Peterhof, a photo from Saint Petersburg, Northwest

Photographer's Note

This is part of the Peterhof Palace in St. Petersburg. The Palace is located outside the city, on the Gulf of Finland (part of the Baltic Sea). The palace was built by Peter the Great almost 300 years ago. Peter had a love of water and the ocean, so the palace has a strong connection with water: there are many fountains and reflecting pools, leading right down to the sea. The palace has a distintive yellow and white colour scheme, as can be seen from the photo. The building in the photo is the palace church, which stands apart from the main palace building which is out of frame to the left. This shot is very typical of the palace and it's surrounding grounds, beautiful pools and fountains with gold figures playing in them, and the fairy tale buildings. Much of the palace was destroyed during the war, and despite the near perfect appearance the restoration work still continues to this day.

S_V, sam224, shel, Roly, Paolo, odemira, ArtLook, kebek, capthaddock, smash2707, frieda trouve(nt) cette note utile

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S_V (141) 2005-07-25 10:45 [Comment]

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Roly (2024) 2005-07-25 13:24

It's a touristy shot but it's pretty good, and the subject is very interesting. I would have tried to crop more from left and bottom. The contrast of the bright building against the blue sky is pleasant but the light is a little bit harsh. There are some minor problems with the sharpness and also some jpeg artifacts, more visible at the roof/sky interface. I reckon it comes from post-processing.

sam224 (6215) 2005-07-26 3:32

Wonderful shot Alvin... The image is very neat and the fountain in front grants a goo depth to the composition. Very nice contrast between the deep blue sky and the white building. Excellent perspective. Very well done!

yesterday (9833) 2005-07-26 6:25 [Comment]

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Paolo (41258) 2005-07-26 11:36

Hi Alvin, nice image of that beautiful building!
the colors and the light are both amazing and strong.
good POV and a good composition.
thanks for the note.
ciao

odemira (514) 2005-07-26 13:52

Wonderfull colors, looks like you turned back time. I'm thinking on going to visit Russia, these photos drag me there.

ArtLook (2348) 2005-07-27 14:55

Hi Alvin,
WAW! Such beautiful church! Architecture is very impressive. The church is composed very good here with pond and fountain. Very attractive colors and good contrast. BRAVO! I like it very much.
Cordially,
Arthur

DLM (6479) 2005-07-27 15:21

Hi Cormac,stunning image,colours are just lovely,shades of yellow,gold and blue,wonderful combination.
Well done .
Dave.

jbweasle (9393) 2005-07-28 15:31

Hi Alvin. I have a picture just like this! ...except it didn't turn out as well as yours and wasn't worth posting to TE. You have benefitted from a sharp light that has illuminated the golden domes and pulled out the detail in the building. The fountain in the foreground is well positioned and illustrates the place well given that there are so many fountains here. I'm glad to see you have an interesting sky. All I had was a bland grey/white...

PixelTerror (0) 2005-08-01 12:52

Hi Alvin
Petergof is for sure a beautiful place and you got here a fine angle, the foreground fountain adds interest to the shot, I think you could crop a little bit of water, the buildings structures and edtails stand well out over the sky just pity they found necessary to hide the lower part behind so many trees...
have a nice week end,
Jean-Yves

kebek (5438) 2005-08-01 15:45

Serwus Alvin !
Grand architecture in excellent light.
Gold of domes and blue of the sky work perfect here, all mix with the greenery and fountain's water make superb effect.
As I know Your Works, I'm sure there was no better point for capturing the palace.
All the best,
Mat

john_c (24666) 2005-08-06 14:33

Hi Alvin,
A well composed scene with good colour and an excellent POV. The fountain jets provide dynamism and the gold colours on the dome and spires of the building are very enhancing. The scene is neatly divided into three layers in classic style and I like how the gold objects on the fountain match the gold on the main structure. Great capture.
John

capthaddock (28790) 2005-08-07 11:21

Hi Alvin - fascinating ornate architecture, even better with the pool and fountain, I also like the continouus straight line formed by the landscaping work, and to top it all a greet sky