Cracovia

Photographer's Note

The St. Andrew Church was built between 1079-1098 and its present architectural facade is from the XII and XIII century. It used to be of importance in the defense of the city. Built in Romanesque style it is one of the oldest buildings in Kraków. From 1320 it was owned by the Order of St. Klara. The Baroque interiors (decorations by Baltazar Fontana, paintings by Karol Dankwart and gilded altars) are in marked contrast to the cruder defensive facade of the church.
(Source: The Visitor Malopolska)

Krakow – Brief history

• In the 11th century, Krakow was the main seat of the first Polish kings of the Piast dynasty.
• In 1241, after a Tartar raid, the settlements situated around the Wawel Hill were greatly destroyed.
• In 1320, the first crowning ceremony of Ladislaus the Short in the Wawel Cathedral strengthened the rank of the capital city of Krakow.
• In 1333, under the last king from the Piast dynasty, Casimir the Great (1333-1370), the city became a rightful member of the Western culture.
• 1364 - The establishment of a university, renovated under King Ladislaus Jagiello (1386- 1434), the first King from the Jagiellon family. It was to become one of the most important European university schools. Many eminent scientists received their education here, including the great Nicolaus Copernicus.
• At the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, the Jagellions forged the first dynastic power in Central Europe, and Krakow became the leading city in this part of the European continent. The Renaissance culture inspired by Italian, German and Dutch centers was in full bloom. After the death of King Sigismund Augustus, the last ruler of the Jagellion family, the age of bloom and development of Krakow came to an end.
• 1569 - Poland united with Lithuania. Krakow became situated on the periphery of the large country and gradually lost its political importance in favour of the centrally situated Warsaw.
• 1609 - King Sigismund III (1587-1632), the first Polish king of the Vasa dynasty, decided to transfer his seat to Warsaw.
• 1655 - Krakow was captured for the first time and plundered by the Swedes.
• 1795 - After the fall of Poland, Krakow became part of the Austrian empire.
• 1918 - Poland regained it's independence and the city slowly began to be restored to life. This was later interrupted by the Second World War when the captive city played an inglorious role of the capital of German-occupied Poland. Krakow beccame a place of martyrology of the Jewish nation; Jews were first confined to the Krakow ghetto, later taken to the Plaszow camp, wherefrom they were taken away to Auschwitz.
• After the war, significant sociological changes took place in Krakow, chiefly related to the uncontrolled development of industry. In 1978, Krakow was recognized by the UNESCO as a monument of world culture and is now a place where international cultural events are organized periodically.

snunney, kermit350, isabela_sor, delic, jlbrthnn, dip, Deepforest, chrisnet, salvator, jjcordier, etlerl, grigand, Angshu, coco ha contrassegnato questa nota come utile

Critiques | Translate

snunney (130967) 2007-05-31 5:37

Hello George,
A very good night shot of this imposing church with its line of statues. The lines in the pavement provide good lead lines to take the eye into the picture. Very good detail.

kermit350 (9016) 2007-05-31 5:54

Hello George, I like much the contrast of blue harms of the sky with luminous orange of urban lighting, I find that this photograph is well ended, it is true that to take this photograph of night is one more and really reinforces what has of beautiful in the building, I find that the balance of the colors here to the image underlines and emphasizes well these buildings, the moon is more for the aesthetic beauty of the image, From Cracow this city with suffered and to see his beauty of it (particularly taken under this angle) one does not imagine the prices to pay his old city of the east populate it is only justice which it can benefit from peace and sincerely enjoy such a beautiful city populated also rich monument......................Hello George,
j'aime beaucoup le contraste du bleu nuit du ciel avec l’orange lumineux de l’éclairage urbain,
je trouve que cette photo est bien aboutie, c'est vrai que prendre cette photo de nuit est un plus et renforce vraiment ce qui a de beau dans l'édifice, je trouve que la balance des couleurs ici à l’image souligne et met bien en valeur ces bâtiments, la lune est un plus pour la beauté esthétique de l’image,
Depuis Cracovie cette ville à souffert et à en voir sa beauté (particulièrement prise sous cet angle) l’on imagine pas les prix payer de ses ancienne ville de l’est pour mériter leur indépendance, et pour le peuple il n’est que justice qu’il peuvent profiter de la paix et jouir d’une aussi belle ville peuplée d’aussi riche monument bien amicalement

isabela_sor (47748) 2007-05-31 5:55

Impressive place....and POV! It looks like all these statues are walking with every passer-by!!!Great night shot,George
All the best
Isabela

agbonavita (0) 2007-05-31 6:21

Magical lights here my friend. The moon over there complete very well the title giving a romantic mood too the atmosphere. I like the stuate on the left making a "eye way" to the church.

Nice work.
Andre

jhm (211738) 2007-05-31 7:38

Hello George,

I know perfectly that night picture are very difficult, I see not a ISO or F in your note writing, than it's very difficult for help.
I find your picture very well and absolutely very lovely, the gold colours care for a pleasant picturen, perspective and depth are superb.

Best regards,
John.

delic (6735) 2007-05-31 9:58

Hello George,
This sort of dark hour photography with straight lines always pushes the limits of the camera and lens in wide-angle compositions. I think you have done well keeping the church vertical while letting go with the statues. The bent left edge is not bothersome, and in fact quite creative. This Krakow series made me nostalgic. I spent a summer in Poland during the time of Solidarnosc in 1987. The time in Krakow was memorable for many reasons.
Best wishes,
Hakan

jlbrthnn (76043) 2007-05-31 10:25

Hello George,
This a good photo by night, well framed with only little distortion on left. Good note about the church and Krakow. Bravo.
Cordially
Joël

xavshot (69835) 2007-05-31 13:45

Bonsoir George
toujours cette belle lumière sur cette série nocturne. Ici, j'apprécie en plus la succession des statues qui donne une belle perspective à l'ensemble. Bravo
Xavier

hay_kes (31439) 2007-05-31 16:13

Hi George,
What an amazing capture. Good night composition. I like your beautiful perspective. Colours are excelent. Well done.TFS.
Best regards.

hAyAti

trebuA (0) 2007-05-31 16:53

Hi George,
Everything is already said about your picture and of course it's a beautyfull night shot but personally I do not appreciate distortions. I wonder why people doesn't take a few shots and stich them together instead of using a wide angle setting. I presume you don't like post processing, so I hope you don't mind a workshop with some adjustments of the perspective.
Regards,
Guy

[workshop] [compare]

izmirli (3989) 2007-05-31 17:00

merhaba my friend george
beutiful architecture picture.beautiful nifht and lights.well done.
friendly greetings from Istanbul.
gürkan akçakır.

danyy (0) 2007-05-31 17:32

Hello George,
une ambiance norturne très bien capturée avec tout ce qui va avec, un peu heure bleue, de lumières qui renforcent toutes les couleurs.
Une ambiance très calme.

Best regards.
Daniel.

dip (21408) 2007-05-31 18:05

Hi George,
great night shot,the colors and lighting are very good,
I like the POV,and your note is also very good.
Regards.
Dimitris.

Deepforest (9260) 2007-06-01 2:05

Hi George,
very nice night shot, amazing atmosphere... perfect composition with the moon and splendid navy-blue tone of the sky... I like this street, but it is usually very crowded during the day :o) Great shot!
Best regards,
Andrzej

siolaw (38294) 2007-06-01 4:26

Hi George
Fine night shot with orange and blue dominant colors contrasting well, good POV and framing with statues line on the left side... nice sharpness of detqils of this fine architecture.
LAurent

ktanska (45126) 2007-06-01 6:34

Hi George,
Krakow seems to offer endless photo opportunities. Row of statues is special. Egain an excellent combination of street lights and darkening sky, the full moon as a bonus this time.
Kari

ben4321 (9875) 2007-06-01 8:30

The floodlit buildings look great set against the dark blue of the evening sky, and I like how you composed this. The line of statues really draw the eye into the frame, and add a lot to the interest of the image.
The sky is a bit noisy, but not enough to have too much of a negative impact. I'm assuming that you sharpen your images. Try not to apply sharpnening to areas of smooth tone such as skies, your images will be a lot less noisy in those areas as a result.

Cheers,
Ben

chrisnet (23062) 2007-06-01 8:51

Hello George,
Good night shot with a peaceful atmosphere, good management of the light, the statues in the foreground are amazing.
Regards
Christian

Graal (103040) 2007-06-01 11:30

Jó napot George,
another interesting photo taken by night in Krakow. Pleasant colours and good informations in note. Good work.
Gr., Aleksander

John_F_Kennedy (43797) 2007-06-01 11:56

I like the perspective. This is an excellent night shot. I lkie it.
Best wishes,
Achim

leo61 (0) 2007-06-01 12:45

Hi George!
Good nightshot,well composed with the moon nearby the top of the churchtower.Your image has great colors,good contrast and I like the row of statues at the left side.
Regards,nice weekend,
Leo

salvator (19110) 2007-06-01 16:04

Hi George,
Superb use of light, superb details. The composition is very nice. I wish you a great weekend, best regards. Salvator.

jjcordier (79299) 2007-06-02 1:21

George
Ta série sur l'église de Cracovie est magnifique. Les photos de nuit, prises juste au bon moment, sont superbes toutes les deux et l'intérieur de l'église très intéressant et de très belle qualité. Je me rends compte que j'ai laissé passé beaucoup de tes très belles images (....il y a tellement de photos chaque jour...) et pour éviter ceci à l'avenir je vais t'inclure dans mes photographes favoris.
Amicalement
JJ

Silvio1953 (223141) 2007-06-02 5:35

Hi George, splendid nocturn shoot fom krakow, wonderful perspective, beautiful light and colors, very well done, have a great week end, ciao Silvio

etlerl (603) 2007-06-02 7:27

Szia Gyuri!
A krakkói sorozat eddigi legszebb darabja. Nagyon jó az időzítés, nem túl sötét az ég, a színek jól tudnak érvényesülni. A Hold belekomponálása különösen jó ötlet volt.
Üdvözlettel,
etlerl

clnaef (6289) 2007-06-02 12:42

Bonjour,
Belle maîtrise de la luminosité
Bonne journée.
clnaef

capthaddock (28790) 2007-06-04 18:04

Hi George - the moon makes a perfect complement to the night sky, I also like the line of sculptures at the left side.

Angshu (56760) 2007-06-05 23:50

Dear George
Very good architecture shot..like how you framed it with the stautues standing tall on the left overlooking the square. Perfect handling of exposure here. I don't know if there's a way to correct the lens distortion on the left, but nonetheless, this is a very good photo
Regards
Angshu

polter (7239) 2007-06-17 2:48

Hi George.
Lovely, romantic shot of good old st Andrew church at the end of the court in front of St. Peter and Paul. Nicely captured perspective of the fence with all these saints up there. Warm, silent and peaceful scene. Great. Greetings T.
PS thanks for your visiit at my gallery - the boy with the deskroll is actually sitting at the curb just in front of st. Andrew :))

Serabi (123) 2008-01-29 9:22

I love Krakow - and I love your capture here. Very sharp picture. Taken during the day, this photo would not have had as much impact. Great job!

Bermigan (120) 2008-01-29 10:05

Hola
Goog exposure and perfect composition. The light is wonderfull and the details of the moon on the sky very romantic.
A great shhot!!!

coco (30439) 2008-01-30 13:48

Hi George.

I love your composition and I think you made a good composition with a good POV too.
The worst, some areas are burnt or overexposed.

Regards.

Burberry1 (6041) 2008-02-07 1:03

U seem to have a great time in Kraków George. Your photos tell us everything!!!
Great work, kind regards, Agnieszka