This Old Window-5514jpgSM
The Palacio da Bolsa, a 19th century Neoclassical building is located in Porto, Portugal. Previously a convent, the building was given to city merchants, and fo...
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The Palacio da Bolsa, a 19th century Neoclassical building is located in Porto, Portugal. Previously a convent, the building was given to city merchants, and for over a hundred years had functioned as local Stock Exchange. Its splendor, like a magnet, attracted influential business and even heads of states, spurring several spectacular improvements of its interior decor. Today, although retired from its trade function, the building remains a significant tourist attraction and is listed in the UNESCO World Heritage as a protected part of historic Porto.
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Oct, 2022Views
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Awards
Achievement in Originality
Contest Finalist in Window View Photo Contest
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
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Behind The Lens
Location
The Palacio da Bolsa, a 19th century Neoclassical building is located in Porto, Portugal. Previously a Convent, the building was given to city merchants, and for over a hundred years had functioned as a local Stock Exchange. Its splendor, like a magnet, attracted influential business figures and even several heads of states, spurring numerous spectacular improvements of its interior decor. Today, although retired from its trade function, the building remains a significant tourist attraction and is listed in the UNESCO World Heritage as a protected part of historic Porto.Time
The picture was taken early in the afternoon.Lighting
That day, the afternoon sun was covered by some clouds. But the courtyard is covered with a steel-framed glass roof, giving the scene a very soft light, a perfect lightning for taking that picture. I have used a circular polarizer to trim down undesirable reflections.Equipment
In the last years I have switched completely to Pentax K1 Mark 2. I no longer carry a long tripod on such distant trips. My Pentax has a remarkable 5-directional stabilization. I just need to rest the camera on something steady, even a top of a picket fence, or press it against a wall. I am totally sold on the natural light. I often take advantage of existing artificial light, but I never use an electronic flash when photographing outdoors. And the courtyard scene in the Palacio da Bolsa was exactly what I was looking for.Inspiration
The building has an amazing interior décor. But when touring the building, I have noticed a serious distortion of the original glass, especially in its windows overlooking interior courtyard. It's a little-known fact that being in a semi liquid state, a glass continues to flow, although at a micro scoping rate. That’s why some 100 years old glass visibly distorts the image behind the glass, often adding some waves and ripples. So, when I looked through one of the windows, I was mesmerized by a magical distortion of the building façade. I knew then that I had a picture of my dreams.Editing
In this picture, a maximal replication of the distortion was my main goal. I was lucky to find a chair to rest my camera on. I then took several pictures to get a correct exposure. Then later, in a post processing, I have carefully adjusted colors, contrast and played with sharpness to give a maximum visibility to those particular distortions. It took many tries in the Lightroom, Photoshop and ON1 Photo RAW, while masking and finishing. A separate masking was used to retrieve details of the actual windowIn my camera bag
I often strive to produce images resembling a painting. That requires that the picture is sharp and soft at the same time. The Ricoh HD Pentax-D FA 24-70mm F2 does it for me. That's the only lens I carry. Other than the Pentax K1 Mark 2 loaded with two 128 GB cards, I always have with me a Graduated Filter, UV and Circular Polarizer, two sets of batteries, charger, remote timer and USB-3 card reader with a short connecting cord, and lastly the lens cleaning kit in a dust proof sealed container.Feedback
Try to see what others may miss. Break with some of the ordinarily accepted rules and push the outcome your own unique way. I mean your color, your interpretation of scene, your original finishing. Feel the picture in your gut. You are the best and the hardest judge of your work. Good luck!
