Christmas Castle of Almourol, a photo from Santarem, South

Photographer's Note

I was kind of sad for not having posting any Christmas postcard, so here you have the best I have arranged. Sorry for being late. :-)

I shot this a few hours ago when I was coming home ('-( unhappily I have to go to work tomorow), using a wooden pole as a tripod. Apart from a crop and rotation for straightening, there is no pp here. Technical data: 1 sec, f5.6, 45 mm focal distance (equivalent to about 94mm on a 35mm film SLR).

What you see here is a 12th century castle built in a small island of the Tagus river by the Templar Knights. Before the Templars built the actual castle, there was a Moorish (Arab/Moroccan) fortification and before that there was another one built by the Romans.

Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_of_Almourol.

zeca, besnard, siolaw, jmcl, sufi, superpau, Donald, atus, cobbydale, seb_p has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

ribeiroantonio (22730) 2006-12-25 23:38

Curioso, � a primeira vez que vejo um castelo decorado desta maneira. Sabes se foi s� para a ocasi緌 ou, se est� sempre assim � noite? Eu estive l� h� cerca de 4 anos mas foi de dia.
Obrigado pelos votos de Boas Festas. Aproveito para te desejar um ano de 2007 cheio de ALEGRIA e PROSPERIDADE. E j� agora, com muitas fotos.
Ant鏮io

zeca (19762) 2006-12-25 23:42

Ol� amigo Jos�!
Um Feliz Natal tamb幦 para voc� e toda a sua fam璱ia, desejando ainda que esta alegria e paz perdurem por todo o ano de 2007!
Grande abra蔞,
Zeca

dsidwell (9783) 2006-12-25 23:45

Hello Jose. I like your exposure here that captures the textures of the castle in addition to a wonderful atmosphere. Nice work.

Giis (258) 2006-12-26 0:06

Hello Jose, Although is a little bit late, the Christmas spirit still stay. What a nice shot! It looks like a drawing, I liked lights and shadows. Congratulations.

besnard (59196) 2006-12-26 0:11

Bonjour Jose
Joli clich� nocturne. Les lumi鋨es mettent en valeur les cr幯eaux du ch漮eau.
Merci pour le partage etbonne journ嶪.
Nicole

sothy81 (9646) 2006-12-26 0:16

Hi Jose, this is an interesting image. Very nice one. The light is great. I like the shape of the castle with the light on. Nice job. Sothy

siolaw (38294) 2006-12-26 0:28

Ola Jose,
Better late than never!!
Merry Xmas with this night castle shot ..Nice PV and exposure, good light ,reasonable sharpness...
I wish you a Feliz Natal
Laurent

batalay (41261) 2006-12-26 1:11

Hello Jos�,

Superb shot for a timely presentation. I am amazed how well the photograph came out, considering the bright lights did not cause the aperture to close too much, of for the light meter to adjust to an "average light" setting. It is a perfect exposure.

The wooden pole used as tripod is ingeniuous, and well worth remembering. Years ago I used to cary a pair of "locking pliers" in my car. There is a large screw on one of the handles of teh locking pliers, in order to allow you to radically change the opening. That screw turned out to be precisely the same as the mounting screw on a tripod. Accordingly, I could clamp the locking pliers on any firm object -- the side of a table in restaurant, an iron fence, the bumper or door of an automobile, etc. The I would screw the camera onto the pliers. It made a perfect tripod.

Warm regards, my friend.
Bulent

[2]

flatwin (2181) 2006-12-26 2:42

bonjour,

belle prise de vue nocture de ce chateau , les lumieres sont parfaite pour la mise en relief duchateau

arnaud

MIG13 (0) 2006-12-26 3:49

Oi, Jos�! A foto � linda e bem comemora o esp甏ito natalino! Paz e Luz para vc e todos os seus! Abra蔞! Miguel.

jmcl (14535) 2006-12-26 10:43

Jos�,

Wonderful palette of green golds .. beautiful light and lighting ..

take care,

John

p.s. Sorry you are at work!!!!!

Bluejeans (64251) 2006-12-26 16:30

Ola Jose, gostei desta tua foto do castelo de Almourol, uma bela foto nocturna , as cores est緌 muito bonitas.
Um abra蔞 Gon蓷lo!!!!
Boas Festas!!

paura (25802) 2006-12-26 17:15

Jos�,
Essa composi誽o natalina ficou excelente. O jogo das luzes e sombras ficou muito interessante. Excelente fotografia.

Paulo

sufi (9588) 2006-12-26 19:22

Merhaba Jose, my friend...
It's a wonderful night shot... The black background and its contrast between the castle's yellow are perfect... Also perfect point of view and lighting...
TFS...
Stay well..
Salim.

superpau (1464) 2006-12-26 20:44

Hola Jose!
No estes triste, es una foto muy bonita! Es interesante ver al Castillo decorado para Navidad :D

Y aun tienes tiempo, puede publicar una postal para fin de a隳!!!
Hay tanto para ver!

Me gusta tu foto, y como las luces recortan al castillo de la oscuridad de la noche, lo notaste? Es como si hubieran trazado la linea para recortar la foto con una tijera!

Besos! Y Felicidades
Paula.

lucasgalodoido (27698) 2006-12-26 21:17

Ol� Jos�!
Bonita ilumina誽o desse castelo! Assim como em Portugal, nessa 廧oca do ano os pr嶮ios ficam enfeitados aqui no Brasil tamb幦!
Parab幯s e Feliz Natal para voc�!

Donald (136) 2006-12-27 4:37

Hi Jose you did a great job here as it stayed nice and sharp (a good sober hand)I love the light along the edge of the Castle.
Well done my friend, now dont be working to hard!! it not good for you :)
Kindest regards
Donald

cuneyt-sb (6576) 2006-12-27 7:48

Hi Stego
very good night shot , that is clear for night and good POV
thanks ,and happy new year
Regards

vincz (19113) 2006-12-27 8:34

Great night shot with beautiful lights all around. Kind of a mysterious atmosphere there. Happy new year!

UnTrained (0) 2006-12-27 8:39

Ol� Jos�,
even after Christmas now it is still inspiring. Looks strange with the light following the walls and is a good light composition.
Cheers, Ulf

cobbydale (1958) 2006-12-27 18:08

Hi Jose,
good shot. Considering you had a 1 second exposure and used a wooden pole to rest on I'd say you got a pretty sharp image here!

TFS. Leon.

atus (15878) 2006-12-28 5:01

Hello Jose,
well captured night shot of this interesting castle. Good light control and maybe just a bit of lack of sharpness. Good work, my friend!
Tfs and I wish you a prosperous and happy New Year!
Attila

feather (51130) 2006-12-28 10:50

Great shot and very festive the way the battlements are all lit along the edges. Your improvised tripod worked well.
Happy New Year to you and your family.
Kath

seb_p (498) 2007-01-03 19:26

Very interesting shot. Fun to see the contour of the castle lit up like that. Good lighting and POV. tfs

Seb...

vad (342) 2007-01-05 5:59

Superbes ces illuminations!
Bravo Jose!

guillaumejm (0) 2007-01-22 16:58

Hello Jose,
Nice night picture. Perhaps just a little bit noisy. But I like colours.
Best regards
JMarc