Megalithism made by Nature, a photo from Portalegre, South

Photographer's Note

This one was shot on the same place and day of my post of Ethereal sunset and oak. Hard to believe, don't you think? That other post was shot some 50 meters to the left, pointing to 180 degrees relative to this one.

I have posted two WS's with alternative, closer, pov's of the granitic formation (i, ii).

The image was composed of two merged shots, one, brighter, for the earth and another one, darker, for the sky.

The most impressive things on the landscape of the region are the granite formations and the oaks, both present here. I choose the title because I find those upright rocks on the bg much reminiscent of a gigantic dolmen (aka 'portal tomb') without the capstone. Not surprisingly, the region is very rich in true (man made) megalithic monuments, which I'll show you one of these days in some posts.

The trees here are pyrenean oaks (Quercus pyrenaica) and not cork oaks or holm oaks like on my other posts of Alentejo.

Location (latitude, longitude): 39.45448,-7.48982

Update 1-July-2007: I posted another WS showing this same subject.

dhurjati, feather, nadine432, danos, JEPC, Docarmo, riclopes, lucasgalodoido, jmcl, salvator, sufi, JCG, xuaxo, japiey, Charo, wishlist, noborders, jusninasirun, paura has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

dhurjati (2709) 2007-06-03 8:03

Hi Jose,
Stunning view that you have captured here.Fantastic sky with the cloud floating on it.The silhoutte of the lonely tree and the green field all are fantastic composition elements.Lovely low angle of shooting as well.
Greetings from India,
Dhurjati

feather (51130) 2007-06-03 10:02

These rocks are magnificent and almost look man-made. I like this wide view almost framed by the oak. The fg rock on the left also plays an important part in your composition, allowing the almost central placement of the stones which works well here.
I like WS1 too showing the closer view of the stones but agree you made the best choice.
Kath

nadine432 (1128) 2007-06-03 14:54

hello jos�
quelle puret� dans toutes ces couleurs, un ciel d'un beau bleu, un paysage qui n'a pas 閠� abim� par la race humaine,
bravo
Nad

JEPC (1305) 2007-06-03 17:46

Ol� Jos�,
Bela composi玢o onde o contraste e o equil韇rio entre as formas e texturas s鉶 um dos pontos mais fortes!Isto para n鉶 citar o c閡...
Abra鏾s,
Jo鉶 Eduardo

riclopes (35577) 2007-06-04 1:44

Bom dia Jos�, � uma das coisas que eu gosto nesta regi鉶 e fico sempre surpreendido com estas forma珲es rochosas que nascem do ch鉶 como cogumelos. At� se v阤m 醨vores que parecem nascer mesmo em cima das rochas, o que � um espanto. O c閡 est� lind韘simo nesta e a tua t閏nica de sobreposi玢o de imagens � de facto muito eficiente dando-nos uma leitura porreira deste 1� plano, que de outra forma ficaria demasiado escuro. 纒 vezes vou � procura dos cromeleches ou dolmens e fico sempre com d鷙idas se algumas destas rochas o s鉶. Isto porque um dos que encontr醡os e que estava indicado na estrada, tinha menos interesse que este conjunto que nos mostras.
Um abra鏾,
ricardo

danos (110407) 2007-06-04 3:28

Ola Jose,
a very nice perspective view of these Megalithism with the composed of two merged shots.A well balanced shot with a formidable sky.Your point of view gives such fine lines to your composition with this wonderful view of the background.Excellent the light and the colours.The light that falls above makes your capture most luminous.Well done.
Regards,Danos

PS Where can i find the Photomatix HDR methond,? is very good

UnTrained (0) 2007-06-04 5:19

Ol� Jos�,
very nice view, the tree fits excellent here. Fine textures and contrasts.
Lieben Gruss, Ulf

lucasgalodoido (27698) 2007-06-04 12:05

Ol� Jos�!
Bonita essa forma玢o de pedras, mas gostei mais da 醨vore seca, comp鮡 bem a imagem!
Parab閚s e Abra鏾!

jmcl (14535) 2007-06-05 0:37

Hi Jose,

The stones are great .. the bit of man made stone fence with the bit of wood framing next to that sharp tree is my real focus .. I think I want the foreground brighter .. but I also think that might completely destroy this wonderful mood .. by the way .. stunningly beautiful sky.

salvator (19110) 2007-06-05 4:30

Hi Jose,
Very nice composition and superb sharpness, especially on the tree. The color of the sky is superb and the clouds extraordinary. Best regards. Salvator.

sufi (9588) 2007-06-05 10:37

Merhaba Jos�, my friend...
The light and the ambience are perfect... Also perfect point of view and depth... The colors, the clarity and the sharpness are wonderful... Especially the form of the tree is greath... The sky and the texture of the stones are wonderful too...
TFS...
Stay well..
Salim.

JCG (35153) 2007-06-05 11:52

Hi Jos�,

A marvellous natural landscape with the mysterious atmosphere which we can also find in Brittany. Pretty composition with this tree in back-light. The lights are very pleasant and this splendid sky gives much relief to the unit. The complementary photographs are also interesting and well composed. Cheer Jos�.

With all my friendships and a good evening,

Jean-Charles

batalay (41261) 2007-06-05 12:54

Hello Jos�,

An altogether sublime view of the megaliths and the lone oak tree. The composition is excellent, of course. The way you have merged the lighter and darker versions of the two photos is creative and makes a revealing shot. The blue of the sky and the silhouettes of the rocks is effective as a backdrop, and yet one can see enough of the greenery in the foreground to understand the topography fully.

xuaxo (6854) 2007-06-05 15:46

Ol� Jos�
As rochas s鉶 interessantes (fazem-me lembrar algumas das Beiras), mas gosto muito de ver o recorte da 醨vore contra o c閡 brilhante.
F

japiey (10163) 2007-06-05 15:49

Hi JOSE.

Reaching out to your image, am feeling the sensitiveness of the BLUE and GREEN again....

FANTASTIC.
MARVELLOUS.

jean paul

dmarizz (2796) 2007-06-06 11:51

Hi Jose,
at a first glance I was a bit surprised by the extreme difference in exposure between the sky and the ground. But after a while I realized that the branches of the tree create a pleasant link between the two halves of the composition and their strong difference in lighting creates an effective 3D-effect.
Congratulations, it is not a trivial picture.

Bluejeans (64251) 2007-06-06 13:57

Ola Jose bonita foto esta de dolmens ja vi alguns mas nunca tirei fotos deles , ando sem tempo , a tua foto ficou muito bonita gostei dos tres planos , gostei muito do ceu , bom ponto de vista
Um abra鏾 amigo

Charo (51290) 2007-06-07 6:54

Hola Jose,
Bella foto que a pesar de las sombras nos permite distinguir claramente cada elemento que la componen y adem醩 hacen resaltar ese precioso cielo.
Muy buena composici髇.
Saludos
Charo

Cara (2059) 2007-06-08 9:06

Ol� Jos�,
Muito bonita esta foto, gosto especialmente das cores do c閡 e da silhoueta da 醰ore. Penso que beneficiaria se tivesses incluido o resto do port鉶 (apesar de a 醨vore ficar 1 pouco mais central...)
Bom trabalho,
Daniel

wishlist (4133) 2007-06-15 4:15

Hi Jose,
stunning shot here!! I'm amazed by the quality of it..very well balanced, excellent exposure and light control..details are simply beautiful as well as the pov and dof..terrific shot indeed!!
TFS
Igor

ekinokswest (2994) 2007-06-20 19:07

Jose

the POV is great. it must not ever be easy to face such shaped big rocks . I am impressed by the clouds shape however it could have been better if there was a bit of sunlight

fkokol (1636) 2007-06-28 13:19

Great composition with great colours and sharpness. Wonderful sky. greetings,
figen

quillo (11858) 2007-10-03 7:11

Hola Jos�:

Desde luego una foto bonita de verdad. Con unos preciosos colores y muy bien logrados. Felicidades por este buen encuadre y este cielo tan nuestro.

Um abra鏾.

-

noborders (1010) 2007-11-11 10:41

These stone monuments blend very well into the scenery here, the tree adds also something mysterious... TFS,
Bravo,
Cath.

jusninasirun (17529) 2007-11-23 8:27

Hello Jose,
I like this low angle shot with some clever inclusion of interesting subjects in brilliant clarity. The rocks gave unique features against beautiful white cotton like clouds in the blue sky. Well done with the notes too.
Regards,
Jusni

paura (25802) 2008-01-15 14:04

Jos�,
T� uma beleza essa fotografia com ajustes de fotometria muito bons e uma composi玢o art韘tica de primeira. Voc� est� mestre em HRD.

Abra鏾

Paulo

Photo Information

Copyright: Jose Pires (stego) (24132)
Genre: 风景
Medium: 彩色
Date Taken: 2007-03-25
Categories: 自然
Camera: Olympus E-300, 14-45 mm Zuiko Digital, Polariser
Exposure: f/16, 1/6 seconds
Details: Tripod: Yes
More Photo Info: view
Map: view
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Theme(s): !Norte Alentejano, clouds, !Megalithic monuments, !Top rated ex, !Stitched images [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2007-06-03 7:52