Château Royal, a photo from Languedoc-Roussillon, Sud

Photographer's Note

I guess it was time for me to post some photographs in a more conventional TE spirit. Hope you’ll enjoy this journey spent in Catalonia, rather far from Barcelona’s ramblas.

This is where the Catalan Pyrenees meet the Mediterranean coast. Sparkling Collioure bay, with its nooks and crannies, has inspired many artists: Matisse, Derain, Dufy, Juan, Gris, Picasso...

The château-royal which dominates the harbour, was founded by the Templars in the twelfth century, rebuilt and used as a summer residence by the kings of Mallorca and Aragón two hundred years later, and modernized by Vauban after the Treaty of the Pyrenees.

The château-royal separates the two little ports, with their fishing nets, brightly coloured Catalan boats, its old streets with colourful flower on balconies, its seaside promenade and its terrace cafe, bar and boutiques.

The light in Collioure is fantastic, whatever the hour of the day.

Liora, timotey, robiuk, cgrindahl, orme, pamastro, carper, elihesamian, burdallet, Rinie_Hoff, tigrou, phi729, maphoto, mikee trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

Liora (1857) 2004-08-14 14:40

Fantastic shot Gal! Magnificent view, and a very effective composition capturing the beauty of the bay and the enormous château, all in great colors and sharpness. Bravo!

cgrindahl (6113) 2004-08-14 16:16

The colors, details and composition are first rate Gal, but the image would be much enhanced if taken earlier in the day so that the facade of that building and the promenade weren't in shadow. I don't imagine that on holiday with your family you can arrange things so that optimal photo opportunities are created, so my preference refers to an ideal world rather than the one most of us amateurs live in.

I very much welcome these TE shots and your always informative descriptions. If this isn't a perfect photograph, it is a wonderful contribution to TE, done with your characteristic skill and attention to detail.

ephemere33 (9743) 2004-08-14 17:00

je connais très bien cet endroit super...petit village en bord de mer renfermé dans des ruines un peu comme St Malo...le plus beau de ce coin pour moi est la petite tour que l'on distingue dans le fond à droite...un peu écrasée par cette grosse masse de mur sur la gauche...ou étais-tu pour prendre cette photo...sur la route plus haut??? belle compo
pleine de soleil...merci...

orme (7219) 2004-08-14 20:55

An excellent shot, Gal. The château looks magnificent at this angle. Beautiful colours. Well framed.

pamastro (7296) 2004-08-15 1:16

Nice point of view. The perspective from here is great. The wall of the chateau really sticks out prominently at this end. It really seems very impressive over the water. Very powerful. And yet today very much humanized with the presence of people strolling along the base and people kayaking in the water. The lines are really great. Good job.

carper (96) 2004-08-15 2:41

Nice one Gal,
Good composition, good lines in it, good colours, and a great note, very good job Gal.

elihesamian (26149) 2004-08-15 3:39

What a real colors & beautiful,well contrasted,and fine POV,Gal!
a nice informative shot you posted,very well composed.lively shot,thanks fot sharing,I like it,Details are grerat,too,Gal!

burdallet (0) 2004-08-15 3:48

Ah Collioure il faur que j'aille voir ce lieu .. par contre la lumière n'est pas optimale sur le mur

Rinie_Hoff (9340) 2004-08-15 4:12

I'm glad with the people on the picture, you get a good sense of the scale of the château-royal, looks like a pleasant place to be.
I'm glad you mention the light, I think that places that lie directly on the coast, the light is always very beautiful, here in the Netherlands, in Dombrug, Zeeland there was also a gathering of artists, mainly because of the light, and we have some islands in the north (Waddeneilanden),surrounded by water (of course!), and the ligth is really amazing, I love to be there.

timotey (119) 2004-08-15 5:35

Oh, Collioures ! Thanks a lot for this picture ! A very nice place well known because it's the last place to take cover when you're sailing to Spain. I came a few years ago by boat in this pretty little port. Very astonishing because you can anchor very close to these amazing remparts.
Your picture is very well done by showing us this very touristic place with all these folks walking around this old architecture. A beautiful light well rendered here permitting to emphasize the view of these remparts. Very well done !

Jeppe (18654) 2004-08-15 14:54

Great shot from a great place - think I heard about it before - I like the lines and light you got - fine composition Gal.

gbac (1933) 2004-08-15 15:13

Un cadrage parfait, une luminosité bien maîtrisée et une composition très agréable.
Bien vu et merci de partager Gal.

robiuk (10807) 2004-08-15 15:31

Like the expression "more conventional TE spirit". ;-D Looking forward to seeing what that looks like from your lense's POV!
So far so good. I like the composition and especially the colours of the château (the part in shade).
Very simple, yet tells so much!
(ooops, ran out of smileys... demain!)

phi729 (2101) 2004-08-15 17:37

Le château-royal prit de cet angle offre une belle diagonale et perspective. En cette période touristique, la présence des gens sur la jetée donne une bonne échelle permettant d'apprécier la hauteur des murs du château. L'équilibre entre les éléments terre - air -mer sont excellemment bien proportionnés sur ce cadrage. Peut-être que la photo manque très légèrement de piqué mais les belles couleurs et le travail de composition effacent ce léger défaut.

maphoto (8082) 2004-08-15 21:49

Très belle prise Gal, une impressionnante architecture entourée d'un beau ciel et de la mer, belle diagonale qui nous mène sur le fort à droite, superbe et très bonne qualité, couleurs, clarté, bravo.

mikee (2354) 2004-08-16 3:06

Wonderful architectural shot. Wonderful clarity and colors. The place looks very impressive and it is well rendered, although in the shade, which, together with the people on the promanade at the bottom, emphasize the scale of the structure. Lovely architecture, typical of this part of Europe. Well captured. Great composition.

yesterday (9833) 2004-08-16 3:58

It is a nice postcard to me, good light - contrast and color like it use to be, good composition.

Regards Kaj Nielsen

vbourrut (32482) 2004-08-17 15:51

Belle image de ce chateau, joli présentation ! quelques petits nuages en plus dans le ciel auraient été les bienvenu pour combler un peu l'espace vide en haut de l'image