed with good saturation of colour and sharpness.

didier

vagabondtravels (6115) 2007-10-15 6:03

HI Alvin

Great pov. Very sharp with superb colors. This really is an amazing feat of architecture. Really well captured. Good work.
Ben

Dyerco (9296) 2007-10-15 8:21

An interesting structure for sure.The castle is well placed and you are right it would look better if it was above the horizon. My only comment would be to tone down the colour in the bit of wall at the lower right.
Phil

josepmarin (34081) 2007-10-15 8:44

Hi Alvin,
impressive! It seems incredible to have constructed this building here above, but your photo confirms it, somebody did it.
Good frame in vertical format, good control of the light, pretty shades, and beautiful colors. I like how the building stands out on the blue sky while it seems to float on the sea.
Nice shot.
Best regards,
Josep

jonathan_hart (22623) 2007-10-15 8:47

hey Alvin
what an impressive and fascinating place you show, good POV/framing composition with excellent light and deep colours, amazing shot of an amazing place ! TFS
regards
jo

cherryripe (19187) 2007-10-15 9:31

Hi Alvin
I can see what you say about that this will disappear. Hopefully no one will be in the building at the time. It sure is spectacular though and stands out nicely against the turquoise sea and polarized sky.
Regards
Nikki

carper (65622) 2007-10-15 9:32

marvelous place Alvin,
very good photo, the pov of yours is nice the the balance in the shot is very good, fine photojob here I like it a lot, have a nice day.
gr. jaap

DLM (6447) 2007-10-15 10:00

Nice shot Alvin amazing place too,
You would not see me standing out there,
Interesting notes too.
TFS
Dave.

mumek (17506) 2007-10-16 2:48

Hi Alvin!
Fantastic capture of the famous castle. Excellent play of the lights, shadows and colours. Very well done.regards
ziggy

tcht (7298) 2007-10-16 4:56

Hi Alvin
This is a really interesting building...balance rite on the edge! you've captured some nice light on it and framed it very nicely. well taken.
Cheers
Cheukhin

leo61 (43712) 2007-10-16 10:23

Hi Alvin!
The building and it`s unique position looks so unreal......but great.You choosed a good POV to show on what a fantastic place it is situated.A nice sky with these little clouds and wonderful tones of the sea.
Regards,Leo

danyy (69417) 2007-10-16 15:19

Bonjour Alvin,
il impressionne ce batiment à fleur de précipice et ta photo d'après l'angle de prise de vue montre parfaitement sa position.
Magnifiques bleus en opposition avec les teintes des pierres.
Best regards.
Daniel.

Ann75 (0) 2007-10-17 12:32

Hi Alvin,

Wow, what a unique photo! I love how this building is situated on the edge of this cliff. It looks like a fairy tale castle with a fairy tale view! You have captured this scene in beautiful light with amazing colors and details! Great to see things from a less known place! Excellent work, Alvin!

Greetings,
Ann

Bluejeans (33049) 2007-10-17 15:04

Ola Alvin ,
Que lugar maravilhoso para conhecer , fantastico este edificio em cima deste penhasco , belo ponto de visão , gostei dos tons de azul , parabens!!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

barni (14567) 2007-10-19 10:20

Hello Alvin
WOW sacré point de vue... On se demande comment ils ont fait pour construire le bâtiment.
Have a nice week-end
Christophe

greg64g (11193) 2007-10-20 0:04

hello Alvin

Excellent this one, i imagine this place a storm nght, it must be very impressive.
Well done
greg

pasternak (13644) 2007-10-21 14:27

Hi Alvin, so you have visited a place where not many foreigners go, I have been there several times, but 25 years ago, when it was still USSR, it was quite a chic resort then, Yalta, Alupka etc... Very good light, the "castle" looks like the one from an animation film... Actually I always knew it as "Swallow's Nest", but doesn't matter, swifts are almost the same...:)

Cheers
Alexander

Andrzej_HHH (2558) 2007-11-05 12:51

Hello! Superb picture of this famous building in Crimea. Great quality. Very nice shot - my congratulations! Andrzej

jalab_temen (1990) 2008-04-29 4:30

Amazing compo, amazing clearness, amazing colours. Many thanks for sharing, Jalab

npecanhuk (14652) 2008-05-26 18:07

Hi Alvin!
As an ukrainian man's grandson, I couldn't help it, so I had to look all your photos from that Country!
I've chosen this one to comment because it's very interesting: the building itself, plus your POV, sharpness and colors!
TFS - Congratulations!
Greetings from Brazil,
Neyvan Peçanhuk

PS.: No points available at the moment!

MLINES (10948) 2009-02-21 15:14

Hi Alvin, A fine POV to show this spectacularly positioned small castle. The clarity and colours are very good and the notes interesting. TFS. Murray.