The ancient Cathedral in Narbonne, a photo from Languedoc-Roussillon, Sud

Photographer's Note

The ancient Cathedral of St. Just and St. Pasteur in Narbonne

As the papal campagin against the Cathars ended with the burning of some 220 perfects at Montsegur in 1244 it was time for the Pope to display his almighty power and of course building a grand cathedral in Narbonne was one way to do this. Especially as the Archbishop of Audes at that time was seated in just Narbonne.

Starting in 1272 on the site of 3 older churches: A basilica from the time of Constatine, a Roman basilica and a cathedral of the Caroligan periode. The cathedral of today was consecrated in 1587 by the archbishop of Narbonne Francois de Joyeuse (only 25 years at the time) and dedicated to the martyrs St Just and St Pasteurs.

The Cathedral is never completed as attempts to finish it later on was stopped as it also would include removal of the walls surrounding the cathedral in medieval times.
The choir is some 48m wide and 55m long. The arches rise to impressively 40m (only ‘beaten’ by the cathedrals in Beauvais (48m), Amiens (42m) and Metz (41m)).

The cathedral is not a standalone building structure as it was also integrated with a monastery and the archbishop’s impressive Palace. From some sides looking more like a fortification than a church.

Not an easy task to photograph this cathedral as it is a lack of open spaces around it. In fact even if you can see the significant structure from a long distance it is almost hidden being close to it in the environment of the city itself. In the variant presented here we are at one of the sides photographing from the cathedrals garden.
In the workshop an alternative photo displaying the unfinished front side.

ymrk, cbrman, carper, papagolf21, marjan, portmanndominic, jhm, g_panakia, avene, dta, yaya13baut, Emile, Cricri trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

ymrk (15099) 2008-12-12 3:48

Hello Jack;
Wonderful perspective and good viewpoint.Original with interesting architecture.And excellent...
Have a nice day,
Congratulations,

YAĞMUR

TGULUMSER (13252) 2008-12-12 3:50

Hello Jack,
A great architecture and POV. The cathedral looks gorgeous under a magnificent sky,
Best regards,
Tulay

cbrman (21675) 2008-12-12 3:52

Hello Jack,

Une très belle perspective qui nous entraîne vers le sommet de cette cathédrale.
J'aime beaucoup ce point de vue réalisé en extrême contre-plongée.
Belle utilisation de ton grand angle !
Bravo !

A+

Dominique

dkeus31 (27739) 2008-12-12 4:02

Hi Jack,
the color of the stones is well contrasting with the blue of the sky!
perspective isnt possible to correct here, but not bad to let it like it is.
regards
didier

carper (96) 2008-12-12 4:06

good photo Jack,
a fine contrast, not an easy one but I like the result, have a nice weekend.
regard Jaap

papagolf21 (152599) 2008-12-12 4:15

Bonjour, mon ami Jack,
Imposant, magnifique monument religieux ! le cadrage donne à cet édifice un effet fantastique pour donner toute la beauté liée au travail réalisé par nos aïeux.
De plus, l'ensemble ressort superbement sur ce fond de ciel bleu.
Amitiés.
Philippe

marjan (7) 2008-12-12 4:27

hi Jack, beautiful motive from ancient times. Excellent composition with nice dark sky.

Marjan

mikolaj_kawa (0) 2008-12-12 4:32

Hello Jack! Wonderful POV, amazing perspective. Very interesting architecture. Superb colors, marvelous saturation. Good contrast and very good sharp. Well done!

portmanndominic (2400) 2008-12-12 4:33

bonjour Jack

superbe utilisation de la contre plongé pour cette belle architecture , de belles couleurs peut etre un peu trop saturé
en tout cas , bon week end
DOminic

Silverkey (1435) 2008-12-12 4:50

Hi Jack
An excellent picture
nice POV, and nice monument. I like the colors and the contrast
Mickaël

jhm (203085) 2008-12-12 5:07

Hello Jack,

When I have to choose between this picture and your WS, than I prefer for your WS.
More details and excellent sharpness and clarity.
You play excellent with depth and perspective.
An excellent composed and very well captured.
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice weekend,
John.

g_panakia (4031) 2008-12-12 5:16

hi jack!
what an impressive pov!!!
very imposing architecture of this cathedral in Narbonne!i like the workshop a lot, it might be difficult to choose which to post...
have a nice wknd!
georgia

avene (12675) 2008-12-12 7:57

hello Jack,
nothing beats combination of deep blue sky and warm golden light :) I like a lot the point of view you have chosen, the upward-looking angle and converging lines of the cathedral emphasise the grandeur of the architecture and makes it look larger than life. the darker silhouettes of the palm leaves on the bottom add nice accent, excellent work.

regards,
Kristine

dta (98560) 2008-12-12 9:42

Hello JAck ,
This low POV , colors of stones , contrasts , This picture is very impessive . As the architecture ...
Regards
Denis

yaya13baut (3344) 2008-12-12 10:56

Hi Jack,
great light on the cathedral, giving to it a warm side. Good contrast of colors with the sky.
Good use of the wide-angle that allow us to see the monument in a whole. When we know it wasn't finish, that's impressive to imagine the big project it was.
Yannis

JLG (2086) 2008-12-12 12:24

hello John
waouwww !!!!
une superbe vue pour nous presenter cette cathedrale
une tres bonne netteté et contraste magnifique
have a nice WE
jean louis

gneufeld (15890) 2008-12-12 13:41

Hi Jack,
An excellent architectural image here with good details, strong design lines, and deep rich contrasting colors. Well done and TFS. Gerald

MarianneS (15338) 2008-12-12 13:50

Hello Jack,
Vertiginous sight on this superb architecture.
I like the distorsion of perspectives here, it enhances this vertigo effect.
The colours of the stones are superb, under a very nice light!
Regards,
Marianne

hispic (9658) 2008-12-12 19:20

Hello Jack,
Beautiful image making good use of the late afternoon sunlight against the deep blue sky. I like this perspective like reaching heaven.
Have a nice weekend, Hisashi

Emile (20352) 2008-12-12 21:14

Hola Jack.
Excellent upward POV capturing this beautiful and impressive architecture, very good light and colors, sharpness and details are great.
Wonderful composition.
TFS.
Best regards and wish you a nice weekend.

Cricri (176) 2008-12-14 10:17

Hi Jack
Trés belle présentation, bon POV et perspective, j'aime beaucoup sa couleur et le bleu du ciel, une image bien réussie
Good evening for you
cricri

Aviller (3866) 2009-02-11 9:41

Very nice angle. I really like how the stone of the cathedral stands out against the dark blue sky. The distortion works well here since it gives you a feeling of going upwards, an effect that fits in well with these religious edifices which always seem to be reaching for the sky.