Sint Jan, Maastricht Photo

Photographer’s Note

Sint Jan, Maastricht

Here's my picture of today, yesterday there was no one, cause I was to a farewell party.
I've searched in my archive to find a nice picture that I would like to show you. I choose this one for several reasons (I won't bother you with them ;-) ) and it shows you the city of Maastricht in the province of Limburg.

Maastricht
Maastricht is situated in the very south of The Netherlands and is the capital of the province of Limburg. The river de Maas (Meuse) streams through the city. Maastricht (also spelled as Maestricht or Mestreech in local dialect) has about 122,000 citizens. The city has its own airport, Maastricht-Aachen Airport (MST) near the village of Beek.
It takes 2½ hour by train from Amsterdam to Maastricht (and 3 hours from my hometown Haarlem).
For years the city has been in a debate with Nijmegen (Gelderland) about being the oldest city in The Netherlands.

History of the city
Maastricht was founded in 50 A.D. as the Roman settlement Traiectum ad Mosam (Meuse-crossing). Already when the Romans left the city in the 4th century, the city was a religious centre.
Nowadays, Maastricht is well-known because of the Maastricht-Treaty (1992), that led to the creation of the European Union and was the result of separate negotiations on monetary union and on political union.

Sint Jan
On the picture you can see the tower of de Sint Jan (Saint John) in Maastricht. The church is located at the square called het Vrijthof. The tower is 70m high and the church is built in the 14th-15th century.

Another picture from het Vrijthof in Maastricht can be seen here.

I took this picture in the end of February on an ice-cold day. I cropped the picture and sharpened it.
Hope you like it!

jjbach, weswang, alvaraalto, jmdaoudal, singuanti, karina, jpdeloof, thohau, quantabeh, Fixfocus, jhm, kent_s, MoosicMan, jafadabret, riclopes trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

jjbach (9109) 2005-05-06 17:53

Good evening Lars,
Very nice perspective and very good point of view. The angle you chose makes the tower huge and magisterial! Very nice work!

Regards John

alvaraalto (5265) 2005-05-06 19:06

Hi Lars,
Weet je zeker dat dit st Jan is en niet lange Jan. Wel opvallend de rode kleur van deze toren. Mooie POV
groet Rob

jmdaoudal (82) 2005-05-06 22:09

I can read to the note that it is important for you to try to post a daily composition :))) Welcome to the club :)))
This one by the architecture and color and this angle, is a strong composition; Giving more than a simple point of view from a tower, a mood.
Well choosen and well done
Jean Michel

singuanti (15240) 2005-05-07 0:00

Hey Lars, a nice find in your archive. I like the POV looking way up. I feel like I'm standing there myself trying to stretch my neck enough to see it. You seemed to hold a good focus across the pic. Nice one Lars. Hey where's your buddy Stef??

karina (1084) 2005-05-07 2:09

Beautiful building. I love the rich red-brown colour against the blue sky. The POV gives the impression of considerable height.

oochappan (22032) 2005-05-07 3:36

Op de thumbnail had je de indruk dat deze te donker zou zijn waar op ware grootte is de textuur duidelijk te zien, niet makkelijk om in tegenlicht te werken maar het resultaat is zeer zekers wel bevredigend en indrukwekkend door je gekozen hoek.
Mooi gedaan
Groe(n)ten
Henk

jpdeloof (2546) 2005-05-07 4:04

hello Lars. The camera angle gives much dash to this tower, beautiful perspective. jp

thohau (949) 2005-05-07 4:18

Hi Lars!
You show us a very nice part of Sint Jan. I like the style of such old architecture. You captured it from a interesing POV showing us more of its beauty.
Cheers, Thorsten

Stepan (27175) 2005-05-07 4:33

An interesting shot and a pov I really like. But I wonder, why didn't you a few minutes for the sun ? The sky looks like the sun was there too !?
Stéphane

alexlie (5359) 2005-05-07 7:48

Hi Lars!
Nice tower, its looks really big. Good composition, nice perspective and colors. Well done.
Regards.

quantabeh (5203) 2005-05-07 10:05

Hi Lars.
Another great informative shot. Very strange rusty color to the tower. It is shot very well, with partly blue sky.
cheers,
Behrang

Fixfocus (9377) 2005-05-07 10:44

Hoi Lars!
Good compo with strong vertical lines and a beautiful background,-and as always an excellent note!
I made a little Ws,hope you like it!

[workshop] [compare]

jhm (82949) 2005-05-07 10:59

Dag Lars,
U heeft zeker niet de gemakkelijkste hoek gekozen om de toren hier neer te zetten, tegenlicht en de lengte speelden in uw nadeel, nochtans heeft u er een mooie foto van gemaakt met de donker bruine stenen tegen een deel blauwe hemel.
Goed werk toch!
John.

weswang (18223) 2005-05-07 11:27

Hi Lars, This is quite a monumental architecture. The structure does look old and the style is very special as well. The background blue sky makes a nice contrast to this historic building. The photo is well taken with nice contrast, details. Good choice to have this photo posted. Thank you for your excellent notes.

kent_s (1911) 2005-05-07 17:33

God kväll Lars

Jag har faktiskt sett Heliga Janne från ganska nära håll. På väg tillbaka från Liege råkade jag komma lite fel i Maastricht och då passerade jag denna kyrkan. Denna bilden är faktiskt lite typiskt dig. En hög bilde både när det gäller motivet och när det gäller kvalitén.
Jan sträcker sig väldigt majestätiskt upp mot himlen som har en underbar blå färg med vita molntussar. Vilket ger en fantastisk bakgrund till det varmt mörkröda teglet i tornet.

Mycket bra gjort Lars.

Steve_T (421) 2005-05-08 4:01

Nice POV Lars, ik heb ook een foto gemaakt met zo'n POV, alleen dan van de Dromedaris;)

MoosicMan (1231) 2005-05-08 10:40

Nice shot here, good sharpness, contrast. Agree with Hermann's WS, otherwise no criticism. It's an imposing structure. Great note, too, as usual.
Best wishes,
Matt

pamela (613) 2005-06-24 20:56

The perspective is really good, but the shot is a bit dark. Anyway, a nice style of architecture.

jafadabret (40023) 2006-05-01 1:46

Lars, j'aime cette vue en contre plongée de ce monument de couleur brique sur un ciel bleu. La perspective accroît encore cet impression de fuite vers le ciel. bon travail !
Jacques

riclopes (33069) 2007-03-20 3:30

OLá Lars, the quality and light are not the best here, but I love such POVs with distortioned perspectives, that give the impression that the architecture is touching the sky, stretching to its maximum. The contrast is quite nice. It must be a very interesting church, judging by the other post. I like the WS suggested by Hermann.
Hilsen,
Ricardo