Rundale Palace

[Manfred M]

We were in Latvia a few weeks before the beginning of the main tourist season (June through September), so a number of the sites we visited were getting the final tweaks and cleanup before the crowds of tourists woudl start showing up.

Rundale Palace, the former residence of the Dukes of Courland was perhaps the one where this final prep was most obvious. I composed this image to show this late Baroque (Rococo) building with its beautiful gardens looking quite sterile and almost two-dimensional. I removed a bit of debris and the vehicles that were in the shot to enhance that look.

As you can guess by the overall look, it was a very cool day.




As always the image looks better when enlarged in Lightbox.

[kalyt]

Hi Manfred

Nice picture. The colors are great, and the sky looks interesting, and gives the picture that extra. The symmetry is also spot on! The one and only thing. The three on the left side, it's takes a lot of my attention! But overall great picture.

[rpcrowe]

Very well done! I love how you placed the tree in the image. How about a mini-series about a Latvian noble family

[Wavelength]

Excellent image!!!!!

[Manfred M]

The tree on the left side, it's takes a lot of my attention! But overall great picture.

Given the width of the building, there is not much I could have done with the tree. I don't think the people responsible for the palace would have been happy with me, had I cut the tree down.

I was shooting with a 24-70mm lens on a full frame camera, and this shot was taken at 24mm on a full-frame camera, so it is already a moderate wide angle shot. and I cropped the image to a 16:9 ratio and part of the reason that I have left half the tree in place is to help tie in the large amount of sky in this image. I did have my ultra-wide angle 14-24mm with me, but decided that it wouldn't get the image I wanted (without a lot more work), as I really don't have an interesting foreground and going wider would make that situation even worse.

[Ziggy]

That sky adds so much to this shot, nice capture.

[Shadowman]

Nice capture.

[Rita]

Nice image Manfred. I just have one thought when I look at it, and my thought is not to take away from what you have done, but I wonder how much different the image would be if the camera were more at ground level? Just a curious thought.

[Manfred M]

Nice image Manfred. I just have one thought when I look at it, and my thought is not to take away from what you have done, but I wonder how much different the image would be if the camera were more at ground level? Just a curious thought.

At the distance I took the shot from, there would have been very little impact on the palace itself, as the angle of the shot would have been minimal over the distance. If you look carefully, you can see the reverse keystoning effect on the wall on the right. It slopes inward very slightly. I had intended to shoot level (I usually have a spirit level mounted on my hot shoe), but there was too much ground and shooting the lens I did I couldn't get much closer without missing the sides of the palace.

It would have given a totally different view of the ground, however, and I fear, not for the better. The stones there were quite uninteresting.

[Digital]

Manfred, very nice capture.



Bruce

[kalyt]

Given the width of the building, there is not much I could have done with the tree. I don't think the people responsible for the palace would have been happy with me, had I cut the tree down.

Would have been interesting too see their reaction if you could down the three But of course theirs is not much to do, and made the best of the with what you had