Basilique Ste. Madeleine, Vezelay (Yonne) Requested black and white version

Was requested to supply a b/w version of this shot. Made some adjustments as well.

Thanks for your assistance.

I like the rays of light streaming in from the windows.

Dennis, I prefer the colour version (I have not commented it yet, I know, but it stands out even in your splendid gallery). Nevertheless this b&w has the same mood. It is a beautiful, atmospheric, well composed photo. The sunbeams going in through the window could be better defined though - you could select the area under the window and adjust the contrast with curves there in order to brighten the rays a little bit. The group in the bottom constitutes a fine point of interest. _____ Maybe you are interested in the short discussion between me and Theo Jacobs concerning HDR here. Regards, Michal.

 

Dennis, thanks for your visit and nice comment of my work. I like your interest in the Romanesque era. I like as well that image in both color and this B/W. I understand your concept here, but allow me to present another possibility in order to elliminate the washed out areas of this nice image. I have cropped the upper part, but the atmospher of the main subject here , the group in prayer and part of construction were kept. I hope you don't mind, let me know if you like the idea. Pnina

 

.... interesting crop, but that makes the photo about the nuns, and not the light on the nuns, which is the intent. I was playing with the crop as well, and the best I could do was this. For some reason, it still needs that dark vertical strip on the left, which was one thing that I was wondering about.

Dennis, I understood your concept, it was just another possibility that I saw in this image. I like cathedrals in general, and I like that one, for me the nuns in this one looked like the main interest ;-)), the washed out areas was a bit of a distractions for me, so my crop elliminated them, and yes changed it from what you saw in it.

 

It is nice to change ideas, Pnina

... are our currency. Thanks, Pnina. After looking at your crop again, decided to try to see the image as if I hadn't seen it before, so I flipped it horizontally. In a way it was like a different picture. Made it look like a processional, which was very interesting. Certainly a lesson in that. Thanks for opening my eyes.

Dennis, nice idea to see it as a new version.;-))We learn all the time.

Oui, je vois que nous avons une parenté certaine pour les interieurs de cathedrales, eglises ou cloitres.

Merci pour vos commentaires elogieux, je vous les retourne sans hesitation !

Ces nonnes, ici, sont l'emotion de la photo. Et je ne suis pas du tout d'accord pour recadrer la photo, bien que le vitrail soit un peu surexposé , c'est la lumiere qui tombe sur elles, pour les aider dans leur vie monastique.

Je suis d'accord avec vous sur la lumiere, il etais la raison entiere de la photo. Merci de vos mots aimables. Et pardonnez mon francais, il peut etre difficile a manier parfois.

Dennis, I agree with you and Marielou, the cropped version deprive this photo of its originality. I have worked on this image to illustrate what I mean by emphasizing the rays of light. The post processing was not very complicated, I am going to describe it under the colour version of this photo (I will post the colour proposition too as I still prefer this version, here I have only mixed the channels of my colour alternative and adjusted the curves a little). Today is my first anniversary on PN. Please read my thanks here.

What beautiful photo, seems to have returned back in the time. Compliments!!

 

Saro

I am speechless, this is an extraordinary shot ! Not the cropped versions, it is about the light on the nuns as you say. This photo has what is rarely present, it has enigma. One of the best shots I have seen for a while, and I have seen many, believe me ;-) Ok, lights are partially blown out but that doesntt bother me at all. It is the atmosphere that counts, the light, on this arcane scene. Hats off !

I hope, there are elves around here, lookin` for a POW ;-)

La photo est magnifique. Je suis resté sans paroles, bouche bée.

Michal a tres bien trouvé la maniere d'augmenter votre idée originale.

.... your comments floor me completely. I am familiar with the work of both of you and your words are kind beyond measure. Carsten, the great mystery of these churches is what attracts me the most. As much as I appreciate and like the Gothic, these Romanesque churches are so special to me. The solid, stable structures with their daring arches ... as if the men and women of Europe were starting to apprehend their God in some way, appreciate the mystery. They embodied that mystery in light and changed their architecture in order to allow more of that light. Eventually, with their Gothic rib vaults and flying buttresses, they could send the walls higher and open up more space for light until they were almost phantasms. But personally, my response is that they began expressing their own will as opposed to creating a home for God. It became a contest, whose nave was higher, longer, broader? Who had more towers? But these Romanesque churches were still modest in comparison, fitting homes for a deity, a place of awe and safety for pilgrims, and a refuge. We need gods in the long dark nights, in the shelter against a storm, and in the shattering loss of sudden death. We need to know that something watches over us and can give structure to the chaos. It needn't be true, it only need to be plausible, powerful, and profound. The brilliance of religion is that it binds our own behavior into the fabric of the cosmos. We are somehow personally responsible for what happens to us. This explains the world to us and orders the society around us at the same time. To me, these great Romanesque churches are the symbol and personification of that order.

I think this is your personal best.

Dennis, to explain how this image makes me feel I have to tell a story. Twenty two years ago I desperately wanted to have a baby. My mother in law was visiting Le Corbousier's church in Ronchamp and felt moved to say a prayer and light a candle for me. She was alone in the church except for a man who started to sing. He had the voice of an angel. My son's name is Ian which means God's gift. Regards. Denise

... thank you. This picture resonates for me because my parents were at this mass, they had never seen Vezelay before (one of my favorite places on God's great earth), and suddenly the Mass commenced. Feeling uncomfortable taking pictures of people worshipping, I was drawn to the light. The attached sequence of shots shows how I got to this shot. PS It is interesting that of all the modern buildings of the 20th century, Le Corbousier's church in Ronchamp most closely approximates the intent and the feeling of the Romanesque

Hi Dennis, what a beautiful capture, I want to say I agree completely with Cartsten above. This image has a kind of haunting impact on those who's seen it, haunting in a moving way, as when one beholds something holy. Really great capture!

Dennis, thank you for your comments to my photo on Cathedral of Amiens. I went to see your portfolio and fell on this very beautiful scene of the basilique of Vezelay. I passed by the place a couple of weeks ago at a day where rain was pouring down and only the local inhabitants were present.

 

The whole town of Vezelay is marked by the same spiritual atmosphere that you have managed to show by your photo with the nones of the "fraternit頭onastique de J鲵salem" that have been responsible for the place since a century or two, as far as I know. What is interesting in my view is that even when go outside the cathedral the spirituality of the place is fully present. I have a modest photo (Recent uploads)taken just outside your scene, where I have tried (badly, without any doubt) to catch my impression and feelings of the place. I have even made the choice, like you here, to present it in B/W ! The place calls for it.

 

I would by the way agree that the cropping away of the blown out parts of the original improves the scene.

amazing light.... outstanding

Oh my... oh my God! I'm completely speechless. A time traveler, that's how I feel looking at this stunning picture. Thanks for sharing.

 

Paolo

... and pleased that you liked the shot. As you know, I am an admirer of your portfolio.

 

This is one of those shots that just come to a person. My parents were at this mass at Vezelay and I had the opportunity to move down the north side aisle and get this shot handheld. Actually, I had been following the light down the nave toward the altar, came past the pillar and this shot presented itself.

Absolutely timeless !

Dennis, first of all let me thank you for leaving a comment on one of my pictures; I'm thankful for it, because it led me straight into this amazing portfolio of yours. Evidently you have a very polished technique and a fondness for Romanesque architecture that reflects into very good pictures. It made it quite hard for me to find one where I could live m commentary. Though I can not say that this one is my favorite, it certainly caught my attention today, it's even one of those rare pictures which I?ll keep in my mind as future reference of a great B&W architectural image, with the correct inclusion of human figures......and believe me, I could go on and on praising it, even the way that it works with different crops and versions, never loosing it's appeal. Any way, thanks for sharing your work on PN, there is a lot to be learned in your pictures. Regards, JC