Byzantine Dome, a photo from Istanbul, Marmara

Photographer's Note

It is mostly the dome which makes Hagia Sophia world famous. At the center of the square in the centre of Hagia Sophia was a square. The dome sits at the centre of the structure, over one hundred and eighty feet above the square. It is between two half domes which together equals to the diameters of the dome. The dome is built by brick and mortar; it is 31 meters (102 feet) in diameter and is 55 meters (182 feet) high. Because of the several repairs and constructions in time, the dome lost its circular shape and the diameter became 30.86 meters (101 feet 3 in).

At over a hundred feet across it was by far the largest dome ever constructed at the time and often compared to the vault of heaven itself. The dome was supported by four huge columns at the corners of the square. At the east and west ends of the rectangle the roofs consisted of two half domes which leaned in toward the main dome giving it support. In turn, at each end of the building other smaller half domes leaned in on the sides of the east and west half domes holding them in position. At the north and south exteriors of the central square of the building were two huge, rounded arches that helped support the roof.

You will also notice in the frame the huge circular medallion with fine Arabic calligraphy. There are eight such wooden and leather medallions (7.5 m = 24.6 feet diameter) with Arabic inscriptions on them, these are names belonging to, starting from the right of the apse going to the left: Allah and Muhammad (over the apse); the first four Caliphs Abu Bakr, Omar, Osman and Ali (at the four corners of the dome); and the two grandchildren of the Prophet, Hasan and Husayn (in the nave).

jjcordier, papagolf21, besnard, besnard, pierrefonds, timecapturer, danos, PaulVDV, pili51, COSTANTINO, abmdsudi, pajaran, dip, Didi, chrislo, ChrisJ, adores ha contrassegnato questa nota come utile

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jjcordier (79299) 2014-06-16 23:58

Angshuman
Excellente photo intérieure du dôme d' Hagia Sophia. Très bon cadrage, belles couleurs et exposition très réussie.
Amicalement
JJ

papagolf21 (152599) 2014-06-17 0:08

Bonjour, cher Angshu,
Magnifique présentation de ce dôme. Un réel plaisir à contempler et à découvrir.
Très bonne mise en image pour recréer l'ambiance générale.
Très bonne journée.
Amitiés.
Philippe

dkmurphys (78000) 2014-06-17 0:10

Hello,
Spectacular interior, a true impressive artwork there. Well taken, fine presentation also.
Have a good day.

Daniel

besnard (59196) 2014-06-17 0:35

Bonjour Angshuman
Une bonne présentation de ce superbe dôme lumineux. Tu as su gérer la lumière de belle manière.
Amitiés et bonne journée.
Nicole

miumiu (6117) 2014-06-17 3:50

Hi Angshu,

Absolutely stunning architecture, colours and lights.
The POV is superb too.
Simple wonderful!

Best wishes
Agnes

pierrefonds (103567) 2014-06-17 4:17

Hi Angshuman,

The height of the dome is giving perspective to the composition. The point of view is showing the details and the colours of the dome. The surrounding light is enhancing the colors. Have a nice day.

Pierre

timecapturer (49288) 2014-06-17 4:44

Hi Angshuman
an amazing place this and captured so beautifully here. The lights and detailing are just exquisite.

Regards - B.

lousat (129979) 2014-06-17 5:08

Hi Anghsu,spectacular capture from this famous mosque of Istanbul,absolutely great the choice of point of view to create this original perspective far from the usual simmetries,no comment about detail and colors always perfect.Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

danos (110407) 2014-06-17 5:14

Hi Angshu,
great the interior light and colour management of Hagia Sophia,with the domes to are presented perfect in the frame.I like the yellowish tints of the light as the excellent presentation of the image.

Regards,Danos

Sergiom (117241) 2014-06-17 5:38

Bonjour Angshuman

Quelle belle photo d'intérieur. La contre plongée nous offre une superbe perspective sur ce plafond remarquable. J'aime beaucoup le lustre à l'avant plan qui donne une perspective extraordinaire.

Amicalement

Serge

Nicou (193806) 2014-06-17 8:30

Hello

quelle vue de ce luste il est immense et cette lumirèe quei entre par le petites fenêtre au sommet quelle compo et iamge sueprbe.
Bravo et amitié
Nciou

PaulVDV (54865) 2014-06-17 12:25

Hello Angshu,
Your view upwards shows us the fascinating architecture very well, in lots of golden tones with some bluish to create a contrast.
What a wonderful interior!
Very well composed.
Best regards, Paul

COSTANTINO (104191) 2014-06-17 21:58

Good morning dear friend
thanks for sharing with us this valuable photo
this dome is amazing and as you wrote
tis dome made Hgia Sophia world famous
but the history too
truw impressive artwork here
your notes are really useful
pov is superb spectacular interior
have a n ice time
Costantino

abmdsudi (88573) 2014-06-18 5:57

Namaste Angshu
Superb interior capture, Hagia Sophia, has been a cathedral, a mosque, and now a museum, you've managed to capture a lot of detail of the highly delicate work of art there with warm rich colours and golden tones. Very dramatic view in fact and very carefully exposed - not the easiest subject to capture- to optimum clarity which is so finely balanced between the warm internal illumination and the light coming through. A pleasing grand architectural and a cracking shot that you have done so well. Superb work, Congrats
Best regards

pajaran (102662) 2014-06-18 9:01

Dobro vece.
Interesantan tekst o kupoli sa opisom, lep pogled i trenutak ...
Dobar trenutak snimka i kontrast, lepo pokazana kupola i detalji, lepe boje.
Lep enterijer.
Prijatno vece i mirna noc, sve najbolje.
Paja.

Good evening.
An interesting article on the dome with a description, a nice view and a moment ...
Good time recording and contrast nicely demonstrated dome and details, beautiful colors.
Nice interior.
Good evening and peaceful night, all the best.
Paja.

Fis2 (155649) 2014-06-18 9:08

Witaj Angshu!
Beautiful interior.
Wonderful colors.
I like light.
Photo has climate.
Werll done.
Good night
Krzysztof

siudzi (34141) 2014-06-18 12:42

Hi Angshuman,
Like you capture a lot! Smartly selected and captured details under lovely lighting and warm tonality. Really eye-catching result was achieved here. Well done.

Best,
Gosia

dip (23892) 2014-06-19 2:38

Hi Angshu,
beautiful interior shot of Hagia Sophia,very good lighting,nice vivid colours,
well done!
Dimitris.

npecanhuk (79329) 2014-06-19 8:35

Hi Angshuman!
Wonderful interior details!
Very beautiful and attractive picture too!
Special regards to the exposure, colors, chosen pov and composition!
TFS - congrats,
Cheers,
Neyvan

Didi (61589) 2014-06-20 8:52

Salam Angshu
Well done for the frame of the inside mosque
Very good lights control But Not simple because their is
a restoration project
Kind regards

chrislo (4097) 2014-06-23 14:20

Hello Angshu,
Gorgeous place wonderfully captured with interesting POV and warm golden tones. The light is beautiful, and reveals all of the detail from the incredible artwork and iconography inside. The contrasting colours create a fascinating atmosphere. Very good exposure, too. Just a pity the scaffolding is still standing on one side of the mosque.
A superb shot, anyway.
Kind regards,
Christian

emka (152228) 2014-06-24 11:54

Hi, Excellent shot from Hagia Sophia. all the photos from it have scaffolding and there were some works when I was there too. Fantasgtic dome and the chandellier. I ilkied always these medallions with calligraphy. Excellent presentation.
Rgds M

macjake (96157) 2014-06-29 11:17

Hi Angshu
Hagia Sophia...who could forget such a place if visited...i know i'll never forget this beauty.

the lighting conditions inside make it extremely difficult, but you have to give it a try right!

the golds work well with the darker shades, and all the circles and geometry make for an interesting visual.

too bad about the scaffolding, it was there when I visited as well.
cheers
craig

ChrisJ (160036) 2014-07-04 7:07

Hi Angshuman

A good interior shot of the Aya / Hagia Sophia / Sopya. Excellent light and color contrasts with superb sharpness and a wonderful upward pov. It can be tricky getting the right exposure with the outside light coming in through the windows, often fooling the meter, but you succeeded here. Tfs!

pili51 (1853) 2014-07-09 16:36

Namaste Angshu,
a very creative photo, realized in an elegant and effective way. I like very much how you composed and framed this image giving dynamism and interest both to the pattern of the chandelier and the mesmerizing architecture in the background. In my humble opinion, I think that in the background the windows is a little upon exposure, but believe that this is a very bold attempt to defy the lighting adversities, the tonal similarities, the focus challenges. You've done an original and remarkable work, congratulations and thank you!
All the best, have a great day,
Pili

adores (46979) 2014-07-12 15:56

Hi Angshuman!
Beautiful shot of this famous mosque! The lights on really add and give it some beautiful tonalities. Well framed! Not an easy interior, I'm sure, but you managed very well! It's also good to see there are works going on to preserve it!

mkamionka (61246) 2016-07-15 14:54

Hi Angshu,
spectacular interior. This may be the most attractive dome in the world. At least it was once.
Again: today is not such a great day for Turkey either so I picked a photo from this country...
Beautiful well balanced exposure, pleasant subtly asymmetrical take.
Excellent work,
M