St. Michael's Monastery Photo

Photographer’s Note

Just came back from lovely trip to Ukraine. I thought that I post photo of architecture for change as one of the things I've enjoyed the most was to visit different monasteries full of mystery and everywhere present faith. Colors of this church are one of the most unusual I've seen so far.

The Archangel Michael is considered to be the patron of Kyiv. Perhaps that is why the recently restored St. Michael's Monastery of the Golden Roof is especially dear to Kyivans. Its beauty makes an unforgettable impression. This religious complex is situated just opposite Sophia Cathedral and seems to reign on the steep bank of the Dnipro in all its glory. This precious Kyivan relic, sky-blue in color, with its golden glitter of cupolas and vividly decorated arches, rich services and wonderful choirs, is matchless in the delicacy and splendor of its architecture and decoration. The entire complex - from the perfectly planned territory of the monastery to the tolling of the bells (you can strike the bell if you ascend to the top floor of the bell-tower) - is a model of taste and refined aestheticism.

marjan, andante, SchwebagMike, OT12, chicken, sleon, leo61, asajernigan, robiuk, gary91, rcrick, lilimih33, enedimd, cfreire, danbachmann, yogi32, ncosmin has marked this note useful

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marjan (6081) 2007-08-14 9:14 [Comment]

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voyageursansfin (155) 2007-08-14 9:17 [Comment]

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eev99 (1198) 2007-08-14 9:21

Perfect point of view Lucie. The Monastery stands out very nicely against the wonderful sky. The colors mesh well all around. Nicely done.

andante (7092) 2007-08-14 9:21

Hi Lucie,
Everything about this image is excellent. The strong composition against the cloudy sky makes it a strong architectural shot. My concern here is that you cut the left hand side of the building, it leaves me with a strange feeling. No biggie, just me being nit-picking.
Cheers,
Enrique

ben4321 (9781) 2007-08-14 9:27

Good composition here Lucie, although it could do with a bit more space to the left of the building and perhaps a bit less to the right. The monastery looks quite dramatic against the cloudy sky, and I like the subtle colours - nothing over the top.
Good stuff.

Cheers,
Ben

carper (64638) 2007-08-14 9:31

Very nice photo Lucie
i like the pov, the low horizon and the fine details, I think with a ultra wide lens like the canon 10-22, you made a better shot here, but thats personal. I like the job anyway. Have a nice evening.
gr. jaap

Gustaw (21670) 2007-08-14 9:35

Hi, friend!
It is very interesting view about old sacral building. I like your shot with big ortodox churche. Good composition and good colours. Well done.
Marek

eshirey (325) 2007-08-14 10:16

Love the POV and color - wow, that sky! I wish the left part wasn't cut off a bit, but overall, this looks great.

SchwebagMike (1490) 2007-08-14 10:36

Hello Lucie :-)
A lovely, beautifula and well restored building, that I guess to be typical of that style of monastries. A perfect architecture shot. Great shot, very well exposed, great colors and nce sky.
Greetings, Mike

anes_lc (14766) 2007-08-14 10:43

hi lucie
just like always perfect shot,perfect quality
impresive arhitecture,thanks share it
regards,anes

crhieatt (5143) 2007-08-14 10:46

Lucie,
Blisteringly sharp looking capture - it reminds me of a cake, really it does! Something very edible about it.
Nicely done.
Regards
colin

VladaM (1498) 2007-08-14 11:02

What a colors, what a sky!
Excellent!

Regards,

Vlado

OT12 (159) 2007-08-14 11:27

A wonderful picture. I really like the colours, very bright and sharp. The slight darkness in the top corner add some drama to your shoot.

chicken (1781) 2007-08-14 12:34

I really wonder what your job is with that many and varied travels... pure envy from my side ;-)
Love the wide angle view you took here, the angled lines dynamically draw my eyes to the sky, where a divine glow seems to shine down to the church. The people scattered across the square add some live, scale of reality to the image.

sleon (9350) 2007-08-14 12:44

Hi Lucie
The blue colour of this church is really unusual and makes for an eyecatching photo, especially with the slightly upward looking pov which exaggerates the perspective against the interesting sky. Some parts are a bit overexposed - almost impossible to avoid with this kind of scene - but this even adds to the drama I think.
Regards, Susanna

isabela_sor (42078) 2007-08-14 12:49

Dear Lucie....
First I would like to say that I love this name ...my son's name is Mihai ::( the romanian version of Michael )This image of the church in incredible !!Perfect settings for this shot
and the people show the real size of the building
Hugs

brandstaetter (14074) 2007-08-14 13:19

Hi Lucie,

this photo is really technically perfect. For me it would be interesting, how you did this. Did you use filters (the sky looks like this), a tripod, what did you do in photoshop?
Anyway, well done, TFS Chris

leo61 (43336) 2007-08-14 13:45

Hi Lucie!
I love this othodox church architecture and you captured this one in a nice way.I like the tight crop and the perspective.Good composition with some locals and tourists and wonderful blue tones.
Regards,Leo

asajernigan (14090) 2007-08-14 14:08

Lucie,
The architecture here is outstanding! Your composition is nice showing the church from a good angle giving us nice depth and detail. The people add a nice perspective to the size of the building. The lighting and colors are great with nice sharpness and DOF.
TFS,
Asa

zeca (20026) 2007-08-14 14:28

Hi Lucie!
Very nice POV! Beautiful architecture and colours. Its nice to see all that crosses on the top, and the golden domes shining. TFS!
Regards,
Zeca

robiuk (10763) 2007-08-14 14:49

Hello Lucie,
good wide angle shot of the church, with
a good POV that shows a lot of details. maybe
just a little bit overexposed in some parts
around the roof, but otherwise excellent.
I like the sky creating an interesting settings
so appropriate for the blue colour covering the
church front.
Nice, bright, clean and very sharp.
Robi

sebinho342 (18736) 2007-08-14 16:30

This monastery is marvelous, not first time i see it shot but throw your eyes lens and PP this is quite majestic ... hhm i would eat that blue.
For sure built to be shot in picture ;)
Excellent

Cormac (26449) 2007-08-14 18:20

Great shot Lucie! One thing that immediately strikes a visitor to Kiev or other eastern European cities is the bright and colourful churches. This is a great example, with that incredible sky blue colour. The golden domes are really amazing too, and seem to shine no matter what the weather is like. Excellent work!

Bruno40 (6440) 2007-08-14 21:16

Hi Lucie,
I love your photo for two reasons:
a) the sharpness and colours are great, together with a good composition and POV.
b) you took this photo with the gear I am planning to upgrade to (400D and Sigma 18-200), so I am happy to see the results of this equipment.
In the same way, I want to ask you if that vertical distortion we can see at the left happens often when shooting at 18mm, and how can be corrected (if you know)
TFS
Jorge

gary91 (15321) 2007-08-15 3:00

Hello Lucie,
Yes architecture is not your usual domain but this one is great... I love the pastel tones of the church that do accomodate very well with the golden painting and the wonderful sky.
Have a nice day.
Best regards, Christian

cbrman (18802) 2007-08-15 4:32

Hello Lucie,

La perspective apporte une impression de masse importante à cette église !
Le fait d'avoir intégré des personnes donne l'échelle du batiment et permet de juger de la hauteur de tour !
Bravo !

A+

Dominique

gramma (3519) 2007-08-15 12:23

Hi Lucinka,

The blue of this monastery is really beautiful and your image is well composed. Well done !

Christophe

rcrick (346) 2007-08-15 20:20

Hi Lucie, Beautifull shot and from a good POV, very good DOF and saturation, nice work, congrats Rick

lilimih33 (9872) 2007-08-16 7:22

Hello Lucie!
Nice church and beautiful colour!
Great point of view and perfect clarity!
Excellent done!
Best regards!
Lili

dijjac (1569) 2007-08-16 10:33

Hi Lucie
Happy to see the photographs of your last voyage, in Ukraine this first is very succeeded.
Regards
jacques

grantlp (2104) 2007-08-18 7:37

Hi Lucie,
I love your dramatic lighting and landscapes posted previously, but it is nice to see something like this from you. The POV is very ggod as it seems to expose the full architectural detail of this lovely monastery. The cloud filled sky provides a soft backdrop to the colour of the monastery. Nicely captured.
Cheers Grant

rbcy1974 (20742) 2007-08-20 6:39

Hello Lucie
Wonderful perspective, very beautiful prevalence of blues in the photo, its nice how you have been able to fit the entire church in the frame,
very nicely done.
Regards
Daniel
PS now that I am back from indonesia I am starting to look into my christmass trip. I am considering either Yemen/Oman or Southern India both with a couple day stop in Kuwait to meet my friends over there.

enedimd (1528) 2007-08-20 13:52

Hi Lucie,
Wonderful composition with wonderful sky view and very good colors and excellent architecture really.
Well done shot.
TFS,
Have a nice day with my best regards.
Emir Nedim

mikolaj_kawa (29933) 2007-08-21 2:03

Hello Lucinka! Beautiful church. Wonderful perspective. Beautiful colors. Very original picture. Best regards!

ifanik (20518) 2007-08-21 12:27

Hi Lucie
Very beautiful church and very nice photo with fine details and beautiful colours
Regards from Greece
Nick

smarcell (14279) 2007-08-23 3:27

I like the sharpness of this picture, that really catches the eye.

cfreire (11647) 2007-08-26 15:05

Hi, Lucie
Great architectural shot. Very beautiful image and the gold cupolas gave an interesting contrasct with the clouds. Good composition.
Regards,
Consuelo

miketelemark (2353) 2008-02-22 9:51