Basilica of San Vicente, a photo from Avila, Castilla y Leon

Photographer's Note

One of the topics of the conversations that I had with RicLopes, AiresSantos and Keribar in the opening of Keribar's exhibition in Lisboa was shooting blue hours. Towards the end of the event, the light in the cloister where the exhibition stands was gorgeous and Izzet had his tripod mounted to capture some blue hour shots that looked great in the camera display. I am curious about them and I hope he will post at least one of them.

One of the things that we discussed was what time was better for shooting blue hours. I was the only one that was not sure, while they all agreed that the later, the better, as long as there is some blue, even if it is apparently too dark.

When I was choosing what to post today I stumbled upon this one and I thought that after all maybe it illustrates well how they are right, as it was shot about two hours after sunset and the sky has still plenty of blue. To be honest, the original is much darker, but all was needed to put it like you see here was adjusting the levels selectively; if that adjustment was too drastic, I would have much trouble avoiding a halo around the roof, walls, and even more on the tree.

About the church: This mostly Romanesque, with some parts Gothic, basilica is described by some as one of the most outstanding medieval monuments of Spain. Its construction started in the late 11th century or maybe early in the next century and wasn't finished for 200 years. Its dimensions rival many cathedrals. According to the legend, which I believe is consistent with some archaeological studies, the actual basilica stands on the same place of an older basilica, probably from the Visigothic period or maybe earlier.

The complete name of the church is "Basilica de los Santos M醨tires Vicente, Sabina y Cristeta". Those saints were early Christians that lived or were just murdered or just buried in Avila. These histories of the Christian iconography are too confusing to me... I always thought that Saint Vincent was buried in Lisboa. Then, in Avila I heard about his tomb having been once in this basilica or its older predecessor. Finally, in Valencia, I saw a mummified arm of that same saint. Supposedly he was buried in Valencia until the Muslim occupation and the body miraculously appeared in Lisboa carried by a boat crewed only by crows (that boat appears on the Lisboa flag). I wonder how the arm made its way to Valencia, something that is even more puzzling considering that it happened as early as 1970.

While I was researching for writing this note I found something that may interest those of you more involved with Medieval Architecture: a PhD thesis on the basilica from Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, by Pedro Feduchi Canosa. I didn't care for finding if that thesis gives some light on the mystery of the burials of Saint Vincent.

WS: Photo of the main door, which lies below the big arch behind the lighter tree. I present two versions of the same shot. #1 is the the original, uncropped image; in #2 I tried to correct the perspective.

Other TE posts of this church: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Link to all my posts of Avila: *

Location (latitude, longitude): 40.657828,-4.696832

indoka28, Hellas, danos, gracious, Atousa, Jonas_Schmitt, Docarmo, ElAprendiz, ellelloo, adores, trekks, jusninasirun, Didi, tober, Charo, josepmarin, jaywalker, AiresSantos, paura, JCG, xuaxo, Benedict, Bluejeans has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

indoka28 (5261) 2008-09-26 21:19

Hello Jose,

this is just wonderful...the exposure couldnt have been better here..! the blue hopur is perfectly captured and the basilica is looking just gorgeous..!!absolutely great shot..!!

Regards,
Indro

Hellas (7123) 2008-09-26 21:55

Hi Jose,
you framed and managed the light very well! The background is perfect with the deep blue sky. The photo is exposed properly and has some texture in the shadows! Finally the photograph was made with care in the process.

Many thanks for sharing.
Best wishes,
Athanasios.

aadilj (18102) 2008-09-26 22:16

The lights and stones are so well captured in this magnificently compsoed image. i love the colours and the perspective that makes this place bigger than life. Well done Jose sure a lovely image

izmirli (3989) 2008-09-26 22:59

merhaba dear jose
wonderful architecture picture and interesting basilica.wonderful light and colours.
well done.best regards.
g黵kan ak鏰kır.

danos (110407) 2008-09-26 23:10

Good morning Jose,
nice the view of Basilica of San Vicente,that contrast perfect in the blue hour sky.I like the details,especially in the right part of the scene,that bring out of the Basilica, but i think that the image would be better with less time exposure.Unfortunately i could not enter in the site that upload with the Keribar's exhibition,it just for information of course.

Have a nice weekend,Danos

berek (50518) 2008-09-26 23:41

Hi Jose,
nice blue time picture with interesting architecture. I like your point of view. have a nice weekend.
Burak

gracious (20025) 2008-09-27 2:24

Ola Jose,
Thank you so much for this excellent image of the church well captured in the best time of blue hour!
the lighting is so beautiful with the sharpness, good colour and details on the church!
well done
take care and sincere regards
tony

UnTrained (0) 2008-09-27 3:57

Ol� Jos�,
I like the light and colour contrast of the warmer yellow to the cold blue with its changes in brightness and the stairs we get by this view. The good light management helps to view a lot of architectural details and the framing is a good choice.
Lieben Gruss, Ulf

Atousa (7131) 2008-09-27 6:07

Salam Jose,

The colours are really fascinating here! your chosen pov shows it magnificent ..very good light management too..thank you
Best regards, Atousa

Jonas_Schmitt (3074) 2008-09-27 8:31

Hello Jose!
A really nice blue hour picture of this wonderful church which was well illuminated. I like the way you composed the image a lot and you chose an excellent point of view. The quality and sharpness is amazing and the contrast between yellow and blue is great.
Thanks for the WS picture and for the long note. Well done!
Jonas

mark_mk (266) 2008-09-27 10:41

Hi Jose,
I love such blue hour shots and yours is wonderful! That illuminated basillica stands out well in front of this deep blue. Great sharpness and POV. Again absoluetly great work my friend, thanks for sharing!

Take care
Mark

Greg1949 (9011) 2008-09-27 12:04

I like the corrected workshop as well as this one. Here the lighting has made it something magical. I would think that with the yellow light of the open flames of old these walls must have looked rich, maybe even as gold, in the evenings. Your shot harkens back to that day with the wonderful light management you show us here. Great capture.

Greg

colibriav (2208) 2008-09-27 12:26

Hola:
Bonita imagen de la iglesia de San Vicente. ahora tiene un problema esta iglesia, el gran olmo que hay junto a la iglesia se esta secando (esta pr醕ticamente seco) si tienes oportunidad y todav韆 tienes fotos de la misma con el gran 醨bol, publicarlas en su honor.
Un saludo:
Pablo

omerozden (1259) 2008-09-27 14:33

hello jose,
the light on the church is very nice also the color of the church has made a natural contrast with the color of the sky.
tfs,
regards

zeca (19762) 2008-09-27 15:37

Oi Jos�!
A combina玢o de ouro sobre o azul � explosiva e oferece lindos contrastes, cada cor valorizando a outra. A arquitetura ganha com isso, muito bonita!
Abra鏾,
Zeca

ElAprendiz (30) 2008-09-27 17:56

Hola mi amigo Jose:

Tanto 閟ta, como las fotos del WS est醤 bien establecidas. Debo de considerar que 閟ta fue tomada en la ya famosa "hora azul", con gran esplendor.

Para mi gusto, me hubiera gustado observar la totalidad del arco y darle menos espacio al cielo, pero las formas y los detalles que adornan la fachada arquitect髇ica, son de considerable belleza. Gran definici髇, nitidez y bella tonalidad.

Saludos desde Colombia, John

pboehringer (770) 2008-09-27 18:05

Jose,
so you met Izzet. How funny now we met already two different TE members but never had the opportunity to meet each other.
After getting the lecture in blue hour you translated it into praxis. The contrast between the yeloow light exposed walls against the deep blue sky provides a great contrast. Not quite sure about the frame. did you consider a vertical shot to include form the very bottom to the top?
Peter

Docarmo (9767) 2008-09-27 18:39

Ol� Jos�,
Est� deslumbrante esta "hora azul". O controle de luz est� estupendo, maravilhoso! O POV de baixo para cima est� excelente. Por falar nisso, j� tinha vindo aqui ver tua foto e estava a aguardar o outro WS que havias anunciado. Devo dizer-te que chego quase a preferir o #1, sem a corre玢o da perspectiva - neste caso, achei o efeito muito bonito, n鉶 parece deforma玢o, temos a n韙ida impress鉶 de que olhamos de baixo para cima. O #2 ficou did醫ico, v�-se a boa t閏nica de corrigir a perspectiva, embora tenhamos perdido os arcos laterais.
Excelente conjunto de imagens!
Obrigada pela nota,
MCV

ifanik (21679) 2008-09-27 23:34

Hello my friend
Wonderfull light and very beautiful colours
Amazing shot
Well done
Best regards
Nick

ellelloo (6572) 2008-09-28 3:22

Hello Jos�,
A wonderful blue hour capture of this beautiful church. Very good control of light. The colours, clarity and sharpness are excellent. All the textures of the walls are nicely visible. Good photojob! And what an interesting and comprehensive note with lots of additional links! A great TE contribution. Thanks!
Greetings,
Lasse

zeynepe (0) 2008-09-28 12:39

Ola Jose,
I like the blue hour in the morning just before the sunrise...
The Architectural details looks splendid under the dark blue sky.The yellow lighting also looks nice coming down from the top as well.
Congrats and have a nice Sunday
Zeynep

adores (46979) 2008-09-28 17:09

Ol� Jos�!
Gosto da composi玢o, com o ramo da 醨vore e a igreja. O momento escolhido tamb閙 foi bom, o c閡 azul est� 髉timo. J� vi que levaste o trip� contigo, 鄐 vezes d� um certo jeito.Eu raramente o levo para n鉶 ter que carregar com ele.

trekks (14348) 2008-09-28 18:10

hi Jose

Wow, very good clarity and contrast, tone in this church architecture view and nicely captured with slow shutter. The shades of color tone on the church is impressive.

A nice blue hour moment to shoot this view.

tfs, bill

jusninasirun (17529) 2008-09-28 19:01

Hello Jos�. Perfectly exposed architecture with beautiful glow exposing fine details of the architecture. The intricacy of the design at the top is amazing against the spotless blue sky. I like this close framing of the architecture and TFS. Best regards. Jusni

ps: Dinner will be fine and I'll be waiting for you here in Malaysia :-). Thanks for the kind words on my 200th post

Didi (61591) 2008-09-29 5:08

Salut mon cher Jos�
La lumi鑢e est bien r閜artie et pas de surex en vue.
L'achitecture contraste bien avec ce ciel bleu.
L'閏lairage au sodium est correct malgr� que ce ne soit pas simple pour 閝uilibrer la balance des blancs; car je vois en ce moment beucoup de nocturnes avec un peu trop de rouge.
Amiti閟.

tober (8797) 2008-09-29 7:37

Hi Jose, despite its simpilicty in terms of composition, this one of the softest blue hour photos I have ever seen in TE. Excellent contrast of the church with the sky and wonderful use of light. The existence of the two trees adds richness to your compo.

With my best regards,

Tolga

Charo (51290) 2008-09-29 9:29

Hola Jose,
Has conseguido una presentaci髇 preciosa de esta iglesia. La luz es magn韋ica y el color de la iglesia contrasta muy bien con ese cielo a punto de oscurecer. Buen trabajo amigo.
Abra鏾s,
Charo

josepmarin (59385) 2008-09-29 10:41

Ol� Jos�,
me gustan las tomas a la hora azul, y la tuya est� muy bien realizada. Has contrastado con elegancia y una luminosidad especial la iluminaci髇 artificial de la iglesia y el cielo, donde los tonos dorados juegan con los azules en una imagen muy equilibrada.
El toque verde de los 醨boles rompe esta danza crom醫ica y a馻de un nuevo elemento muy atractivo a la composici髇.
Excelente foto, amigo m韔.
Un abrazo,
Josep

jaywalker (16105) 2008-09-29 13:50

Hi Jose, A fabulous night shot & the blue hour looks magnificent, you have captures this wonderful architecture in such great light, TFS, kind regards Wilson.

paura (25802) 2008-09-30 16:28

Josep,
Captada com extrema compet阯cia e aproveitando a contento a blue hour. A bas韑ica � linda.

Abra鏾

Paulo

AiresSantos (56155) 2008-10-01 0:27

Ola Jose
Magnifica esta foto ! As cores estao excelentes e a luz muitissimo bem controlada.
Sem duvida uma foto na 'blue hour' ao melhor nivel.
Parabens
Aires

kiks (12805) 2008-10-01 6:50

Perfect 'blue hour' photo. The softness cretaed by the yellow and the architecture lines is wonderful. Good choice of POV and compositiom including the trees.
Best regards
KIKs

JCG (35153) 2008-10-01 13:20

Re bonsoir Jos�,

J'aime beaucoup cette photo, la lumi鑢e douce qui 閏laire l'architecture donne un tr鑣 beau contraste avec ce ciel d'un joli bleu. C'est tr鑣 agr閍ble � d閠ailler. Le point de vue est bien choisie et donne de l'ampleur � cette basilique. J'appr閏ie beaucoup le WS, ce porche est une v閞itable oeuvre d'art, un travail plein de finesse. Belles photos et merci pour la note instructive et compl鑤e.

Avec toutes mes amiti閟 et � bient魌,

Jean-Charles

danyy (0) 2008-10-01 23:31

Bonjour,
il donne bien cet 閐ifice � l'heure bleue.
Les lumi鑢es qui l'habillent sont magnifiques, sa teinte aussi.
Une grande r閡ssite dans cette photo toute simple.
Bien � toi.
Daniel

xuaxo (6854) 2008-10-04 15:28

Ol� Jos�,
Curto e breve, porque estou sem tempo: n鉶 gosto muito desta foto devido aos diferentes tons da bas韑ica. Tamb閙 noto umas manchas no c閡.
Um abra鏾,
F.
..-. .-. .- -. -.-. .. ... -.-. ---

Benedict (7076) 2008-10-05 20:34

the small church from the place where i was born is also named after San Vicente.

i like the color contrast of blue (sky) and the golden church's exterior. at the same time, the nuetrals which range from light to dark are so well intensified, and the composition is superb!
Benedict

Bluejeans (64251) 2008-10-15 5:51

Oi amigo ,
Essa tua lente tem um 鈔gulo de vis鉶 magnifico , gostei muito desta tua foto nocturna os detalhes das paredes ficaram muito bons a ilumina玢o da igreja e fant醩tica , bom uso do trip� ,parab閚s!!
Um abra鏾 Gon鏰lo