Mysterious Cities of Gold Photo

Photographer’s Note

Strangers and lovers, friends and enemies, old and young - anyone may pass. But something mystical and ethereal unites them - space and time, well that and a need to cross the water ;)

With just one day in Bruges, and being completely new to the area, my first intent was to photograph the Beguinage bridge at dusk. So we did touristy things for most of the afternoon, and then waited nearby until the light fell. I shot a few frames of the bridge, but I wasn't satisified, they were nice, but they felt cold and lifeless. Not the shot I wanted.

So, with time running out, and a ferry back to England to catch later that night the game was on!

My first thought was maybe I wasn't hitting the bridge from the right angle - so I thought I'd reverse engineer the shot, and go to the centre of the frame and see what points would give a good angle. As I looked up towards the Minnewater this shot crystallized in my mind. Bingo! I'd been looking in the wrong place all along ;)

Plenty more about the city itself here if you're interested!

Oh, and the title? From a cartoon I used to watch as a youngster: Mysterious Cities of Gold

Enjoy!

Tech:
Light crop, bicubic resize, Luko sharpen (with an Adrian tilt - replaced USM with SmartSharpen in LensBlur mode). Framed using CanvasSize. SaveForWeb.

ISO400

Nicou, maltese, Didi, mortijo, eyesthetix, Fiddlee has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

pat0500 (21513) 2007-02-19 13:40

Hi Adrian,
Very beautiful effect of color gold indeed in this good picture.
Very good point of view with people in the image, good sharpness and thank you for the good note.
Best regards,
Patrick

Nicou (44553) 2007-02-19 13:43

Hello,

magnfique cliché que ce pont avec ces personnages quei se détachent bien dans cette mangifique ambiance coloré.

Bravo et belle soirée.

Nicou

maltese (21535) 2007-02-19 13:45

Bonsoir Adrian
Brugge est une ville magnifique, les eclairages la rende magique de nuit! Tu as su bien saisir la maison des éclusiers pour qu'elle semble sortir d'une cité d'or.
C'est très bien observé et très bien réalisé.
Amicalement
Hervé

partha (13657) 2007-02-19 13:55

Hi Adrian ,
great shot. Nice use of light. U have controlled the expousure wonderfully.
Great colou tone and inclusion of the people is a nice idea.
TRegards.
partha

zaitochi (176) 2007-02-19 13:58

Hello Adrian,

You caught a great moment. Those silhouettes, like chinese shades are beautiful. The golden light is really magic.
Thanks to the tree's branch which is a plus in the composition.
Thanks for sharing. i like it a lot.
Cheers
Herve

anducina (8085) 2007-02-19 13:59

Beautiful compo, light and colors. Great atmosphere.

TFS,

Andreea

TravelerNL (2951) 2007-02-19 15:00

Hi Adrian,
Beautiful lighted shot. The reflections of the light on the water work really well creating an orange foreground. I like the silhouttes of the people standing at the bridge against the illuminated building. Well done.
Harko

jjcordier (24484) 2007-02-20 9:15

L'or de Bruges....ce sont ses touristes...mais surtout ses magifiques bâtiments superbement illuinés.Très belle photo aux couleurs et à la lumière exceptionnelles et dont j'aime beaucoup l'idée et la composition.
Amicalement
JJ

greg (2835) 2007-02-21 12:48

Hi Adrian! I'm impressed by how much thought you put into your shot - can't say I do that very often.

Very rich colour, and nice silhouettes. I wonder about the edges of the frame a little - has a slightly cramped feel to it. I might have tried a wider framing, and burnt any unnecessary excess into black.

Could be considered to have a somewhat sinister mood, don't you think...?

[workshop] [compare] +

colibri (294) 2007-02-24 2:57

Hi Adrian
I love the silhouettes I wonder how they interact between each other.
I love the gold background.
It is interesting how much thought you put in to a picture.
I think that is de difference between an amateur and a Professional photographer
TFS
Marco

mjdundee (3498) 2007-02-26 5:17

Hello Adrian,
Points no. 2000 and 2001 from me for you.
Very good catch of mood here. The colour is fantastic -hard to believe you took it in December. TFS Thomas

fredleal (54) 2007-03-16 23:34 [Comment]

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Didi (36020) 2007-03-20 15:55

Hi Adrian
I don't know why your shot was not enough rated, mabe there is to much black around, I don't think so.
Because I found a brillian composition with a good management of lights.
I think it's possible also to make the same one in the twilight.
Cheers.

mortijo (12130) 2007-03-23 10:34

I think this shot is quite outstanding! It is certainly one of the better night shots here on TE. I discovered it rather late because I was reading your contribution to the better critique thread in the forum. The silhouettes on the bridge contribute a lot to make this a good photograph. I have not read many of your critiques, but if they are as good as your note they most be worth reading. Wish you a nice day. John.

poulinp (4464) 2007-03-24 10:34

Hi Adrian.

I really like the mood, the warm tone mixed with the silhouettes of people. This is wonderful.

kiks (6047) 2007-09-12 2:44

Great work of light management! The reflections and the sillouets work realy good.
TFS
KIks

eyesthetix (637) 2007-10-06 8:24

Hi Adrian,
superb and visually stunning image ! The warm lighting and the crisp silhouettes together make for a really impressive photograph indeed.

Well done and best regards, Daniel.

picardo (2286) 2008-03-19 20:24

Wooow... what colors and composition.. the people silouettes are outstanding!. Love it!. One of my favorites
TFS
Picardo