Smedepoort Brugge K8, a photo from West-Vlaanderen, Flanders

Photographer's Note

2018 - All rights reserved. The photos taken by photographer John Maenhout are registered and copyrighted. Use in any form (web, paper publication, public exposure, etc.) is strictly forbidden without the written permission of the photographer. To contact with photographer please use TE Contact Me

JHM New site Aug 2017 � 2018

2008, this picture comes out of my archive

History: Smedepoort Bruges.

The Smedenpoort is one of the four remaining city gates of Bruges. The first gate dates from 1297-99, but was rebuilt in 1367-68 by the master bricklayers Jan Slabbaert and Mathias Saghen. Later she was rebuilt several times. Characteristic of this port is that, just like the Ezelpoort, it is completely surrounded by water.
At the Smedenpoort hangs a bronze skull in memory of an event from 1691. In that year, the Bruges sailor Jacob Wyndekens brought a conspiracy to light. A certain Fran鏾is van der Straeten, an Eekloans, had agreed with a small group of French soldiers to smuggle them into the city at night through the Smedenpoort. They would hide in barracks that were located near the Waterhuis. In the early hours they would overpower the gatekeepers, open the gate and give free rein to a large French army that was in ambush in the Tillegembos. That same day, the 26th of June of the year 1691, the traitor Fran鏾is van der Straeten was hanged, then his head cut off and that head was put on an iron pin on the Smedenpoort. Meanwhile, the skull was replaced by a bronze specimen.

I hope you can enjoy.

Camera Model
Canon EOS 5D
Shooting Date/Time
5/04/2008 12:50:54
Shooting Mode
Manual Exposure
Tv(Shutter Speed)
1/100
Av(Aperture Value)
22
ISO Speed
200
Lens
EF16-35mm f/2.8L USM
Focal Length
16.0mm
Image Size
4368x2912
Image
Quality
RAW
Picture Style
Landscape

pajaran, Fis2, PaulVDV, cornejo, pierrefonds, lucasgalodoido, ricardomattos, snunney, danos, COSTANTINO, Cricri, papagolf21, alvaraalto, adramad, mcmtanyel, macjake, ikeharel, Buin, clic has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

pajaran (115779) 2018-02-20 9:41

Dobro vece, gospodine.
Lepo pokazano, dobra perspektiva i kontrast, lepe boje.
Lepa stara arhitektura i drvece.
Dobar tekst o koriscenoj tehnici i elementima snimka.
Zelim vam mirnu noc, sve najbolje.
Paja.

Fis2 (170639) 2018-02-20 9:41

Witaj John!
Beautiful place.
A very interesting bridge makes impression.
Excellent frame, colors and light.
I love it.
Well done.
Good evening.
Krzysztof

PaulVDV (62846) 2018-02-20 9:47

Hallo John,
Deze foto heeft best wel een beetje een 'wildernis'-effect met het struikgewas en de zeer verweerde muren van de brug en de poort.
Mogelijk worden tijdens de zomermaanden de huizen volledig aan het zicht onttrokken door het gebladerte ... Of misschien net niet.
Heb je reeds foto's van alle vier stadspoorten opgeladen ? Minstens van drie. Dat weet ik zo.
Vele groeten, Paul

BennyV (34748) 2018-02-20 9:54

Leuke archieffoto opnieuw, John. Jammer van de wat saaie lucht, maar het pov is zeker mooi gekozen.

Benny

mesutilgim (0) 2018-02-20 10:02

Hello dear John,
Very nice capture from Flanders. With good pov and perfect sharpness. Nice soft colors and many interesting and usefull notes.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

holmertz (102604) 2018-02-20 10:29

Hello John,
Although the gate, and possibly also the bridge, was rebuilt several times it has a simplicity of design that is very attractive. It is viewed from a good angle where we can see the water running all around it. It was not a bright day but the colours are crisp and clear. The only thing missing would have been a WS of the bronze skull.
Kind regards,
Gert

cornejo (61504) 2018-02-20 11:23

Hello John, very good photograph of this interesting fortified gate of that beautiful city, very well captured in this interesting image, with good sharpness, depth, light, color and quality. Great and interesting work perfectly done, my congratulations my friend. Thank you for sharing this beautiful work.

Good night and happy week.
Warm greetings from the south of Spain.
Angel.

pierrefonds (114347) 2018-02-20 11:30

Hi John,

The length of the river is creating depth. The point of view is showing the details of the bridge and of the tower. The cloudy sky does not hurt the output of the colors. Have a nice day.

Pierre

carlo62 (81265) 2018-02-20 14:52

Ciao John
soggetto molto interessante e molto antico, ottima presentazione nonostante il cielo grigio.
Saluti
Carlo

lucasgalodoido (27698) 2018-02-20 15:48

Ol� John,
bonita captura dessa antiga ponte aqui, o cen醨io � maravilhoso. Gostei bastante de seu site tamb閙, de muito bom gosto. Belo trabalho.
Parab閚s e Abra鏾,
Lucas

ricardomattos (17460) 2018-02-20 16:13

Hi John,

Beautiful corner of this famous city Flanders. I love these arches and bridge in red bricks. I like the little tower with the small window.

Warm regards

Ricardo

jimmyjimmy (6164) 2018-02-20 20:14

Hello John

What a great subject to fill the entire POV. water, bridge, tower, village, and medieval view. awesome capture with great sharpness and detail. nice

Jimmy

jemaflor (147018) 2018-02-20 23:07

Salut John,
Biencadr閑 cette vue avec en r閟ultat une composition 閝uilibr閑 entre tour, pont et eau, parfaite netet�, c'est bien fait.

dkmurphys (79209) 2018-02-20 23:45

Good morning,
Nice view of the bridge and the tower. A good enjoyable postcard from your area. Well seen.

Daniel

emka (158030) 2018-02-21 0:04

Hello John, How strange, I remember well this gate to Bruges and now it looks quite different after renovation. Here it is in quite dilapidated state. I find fantastic this documentary picture.

Kind regrads Malgo

snunney (130967) 2018-02-21 3:32

Hello John,
Fine point of view on this lovely old bridge with its gate tower. Excellent colours and clarity despite the rather gloomy sky. Beautifully rendered, the brickwork.

Nicou (193806) 2018-02-21 4:11

Hello

Avec les personnages qui passent sur ce pont quelle compo ces trois arches et ouvertures quelle image et captage quelle vue et cette tour sueprbe compo et rendu sur l'eau et la pierre.
Bravo et amiti�
nicou

Tue (92302) 2018-02-21 9:52

Hallo John,
Er zit al heel wat groen aan de bomen hier, wat een mooie lentesfeer geeft. Dit jaar zullen we daar nog wel even op moeten wachten, want we krijgen eerst nog een koude, maar zonnige periode. De compositie is erg goed hier, de oude stadspoort met de brug ernaast wordt mooi omgeven door de bomen.
Lars

Silvio1953 (221463) 2018-02-21 10:00

Ciao John, great view of fantastic gate, excellent clarity, wonderful colors, fine details and splendid light, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

danos (110407) 2018-02-21 10:30

Hello John,
nice the view of the old city gates of Bruges.Impressive shot due to the low lighting conditions with the Spring colours to make the whole scenery even more attractive.

Regards,Danos

COSTANTINO (116377) 2018-02-21 11:09

Hello dear John and have a nice time
and a happy new day
beautiful postcard with simple but nice
architectural details this photo brings
memories from the past the length of the
river is creating depth
welldone
regards
Costantino

rychem (72187) 2018-02-21 16:38

What a picturesque place! Excellent photo, with perfect quality, beautiful bridge and an old tower, simply a splendid photo
regards Ryszard

abmdsudi (95869) 2018-02-21 22:25

Hi John
Quite a restful canal side with the old gates makes this really work as a strong subject of interest. The ripply water is another sensational component binding it together superbly. Great shot, Congrats
Best regards

Cricri (176) 2018-02-21 23:07

Hi John
Architecture int閞essante du pont avec la tour, Bon POV, la pr閟ervation de la lumi鑢e du moment, bon rendu des d閠ails et des couleurs
Belle journ閑
cricri

carper (96) 2018-02-22 0:15

fraaie foto John,
mooi standpunt hier goede compositie mooi met dit niet eenvoudige licht fraai gemaakt weerf John.
gr. jaap

papagolf21 (152607) 2018-02-22 3:27

Bonjour, cher ami John,
J'aime beaucoup regarder � l'int閞ieur de votre coffre contenant des images pr閏ieuses et belles.
Celle-ci ne fait pas exception.
Merci pour ce cadeau.
Amiti閟.
Philippe

alvaraalto (42804) 2018-02-22 3:49

Dag John
In Haarlem is nog wel een Smedestraat, maar de Smedepoort is vroeger opgeofferd aan het verkeer dat de stad in moest. Ligt er nu al wat ijs op dit water? In Holland begint de elfstedenkoorts door te breken en kan er hopelijk volgende week worden geschaatst. Koud, maar wel mooi zonnig winterweer.
Groet Rob

adramad (72934) 2018-02-22 9:28

Hi John.
The medieval atmosphere is present in this beautiful composition, ideally the placid waters of the canal with the bridge and the old door of the city, which has an interesting history, as we read in the magnificent note.
Very nice color, which together with the good quality and optimal lighting, gives great quality to the image.
Well done. I like very much.
You have a good day.
Very best regards
Luis.

mcmtanyel (68383) 2018-02-22 19:23

Hello John,
It's nice to have an extensive archive to draw from during droughts of photography. Very nice view of an old bridge, now even a decade older.
Regards,
MT

ChrisJ (171794) 2018-02-22 20:33

Hallo John,

The red brick triple arched bridge to the castle tower in the centre of the canal adds a nice focal point. Good sharpness and nice reflections in the rippled water. TFs!

macjake (98402) 2018-02-23 4:18

Hi John
you're making it easy for us to like it :)
how could anyone not enjoy the charm and photogenic scene here. the subject content alone is A+. What an incredible looking city gate, I wonder how it looked way way back when it was constructed. the tiny 3 arches make a bold statement as well. lots of green and reds, nice shot in the overcast weather. cheers
Craig

ikeharel (113241) 2018-02-24 0:34

Good morning John,
The 13th century bridge and gate onderfully preserved through times past, offer a wonderful sight from the bank of the canal.
Even under grey overcast the scenery is intriguing and interesting. The naked branches graphically "painted" the sky.
Have a nice weekend,
Ike

*** You maybe referred to 05 June in 1967 rather 1969 in your critique, I presume - you can edit this. Thanks anyway.

janneman (4037) 2018-02-24 6:37

Mooie compositie. De diagonale lijn in de voorgrond leidt het oog naar de toren. Goed gedaan.

Groet, Jan

GyurMaster (24818) 2018-02-24 13:10

Dear John,

Bruges never fails to amaze me, mainly those parts that seems to fall out of the scope of an average tourist like me. I haven't seen this gate.

Best Wishes,
Gy.

Buin (42580) 2018-02-25 4:48

Hallo John!
A place like from the book of fairy tales. Though the city is not far away the picture transmits a nice impression of calm. You show the old building with the bridges from an advantageous angle.
Thank you for the very informative note!
See you!
Frank

mkamionka (74311) 2018-02-25 6:55

Hi John,
the dark weather resulted in a very interesting ambiance here. I like that in spite of the challenging light you have exposed the sky so well. The scene is well framed with the trees on both sides.
The foreground is well thought through as well with vivid reflection and diagonal line of the riverbank.
Very well done!

M

clic (76) 2018-03-01 8:06

Dag John Despite the cruelty described in your note about the historic events occured by the gate, the overall mood of your manificent photo work releases a cativating interest due to the 'vintage' look of the stone work growing vines. Groeten

jmdias (115046) 2018-03-07 5:49

john

two marvelous architectonic structures, so well captured in this compo. I liked a lot of the arches and the round tower. TFS.

take care

jorge

Photo Information

Copyright: John Maenhout (jhm) (211736)
Genre: 风景
Medium: 彩色
Date Taken: 2008-04-05
Categories: Architecture
Camera: Cannon EOS 5D, Canon 16-35mm f2.8 L USM, Sandisk EXT.III4GB, Cokin 77 UV-0
Exposure: f/22, 30 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2018-02-20 9:03