Gouvernetou Monastery Basilica - detail

great lines and colors here, i just wish the top dome wasn't cut off

I opened this Crete folder just to show that I am not totally opposed to Fuji Velvia! - It certainly has its place.

 

[see "The Pyramids at Giza from the Western Desert" for a discussion regarding this sometimes rewarding, but often troublesome film}

Wonderful catch of light. Nice placement of the bell and capture of its green tone, and of the cross. Very color rich photo without any sense of digitally added saturation. Texture is great throughout.

 

The tiniest of thought... as is my 'thing', I cropped just a pip off the right to remove the bit of blue sky. Without it, I seemed to be more contained in the picture and the cross and bell take up a bit more importance.

 

Hope all is well with you.

I like your crop.

 

One of the good things about velvia, is that there is no need to adjust saturation, unless it is to reduce it of course.

 

All is fine, hope that you are ok too.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

Regards, Nick.

I like this - very colorful, with lots of lines and curves for interest. Nice light and shadows, too.

Excellent composition, all about color and form. I also like the shadows as the add interest to the image.

6/6!

 

I love the colors as well. I think both versions of the shot are a bit too tight however I don't know if you had the possiblity of getting a bit wider shot or not.

 

I know what you mean about Velvia! The key is to take pictures of subjects with more subtle colors so it can compliment it.

 

Nice composition.

 

Cheers

 

Misha

Thank you for any interest - regards, Nick.

interesting photo! besides all elements already mentioned i find strange that i do not recognise the 'light' here as Greek... it might have to do either with the velvia or that red was never associated with Hellas... Hmm!...

Gosh, dissent from Christos! - Unfortunately there is more for you (and everyone) to learn about the Byzantine architecture of Crete, as although the velvia undoubtedly saturated the image [see discussion on "The Pyramids of Giza from the Western Desert], the colours here are very much authentic!

 

Only kidding, Christos, I'm not at all upset by your doubts, as I myself was so amazed at the colours when I went there, and I would agree that they are not typically Greek.

 

You should visit this interesting and remote Monastery, it was well worth the long drive! However, I don't think that the three elderly, and very grumpy monks who live there would take too kindly to being told that they are not allowed to use red paint!

 

Here is a excert from the guide book;-

 

"Gouverneto is one of the oldest monasteries on Crete, dating back to around 1537. The monastery has the form of a fortress with towers at each end. Strong Venetian influences are visible throughout.

 

The main church of Gouverneto is dedicated to the Presentation of the Virgin. The church has a vaulted ceiling and turrets at each of the corners for guns and bows. Fine Venetian carvings decorate the facade of the beautiful church. The patron saint of the smaller chapel is St. John the Hermit, founder of the monastery.

 

During the Greek Revolution of 1821 the Turks sacked the monastery. Many monks lost their lives and the archives of the monastery were destroyed. Later, during World War II, the monastery suffered along with the Cretan population when German forces established a guardhouse here. Again invaders plundered and heavily damaged the monastery."

 

Thanks for visiting, regards, Nick.

i never said anything about "allowed" or "non-believing".. the first thing is that this overall red is not a typical hellenic shot (that's one reason why this shot is interesting!).. Now what is hellenic or english or anything, of course is something debatable nevertheless presented in a specific period as stereotypical (e.g. hellas= blue and white); thus although in reality flexible and diverse, in its mainstream form it appears as limited and homogenous.. so this pic is interesting in highiliting the intrinsic, often neglected, diversity...

 

from this general observation i moved to something of personal opinion, but quite important: the saturated blue and red, (irrespective of the colour itself), are not however recognisable from me because the light is not recognisable...>>> Can't remember this saturation, this sky etc. anywhere around me in Hellas... Of course light is captured different by different films, here by the velvia, which is another 'fine' version but not one that corresponds to my subjective memory... My point is that, although subjective and academic.. i believe the representation here is not realistic, does not transmitt the actual experience of those places (even if difficult to narrow down).. not that this necessarily matters -it could be said to add to the interest after all, but remains an element of debate and artistic purpose (that's why i bring it on)

 

returning to the cultural associations, crete by the way, like many localities of Hellas (e.g. western islands, macedonia, thrace, etc) have diverse, particular histories, so particular 'greek' historical trajectories; often intertwined and manifested in their cultures e.g. colours, shapes (here notice the domes, cross, pyramidic structure and windows that bring together a variety of, often conflicting, socio-historical influences)

Sorry Christos, I did misunderstand, I thought that you doubted the authenticity of the shot.

 

I fell in love with Crete, and agree about the variety of styles and cultures, and such history!

 

I hope to visit Rhodes later in the year, as I can't get enough.

 

Thanks, Nick.

Cheers, Nick!

 

Nothing like hoping from an island to an island... and such surprises as coming across the 'unique', for example a combination of byzantine orthodox and islamic art, are so rewarding!... i begun to also realise, stemming from your shots, that i must think about what films to chose for my trip as well, as the outcome would be particularly different...

I like the composition in this one. Cheers!