aginbyte

Panorama of this wonderful small cloister in the Pyrénées-Orientales

department of France.

... the vantage point really shows the square and the buildings around it. Well done.

... and a fine composition featuring the different domes, vaults, and arches. Well done.

... and it is easy to see why. Beautiful work, with a nice low angle approach. Very well done, Gabi.

... am still a little dissatisfied with this shot because of the one blown-out window. Am thinking about doing a little layer masking to replace it with another exposure. Maybe a little LR adjustment. But I like the composition and the sense of the curve of the aisle. Glad you liked the shot, this is a great cathedral, by the way.

... They seek splendor; who would touch them must stun them;

The nerve that is dying needs thunder to rouse it.

 

This is what comes from refusing to see anything greater than oneself, nothing more important than oneself. One of the reasons I left LA. I have personally seen the same thing in NYC, and believe it is as much the times as the places.

... but you just need to follow your muse. Your thanks have been more than enough for what little that I did. Some of your recent work has moved me greatly, I like it very much. The humanity is what appeals to me so much. I'm sorry I've been removed from PN, but it has been a busy time, working on the book and some other projects as well (PJ directed a wonderful production of Nicky Silver's "Raised in Captivity"). But you know I'll be back and look forward to more exchanges with you.

 

Your friend, Dennis

... astonished that I hadn't commented before, since I've seen it several times. Agree that this is one of your finest portraits; great framing, the blackness around is perfect for setting off the man himself. This is fine work, John.

... John, the empathy that you felt with him comes across so strongly here. The photo is his, in a way, not yours, and that is a good thing. It's nice to be in service of something greater than ourselves, and this, I believe, you have done. That is the source of the humanity. Well done.

... and your march brings you upon sights just made for your eye, and through your camera, for us.

... you just see those things that we all miss. And not only are they great pictures, there is always a story lurking just behind the visible image. I love this about your work, Jack.

... I see it too :) The chains are an eerie touch, aren't they. These walks of your must be strange sometimes, Jack.

... one of our favorite sculptors of the time (along with the genius who did the Isaiah in Souillac and the Jeremiah at Moissac.) I am even more sorry to have missed it. There is a museum to the Master of Cabestany near Elne (in the town of Cabestany). We actually got wonderful shots of the tympanum of Notre-Dame-des-Anges in Cabestany and the frieze at the church in Le Boulou. I can only envy you the opportunity to shoot his work at Sant Pere de Galligants. His work must have been wonderful.

... these are harder to shoot than they look but your wide angle choice is excellent. Such a small, intimate cloister and you've captured it well. I particularly like the way you've also captured the vaulting and how it sets down on the cloister arches. The blue highlights are a nice touch. I don't think I've ever seen a cloister built quite like this before, and the floor is magnificent. Is that a more recent addition or part of the original Benedictine structure? Anyway, Mikel, this shot makes me jealous :) Thank you for posting; this is a beautiful Romanesque structure and I wish so much that we would have been able to shoot here. Maybe in a year or two.

... very rare to see this angle and to see the wonderful detail on the floor. I'm mixed about the person in the shot ... you know my preference is not to have a person in the shot, but here it gives a nice sensation of the peace and calm of the cloister. Very well done.

... France Romanesque. That will be the first, and we hope to follow with Spain Romanesque, etc. Great fun writing it, which is one of the reasons that I haven't been on PN very much lately. Take care and PJ (your great admirer) sends her best.

... since PJ and I have basically decided to spend the rest of our lives documenting these Romanesque and Gothic structures; photographing them, writing about them, making films about them. I think that what really has occurred is that I've found something so much greater than myself, so full of wonder and mystery, that it is simply an extraordinary thing to spend time learning and thinking about them. We are planning our next trip, for September and October, after which we will have completed what we consider to be phase one of our project. We will have documented all of the major stylistic areas in France and Catalonia, and have recorded about 300 churches. The next phase will be to go back and explore deeper in those areas, shooting what we figure to be about 700 churches in France of the thousands that are there. But in our database, we've marked about 700 total, so we are about 40% complete. In reality, as we learn more, we will shoot more, but this is our guide.

 

Simultaneously in the second phase, we will shoot Northern Spain, from the Central Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostella, where the majority of the Spanish Romanesque churches are.

 

Phase three is probably Italy, or perhaps England. We are going to buy a house in France to make the project easier. That will be a year or two away, depending on the economy, of course.

 

As always, Jack, thank you so much for your interest and for your observations. It is such a pleasure to come to PN and see a comment from our friend on the other side of this great world.

... like father like son :)

... and amazing texture and color in the stone. I remember being in Bergama (Pergamos) in Turkey in the mid-90's and was walking around the ruins there. Among the fallen and broken columns were some intact, though detached, capitals. One in particular, a beautiful corinthian capital, featured carved acanthos leaves. It was laying in a bed of real acanthos and was so beautiful. I spent quite a bit of time working to take the right picture and my guide (a taxi driver from Izmir who chauffered me around for two days) shook his head in puzzlement over this crazy foreigner. I think I would have had the same reaction seeing this column in a field of wheat.

... and see work like this. A very moving image with a powerful graphic feel. Just enough detail in the figure to see that it is not an inked image, but that detail doesn't distract from the powerful black on white. I particularly like the organic shape juxtaposed against the three parallel bands of white/gray/white. This is truly superb work, Ton.

... no castle at the top, of course it is La Roque Gageac! Thanks for pointing it out.

... I appreciate your kind words. It provided the opportunity for me to look at your portfolio, where I saw the wonderful shot of the cenote in Yucatán. Very well done. Welcome to PN, and thanks for your interest.

... a wonderful and evocative shot. Well done.

... yes, we thank the architect, always, but the shot is well composed and exposed. I love the dome and the walkway at the very top. Do you think it is possible to go up to the top and shoot? Your Mexican church project is really wonderful, Salvador. I always look forward to seeing your work here.

... and you've exposed this beautifully. Thanks for posting such a wonderful shot.