Liquid Stone Photo

Photographer’s Note

As probably the only regular Dalmatian member of the TE fraternity, I feel obliged to post an image from Dalmatia now and then, since it appears that people in Croatia do not care much about sharing their country's beauty on the Net.

This is an evening shot taken on the Stradun, the main street within Dubrovnik's walls.It had not rained- the stones that pave the street have been polished smooth by countless feet over the centuries. It gives me a sense of continuity knowing that I too had contributed to the growing sheen by disturbing or rearranging a few atoms of the cobbles whilst there.

N.B Unlike the fellow in the corner, who was using a small tripod, I was leaning against the wall to steady my hand. Not a bad result at 1/10sec + photoshop sharpening of image.

STRADUN
The basic city plan dates from 1292, when the port was rebuilt following a fire. The Stradun, or main street, with beautiful late-Renaissance houses on each side, runs along a valley that, until 1272, was a marshy channel dividing the Latin island of Ragusa from the forest settlement of Dubrovnik. No motor vehicles are allowed inside the walls, and, except for the Stradun, the old city is a maze of picturesque narrow streets, many of them steep and twisting. Two 14th-century convents stand at the ends of the city; the Franciscans guarded the western gate, while the Dominicans kept the eastern. The Rector’s Palace, dating from the 15th century and built in the late Gothic style, was the seat of government of the Dubrovnik Republic and is a masterpiece of Dalmatian architecture. Other notable structures include numerous fortresses (such as Lovrijenac, which sits atop a cliff); a 16-sided fountain and bell tower, both of which originally date from the 15th century; and a 15th-century Jewish synagogue that is among the oldest in Europe. The island of Lokrum is famous for its gardens and orange groves, and it also includes a fortress and monastery.

saylan-cb, Bruno40, pauloog, ahmet54, leo61, Beasolea, ribeiroantonio, phwall, Cretense, Dyerco, ellelloo, macondo, Henryk_Bilor, Fellini, resato, fanni, hispic has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

saylan-cb (12726) 2009-03-11 5:42

Hi Klaudio,
This is an evening shot with great capture and very nice colours and light.I like the POV here.
Excellent work!
TFS/Regards,
Have a nice day.

bema (9080) 2009-03-11 6:08

Hello Klaudio,

really an impressive capture, have been told by my son, who has been on holidays down here, that those streets are almost slippery, just like walking on ice..
very good picture with a very fine mood and colors..

have a fine day, best regards Bernd

Bruno40 (6442) 2009-03-11 7:12

Hi Klaudio,
I love blue hour photos, and this one shows not only the beauty of teh sky, but a fine and interesting subject.
very well composed and amazing sharpness for a handheld at 1/10s. However, to get that you increased the ISO to 800, and the noise is quite visible. A small price to pay.
Lesson: always carry your tripod! :-)

bracasha75 (22387) 2009-03-11 10:32

Zdravo Klaudio
Samo sam jednom bio tamo i sada kada cujem zvuke mandoline mene seca to na to leto iz mog detinjstva.Dubrovnik i citava Dalmacija su dragulj Jadrana i juzne Evrope
Pozdrav,Braca

gilou530 (35680) 2009-03-11 11:07

salut daddo
une vue de nuit trés bien maitrisée dans l'expo et les couleurs, un cadrage parfait de cette rue à l'heure bleue en plus, beau travail
amitiés
gilbert

pauloog (6905) 2009-03-11 11:54

Hello Klaudio,
I remember the shining marble pabing of Dubrovnik from my visit a few years ago. You brought a very nice scene in the evening light and evening blue.
Well done.
Regards,
Paul

jonathan_hart (22627) 2009-03-11 12:16

the fact that I recognize so much corners of an old city center that I visited only few hours is the evidence that this is a memorable place, unique place
the settings are fine, night shots in this city must be a pleasure to do even if there is always people, in particular in this main street
jc

ahmet54 (2249) 2009-03-11 13:12

Merhaba Klaudio,
great shot at the blue hour. Dubrovnik is a wonderful town. Although I have seen the Stradun really wet, I enjoyed my time there.
TFS,
Roland

SteveH (3995) 2009-03-11 14:11

Hi Kaludio, great blue hour shot, colour of the stone works well with the deep blue sky. I think I might have been tempted to crop out the buy in the corner though and perhaps the wall to the left? cheers, Steve

leo61 (43734) 2009-03-11 14:16

Hi Klaudio!
Perfect sharpness overall and I like the light,colors and contrast with the sky.Good composition with these many people in different poses.
Regards,leo

Beasolea (1646) 2009-03-11 15:59

Witaj Kaludio,
You are right it is not so many picture?? We have expression in Polish : you wondering how nice is by the neighbor but you not see your own garden :-) I have very good memories from former Jugoslavia, visited many times together with my
Parents. Lovely people. I remember our old friend Marijanna from Rijeka and the nice song we nang together:" O Marijanna...." your picture present to me the beauty of beauty. TFS
Dobro jutro :-)
Bea

foozi (4735) 2009-03-11 16:35

Hi Klaudio,
such a lovely blue hours and excellent perspective of the street. The lighting is so good and you have exploited ity very well. The path is shining and the movemet of the people are natural.
I was wondering wht was the squatting man doing.

Regards,
Foozi.

NB: I appreciate your Selamat Datang.
Sometimes it feels wonder to have other nationality to be able to use the language.

toto (18755) 2009-03-11 18:13

Bonsoir,
belle photo de cette ruelle commer!ante ou le soir sous ce sol luisant, les tourristes se promènent et vont en ressortir en croyant avoir fait des bonnes affaires, je dit bien croirons.

Amitié, Thomas

ribeiroantonio (21969) 2009-03-11 18:26

I must say that your firm handling of the camera is excellent. The sharpness is very good and the blue hour tones are superb. Well done.
Antonio

delpeoples (6756) 2009-03-11 20:35

Caro Klaudio, this is an exceptional Blue Hour photo. Added to that is the beautiful way you have captured the architecture. Your title is a good one, as you've managed to bring out beautiful reflections from the setts on the ground. Ben fatto, Lisa.

lestans (15492) 2009-03-12 1:26

hi Klaudio!
great light in the Stradun! I like blue sky and reflection of light in the ancient ground.
Beautiful scene of Dubrovnik - Ragusa downtown. Well done to post Dalmatia pictures!! There are so many gorgeous places!
Ciao, TFS

Livia

phwall (5705) 2009-03-12 3:56

Hi Klaudio,
Superb night capture, particularly as it was hand held. The colour definition is perfect, so too the POV and composition.
The street looks like it has just been washed with a clear gloss enamel, it looks brilliant.
Wonderful capture, perfect in all respects.
Regards
Peter

Cretense (57010) 2009-03-12 5:27

Hi Klaudio!

Very impressive photo, perfect "blue" hour, my favourite hour of the day! Perfect timing, perfect light managment, this contrast between "orange-gold" and blue is my favourite colour combination! Excellent framing, composition, and beautiful diagonal perspective! Congratulations!

Hercules

Dyerco (9302) 2009-03-12 7:39

Hi Klaudio
Any images from this area always look very inviting to me and I would love to visit there someday. This is no exception. A goos blue hour shot that shows the detail in the buildings and activity in the street.
Phil

ellelloo (4955) 2009-03-15 0:07

Hello Klaudio,
A fascinating blue hour photo from this beautiful old city. Excellent control of exposure and good colour tones. Good POV and perspective. A good note too. Thanks for sharing!
Best regards,
Lasse

macondo (13271) 2009-03-15 2:00

Hi Klaudio.
Very nice shot at the 'blue hour' as they call it. I love the light glistening, as you say, like liquid on those paving tiles polished by your own shoes long ago. I thought you might have uploaded quite some time ago a similar shot with that wet look. You got a good angle of view and a sharp result. At least you didn't have to lie down in the street like the other fellow to line up and focus your shot! There's a bit of noise in the sky, which you can get rid of with the right software or even in Photoshop.
I'm amazed at how sharp the figures are in this 1/10 sec exposure. I think I walked down this street in 1974, a few days after my night in the open on some tiny island off Split. Memories...
Regards,
Andrew

batalay (21193) 2009-03-15 6:29

Hello Klaudio,

I've frequently commented (quoting physicist Werner Heisenberg), "Never underestimate the pleasure it gives a man to see/hear what he already knows." I know this view well. On the right is the lovely church, the oldest continuously functioning apothecary in the world, and those walls which I climbed and circumnavigated on 3-4 occasions. In October, however, it would be preferable to walk the 2-km around the city periphery than in August when I always did this walk. You've caught the well polished and glistening streets by the blue hour, and successfully considering you have not used a tripod. There is a little bit of noise in the sky, but the merits far outweigh the demerits here. Isn't Lokrum the island that Marco Polo came from? And I understand, the necktie, "Cravate," had its origins in Croatia!

Warm regards,

Bulent

Henryk_Bilor (20371) 2009-03-16 15:21

Hi Klaudio
Lovely evening capture from the town, Great architecture and amazing light with this shiny pavement :).
Regards

Fellini (4962) 2009-03-19 0:45

Ciao Klaudio,
beautiful sharpness blue hour and brillant reflection of the street!
Great capture in a very good composition.
Well done.
Best regards
Alex

zumoduvas (1974) 2009-03-19 14:54

Hello Klaudio.

Excellent picture, nice composition and colors.

Regards.
Jose Luis

resato (428) 2009-03-29 12:13

Hello Daddo,
I like the whole atmosphere and superbly captured blue hour light in this shot. The polished stones are a special detail aswell as the light coming from inside the tower. Great POV.
Regards, René

fanni (8879) 2009-04-02 23:21

Hello Klaudio,
I like this perspective view very much, and I like the beauty of this old "corner" of the town. Excellent choice of street scene and of perspective/POV. I also like the title of the photo ;)
I also noticed that two men in red clothes add an interesting colour balance to this shot :)
Best wishes from Moscow!
Elena

hispic (7399) 2009-04-27 2:39

Hi Klaudio,
I thought that this photo had been taken after rain till reading your useful note. Beautiful evening capture of attractive street, luminous impression is truly excellent.
Best wishes, Hisashi

rigoletto (26792) 2009-07-08 3:22

Hi Klaudio,
This August, i will travel to Dubrovnik once more, and before the travel, i checked the Dubrovnik gallery, finding out that the best photos from that marvellous city belong to you. As you being a native of that land, this is not surprizing :)
And, your photo makes me dream about Stradun and its "liquid marbes" again. Very nice vantage point and blue hour execution. TFS,
Deniz