Every Line Askew, a photo from Pisa, Tuscany

Photographer's Note

The Leaning Tower of Pisa was built between 1173 and 1350 to compliment the cathedral and overall complex of the Campo dei Miracoli. Construction was interrupted over its construction history and a lean became evident as early as 1178 when it reached the third level. It was continued despite the lean and finished with the upper most part correcting for the lean of the time. So one can now see how far it has come since not only the beginning but also the 14th century. It stands a total of 56 meters tall. By the end of the 20th century its lean had reached over 5 meters as it sank further into the unstable soil.

Here a lone guard stands waiting for the next group of tourists to climb to the top. A view showing the entire facade of the cathedral from this same location is visible in this other photo (Pisa Cathedral). The small black blur at the bottom right is the top of the cross visible in that other shot.

If you look closely at the cathedral itself there appears to be some distortion of that building as well. The stripe at the bottom of the photo seems to make it seem like a rotation correction is necessary. I tried to do this and leveled it at .7 degrees. But then the two tall arches were off. Those were level at .2 degrees. And no matter what the columns were not vertical except for in this original version so I gave up on rotating the image.

I scanned this print at 400 dpi which ended up with a lot of noise in the sky. I isolated the sky in a layer and ran a median filter with a radius of 3 pixels to smooth that out. I then flattened the image and ran auto-contrast. I cropped a small bit off the right and then resized it and sharpened it. Does anyone have suggestions on how to tone down the intensity of the facade. To me, anyway, it seems to be a really intense reflection.

Tone, elihesamian, Zanni, flip89, jurgen, Steely, jhm, Rinie_Hoff, jrj, digi-mom, lost, papagolf21, kajenn, gaetantgp, c_kyr, bertolucci, summer89, liakoshim, vesalius, dinaydase, CoolDan, Clochette, roconnell, freddd, ulex, hispic, nchifan, elizemeijer, apazevedo, pulezan, ChristianS, laxpix, Mrg, Oldtree, anakin, caliane, eev99, mikee, berseph, Albrecht, anew, siolaw has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

elihesamian (26149) 2004-04-13 0:20

Powerfull shot , Paul !
The strong elements in your shot are :
*The excellent contrast between two building with the dark-blue in background.
*The nice light on the buildings.
*The dark shadowes under mini curved lines in two buildings.
*The statue in center-bottom.
And finally : The perfect composition of all elements.
you did great ,Paul !

[3]

amrinolastname (223) 2004-04-13 0:32

great architectural shoot !
Very sharp.

Zanni (6108) 2004-04-13 0:32

Still another big lesson, Paul. For the tecnique I am agree with Elihesamian. With these photos from Pisa you are showing particulars that often we don't see because we use to pay attention at all complex of the Campo dei Miracoli as a landscape.

flip89 (3418) 2004-04-13 0:46

This is beautiful. Details are amazing.

snuggleaphagus (4146) 2004-04-13 1:37

Amazing job Paul!
Great everything and I love the sky it is so powerful.
I just love the color combinations.
The buidings and architecture is beautiful and your talent allows us view it in all its grandeur.

Steely (895) 2004-04-13 1:58

Paul , you got the tower and the cathedral lined up together, good perspective.
The clarity is amazing
Most images hv the buildings slight blown losing on the variations in the stones, you managed to get the right light and captured those, and got a deep hue of Blue as a background as well.

good shot

[2]

spence (65) 2004-04-13 3:27

Superb clarity and detail Paul. An interesting and original shot - it's hard to escape the cliche when it comes to photographing this place. And you managed a great background sky as well!

Rinie_Hoff (9340) 2004-04-13 4:13

Hi Paul, What a beautiful picture to start the day with, I'm wide awake now. It's so bright and crisp with a beautiful background. Th composition is very nice, and very detailed. Wonderful shot! And good notes, as usual, thanks.

[2]

Gatis (925) 2004-04-13 5:22

How did you go up there? Never seen such composition of the beautiful buildings in Pisa...

jef (310) 2004-04-13 5:26

l'йclairage dramatique ici entre 2 averses, magnifie les dйtails des monuments. Lumiиre magnifique, bravo.

jrj (34843) 2004-04-13 5:56

Good capture Paul with interesting lines and curves. The fine light setting adds to a very good total,,

ianmcall (1213) 2004-04-13 6:32

Which is better here; the light or your vantage point and framing? Who cares, this works beautifully!

jhonny_blue (4956) 2004-04-13 6:50

Wonderful Paul, itґs very beautiful !
Strong colours and place !
Congratulations !

jhm (211734) 2004-04-13 8:03

Waw... Paul this is great architecture photo, excellent sharp en clair. One word wonderful. My compliments.

digi-mom (1064) 2004-04-13 9:30

This is fantastic, as has been said. Ditto everyone else on the composition and tech. points. I agree with you on the intense reflection, but the only thing I could say other than has been said is maybe you should go back and try it again at a different time of day. Which you already know! :o) This is so unique, and even better presented than the other of this view (through the window) you gave earlier.

lost (694) 2004-04-13 14:50

Great composition..great sky..great colors...everthing is good

visoo (326) 2004-04-13 15:08

Now this is a really great one - an absolutely original and very high quality work depicting an all-too-well known landmark from a new angle.

papagolf21 (152605) 2004-04-13 17:14

Une image superbe parfaitement rйalisйe. Les louanges adressйes par nos amis sont particuliиrement mйritйes. Du trиs, trиs bon travail.
Une note technique d'accompagnement toujours passionnante et bien dйcrite.
Merci Paul, continuez а nous faire rкver.
A perfectly realized magnificent image. The praises sent by our friends are particularly deserved. Of very, very good work.
A technical note of accompanying always fascinating and well described.
Thank you Paul, please, continue to make us dream.

kajenn (2462) 2004-04-13 21:37

Beautiful, Paul, and you've really got the credits you deserve. It's a line-up composition of great magnitude. All the details - including the guard! - are beautifully displayed with great clarity. You've even managed to include the Monte Pisano as a backdrop together with the dramatic sky. Concerning the distortion I believe that's in the building, not in your photo, so you did right giving that up. I'm glad you didn't try to rotate the tower... ;o) All in all a great capture, Paul! Well done - including your excellent note!

gaetantgp (1310) 2004-04-14 0:24

Extraordinary shot Paul! Colors, Sharpening, details, the one on the right look's a little tilt to me, but it's ok, i'll live with it :-))) Thanks for sharing and again Bravo...Gaйtan

c_kyr (1810) 2004-04-14 5:15

Graet image.
Wonderful crop giving space for the detail.
Very well done!

summer89 (5422) 2004-04-14 5:50

Great angle you get, Paul.

The blur background it's great.

Well done

bertolucci (14052) 2004-04-14 5:58

This is awesome Paul -these great buildings against the dark and threatening sky, superb. I really like the tight composition. It really shows of the architectural details and the interplay of forms between the tower and the cathedrale. The strong reflection is visible but really not objectable - it actually adds to the nice & strong contrast in your pic. Great picture, Paul - congrats!

liakoshim (565) 2004-04-15 11:29

this is definately the best of yours, Paul. strong colours and light/sky contrast. the shape and line of architecture is beautifully rendered. bravo!

vesalius (861) 2004-04-16 2:12

Beautiful colours, I love the sky in particular. Did you use a polarizer? I quite like the contrast of the facade. Thanks.

cmartos (242) 2004-04-16 5:23

Outstanding. Very good composition, brillant tones, good sharpness and PP. I'm not disturbed by the intensity of the facade. Very well done.

dinaydase (651) 2004-04-16 21:08

Great details, Paul. Very nice! The notes and the photo itself are all informative. I am amazed how leaned the tower is. The collars of the tower seem so thin I think it is for decorative purposes. Anyways it is a great shot. Regards, Seda...

CoolDan (2516) 2004-04-18 16:14

Trиs belle composition Paul bien prйsentй. Les dйtails sont bien dйfinis. Le ciel chargй donne un trиs bel atmosphиre. Nice job.

Clochette (8076) 2004-04-20 17:08

Ah !! at last, a new angle for this famous tower !
Great details and a nice contrast, a very good one, Paul !

roconnell (327) 2004-04-25 1:55

The dark skies seem to be foretelling that something is amiss, or in this case askew. Beautiful lighting.

freddd (435) 2004-04-25 20:45

Strong but well balanced contrast gives to this picture a very effective impact, as so do the bright composition. Perfect cropping. A pleasure to the eye.

Giando (80) 2004-05-04 19:42

his this shot real ? the color are amazing and the detail is super!
i unusual point of view of this 2 building in pisa. nice work man !

garcia (254) 2004-05-05 3:23

This its photo is magnifica since the composition until the contrasts and colors everything is excellent, adored very exactly.

Eagle (522) 2004-05-27 5:15

You have really great pictures of Pisa, and this is one of my favourites. Here you have captured an unusual view of The Leaning Tower and also the cathedrals beautiful top, perfect composition!

yesterday (9833) 2004-06-14 5:18

I love this picture, dif. from others shown of this popular building.

Excellent sharp, wonderful composition Perfect light and contrast.

Regards Kaj Nielsen

cederico (0) 2004-06-25 18:14

Beautiful ! The dark sky seems to have provocated a thunder who moved the tower ;-) Oh, sorry, it's Pisa... Great feeling with the light architecture in front of the dark clouds.

nchifan (910) 2004-07-23 1:57

Very original shot Paul. I like the light/sky contrast!
Ioan

umbrellaphotos (1901) 2004-08-02 13:58

Great composition. The tower stands out in such contrast due to the lean. Nice shot.

apazevedo (5469) 2004-08-24 13:03 [Comment]

Show Comment

loupiot (3909) 2004-09-06 11:46

Beautiful Shot, Paul! I like the contrast between light on building and the background dramatic sky. Well done.

pulezan (841) 2004-09-08 7:55

well, i think you done excellent job in italy.
and again-good contrast. everything is alredy written above. fantastic picture.

ChristianS (2997) 2004-10-03 2:20

Great perpective on this one! Very nice contrast between the cloudy sky and the white buildnings! Clear and sharp with nice details. Well composed!

optic (0) 2004-10-17 21:31

Magnifique photographie, belle lumiиre et cadrage parfait ! congratulations Paul

laxpix (686) 2004-10-19 10:06

great composition, with strong colors amd so much sharp and clear. Beautiful

correp00 (474) 2004-10-29 23:31

Very nice scan and post production job. I've checked your galeries, most of your pictures are incredible. great art.

Mrg (825) 2004-11-01 15:06

Youґve got here an almost perfect photo Paul. All those lines and constructions, great detaols, great colours. Fantastic composition, really well done!

Oldtree (2457) 2004-11-10 14:13

I am sure all has been said already to this wonderful composed and executed shot. So I will only leave my compliments here. Impressive shot.

caliane (610) 2005-05-20 23:54

wow.. congratulations.. such a beautiful composition! I would like to add as favorite if I knew how.. hehe

Stepan (27210) 2005-07-07 16:37

Even it's a little overexposed, the dof is really good and it's an original view on this famous tower.
Well composed.
Stйphane

mikee (2354) 2005-07-20 21:28

Well, despite the obvious minor technical difficulties, you still managed to pull off a great shot. The light is good and the sky is looks quite dramatic. Despite the strong light, the facade is not overexposed as I can see the many great details and shapes. You've got quite an eye. I like your PoV. A unique twist on a world famous place. Great work.

p.s. Photoshop 9 (CS2) has a tool that might be what you were looking for. It is called shadow/highlight under the same menu as levels, curves, saturation, etc.. Give it a try.

mike

Jimbal (1229) 2005-09-21 4:43

Salut Paul.
Qu'ajouter а l'avalanche de louanges dйjа reзues au sujet de cette magnifique photo de caractиre?
Bravo! Trиs beau travail!
JM

venus (748) 2005-10-06 18:10

Dramatic sky, strong shadows, many details, the best photo of the leaning tower I have seen.
Good job.

berseph (1758) 2005-11-03 14:01

Hi Paul. I love what you were able to capture in this picture, especially the detail on the cathedral. I'm used to seeing a much further away angle, and didn't know the church had so much color. I wasn't able to visit Pisa when I was in Italy, but I noticed that overall, a lot of the buildings do lean one way or the other ever so slightly.
-Amber

Albrecht (11283) 2005-12-08 4:27

Hi Paul
I love culture and history and you have brought that in a very well chosen compo; beautiful colours and great shot.The dark sky is marvellous.
+thanks for sharing+
Albrecht Bijvank

anew (582) 2006-01-18 11:13

a very apt title. It's funny that the sculptures are at a straight line and the other lines are all sloped or curved. And this goes for the mountains in the background also. Thanx to your title, I am naturally noticing all the lines in the picture. Excellent observation on your part.
And the contrast of white in the foreground with the dark colors in the background is also very strong.
Paul, your photo is a work of art. Kudos!!!

patriik (1935) 2006-04-09 5:00

It`s outstanding. I love shots like this-from telephoto lens. And these colours!!!! And dramatic sky.. Compo is great! Honestly i love this picture!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Namaria (20) 2011-09-04 12:36 [Comment]

Show Comment