Dominique’s old stones (mostly)
- Thread starter Blue439
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Blue439
New member
The abbey church of Sant’ Antimo in Tuscany (2012). One of my colleagues at the firm, hearing that I was going on a Summer vacation trip to Italy, told me not to miss that, and I’m so glad he did, as I hadn’t planned on including it. The church holds many treasures, including an astounding 12th century (!) wooden statue of Christ on the Cross.
And of course, here too you recognize the bandes lombardes I told you about...
So, you see, those master masons and architects from Lake Como spread their knowledge and their art through Italy as well, and in fact through most of Europe, and I hear through the Middle East too, going in with the Crusaders. I mean to go to Armenia in the not too distant future and I will be interested to see if I can spot traces of them there —although I suspect most of Armenia’s churches are older than that.
Nikon D3S, Nikkor 24-70mm, ƒ/2.8 G lens, handheld.
And of course, here too you recognize the bandes lombardes I told you about...
So, you see, those master masons and architects from Lake Como spread their knowledge and their art through Italy as well, and in fact through most of Europe, and I hear through the Middle East too, going in with the Crusaders. I mean to go to Armenia in the not too distant future and I will be interested to see if I can spot traces of them there —although I suspect most of Armenia’s churches are older than that.Nikon D3S, Nikkor 24-70mm, ƒ/2.8 G lens, handheld.
Blue439
New member
Auvergne, the large region that occupies the mountainous center of France, is a country of volcanoes. Dead ones (or asleep, as geologists like to remind us), but still volcanoes... The 2012 landscape below shows the top of the Puy Mary, one of the highest peaks in Auvergne... which remains however modest at 1,787 meters. Those mountains are very old, from the Primary Era, and therefore very eroded.
Nikon D3S, Nikkor 24-70mm, ƒ/2.8 G lens, handheld.
Nikon D3S, Nikkor 24-70mm, ƒ/2.8 G lens, handheld.
Blue439
New member
A nice place to hang...
This delicate colonnade from the 1500s is a detail of the façade of the Doges’ Palace in Venice. Look at the two red columns: that is were they used to hang people sentenced to be put to death in that manner. Many hung from there, and that was, it is said, a much less painful way to die than some other methods that were used, back in the day, for the most heinous crimes... or for crimes against the State, of course!
This delicate colonnade from the 1500s is a detail of the façade of the Doges’ Palace in Venice. Look at the two red columns: that is were they used to hang people sentenced to be put to death in that manner. Many hung from there, and that was, it is said, a much less painful way to die than some other methods that were used, back in the day, for the most heinous crimes... or for crimes against the State, of course!
Blue439
New member
My wife and I have always been in love with Venice. Not only the traditional tourist sites but the genuine Venice, the everyday Venice, the one Venitians live in and which the tourists, regardless how many of them there are, never get to see. We went to stay several times a year, and at one point we even thought about buying a place there. And when your heart and mind resonate like that with Venice and you’re a keen practitioner of photography, it is inevitable that you become interested in the Carnival, at least to some degree.
Now, there are many ugly, commercial, cheap and over-touristed aspects to Venice’s Carnival of the 2000s, but there are also very authentic ones. It takes time to insert yourself into the small crowd of the genuine costumés, but once you get to know them and you know where and when to go, you can take one or two nice and authentic photographs, far from the Piazza San Marco...
Now, there are many ugly, commercial, cheap and over-touristed aspects to Venice’s Carnival of the 2000s, but there are also very authentic ones. It takes time to insert yourself into the small crowd of the genuine costumés, but once you get to know them and you know where and when to go, you can take one or two nice and authentic photographs, far from the Piazza San Marco...
Blue439
New member
The L’Herm Castle, in the Périgord region of France, was built during the 16th century, it is therefore not Mediæval. However, and in spite of some elements and decorations in the Renaissance style, it retains a general appearance that is decidedly Mediæval, making it an exception for a time during which rich lords aspired to create much less austere–looking abodes...
Today mostly a romantic ruin, it also has a somewhat troubled history: there were some murders, it seems, and there could still be a ghost... Not necessarily a place you want to hang around alone during a dark night —nor a not so dark one— but definitely a memorable sight to behold.
It was listed on the preliminary list of Historic Landmarks in 1927 but had to wait almost a century until it made it to full Historic Landmark status in 2022.
Nikon D810, Nikkor 19mm, ƒ/4 PC-E tilt-shift lens, manual focus. Handheld, natural light.
Today mostly a romantic ruin, it also has a somewhat troubled history: there were some murders, it seems, and there could still be a ghost... Not necessarily a place you want to hang around alone during a dark night —nor a not so dark one— but definitely a memorable sight to behold.
It was listed on the preliminary list of Historic Landmarks in 1927 but had to wait almost a century until it made it to full Historic Landmark status in 2022.
Nikon D810, Nikkor 19mm, ƒ/4 PC-E tilt-shift lens, manual focus. Handheld, natural light.
Dawg Pics
Senior Member
These costume images are cool.
Peter7100
Senior Member
Absolutely love Venice and been a couple of times, however we have never been to the Carnival but maybe one day. Looking forward to any more Venice pics you have.
Blue439
New member
Thanks a lot for your interest, although I have to say it embarrasses me: I have thousands of photos of Venice, most of them of details or places that would mean absolutely nothing to people who do not already know the city quite well, and even if I limited myself to the rest of the photos, I would truly be at a loss about which to choose, unless I deluge you under bucketfuls of Venice photos...!
So, I have for the moment chosen this one from 2009, which is not particularly beautiful but will maybe give you a tidbit of information you didn’t have.
First, you may not know this but Italy is a patchwork of dialects. Some of them are more practiced today than others, especially by dwindling communities that feel threatened by “outsiders”: in the case of Venice, those outsiders are, of course, tourists, and true Venetians often choose to speak Venetian to make others feel they don’t belong. Anyway, this photo shows a typical building erected in the early 1700s in the Jewish quarter. “What? Seven floors, on top of the ground floor? Why so tall? And what’s this ‘Jewish quarter’ thing?”
Well, throughout History, Jewish people were welcome in Venice, or at least accepted, and to my knowledge were never booted out like they shamefully were, unfortunately, from so many other places. However, locals were indeed wary of them and placed restrictions on their activities. They were to live in a part of town surrounded by a canal, with only one entrance which was closed at night. They were all supposed to spend the night within that area and could only go out and resume their activities at sunrise. Now, that area was also known for being the one where a big forge was installed, and in Venetian dialect, the word for forge is gheto. Hence the name “ghetto”. And since that area was pretty small, and the Jewish community was growing, they did what they also did centuries later in Manhattan: having no more ground to build, they built upwards...!
Nikon D3, Nikkor 14-24mm, ƒ/2.8 G lens, handheld.
Peter7100
Senior Member
Now they have more problems with rising sea levels and too many tourists, which is a result of the beauty of the place. I also have a lot of photo's from our times in Venice but they were taken when I was part of the opposition (ssh...Canon camerasThanks a lot for your interest, although I have to say it embarrasses me: I have thousands of photos of Venice, most of them of details or places that would mean absolutely nothing to people who do not already know the city quite well, and even if I limited myself to the rest of the photos, I would truly be at a loss about which to choose, unless I deluge you under bucketfuls of Venice photos...!
So, I have for the moment chosen this one from 2009, which is not particularly beautiful but will maybe give you a tidbit of information you didn’t have.
First, you may not know this but Italy is a patchwork of dialects. Some of them are more practiced today than others, especially by dwindling communities that feel threatened by “outsiders”: in the case of Venice, those outsiders are, of course, tourists, and true Venetians often choose to speak Venetian to make others feel they don’t belong. Anyway, this photo shows a typical building erected in the early 1700s in the Jewish quarter. “What? Seven floors, on top of the ground floor? Why so tall? And what’s this ‘Jewish quarter’ thing?”
Well, throughout History, Jewish people were welcome in Venice, or at least accepted, and to my knowledge were never booted out like they shamefully were, unfortunately, from so many other places. However, locals were indeed wary of them and placed restrictions on their activities. They were to live in a part of town surrounded by a canal, with only one entrance which was closed at night. They were all supposed to spend the night within that area and could only go out and resume their activities at sunrise. Now, that area was also known for being the one where a big forge was installed, and in Venetian dialect, the word for forge is gheto. Hence the name “ghetto”. And since that area was pretty small, and the Jewish community was growing, they did what they also did centuries later in Manhattan: having no more ground to build, they built upwards...!
Nikon D3, Nikkor 14-24mm, ƒ/2.8 G lens, handheld.
View attachment 410209
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Peter7100
Senior Member
The foreground looks like 1/4 or 1/2 second exposure but I'm wondering if the sky is from a seperate photo as the structure at the end of the jetty (lighthouse) looks fairly bright considering the light is behind it. Other than that I have no idea what the 'trick is'?A Breton sunset...
Trévignon Point, southern Brittany, August 2016. Now, there is a trick about this photo, something that isn’t right... Can you find what it is?
Nikon D810, Nikkor 24mm, ƒ/1.4 G lens.
View attachment 410357