View of Segovia from the Alcazar, a photo from Segovia, Castilla y Leon

Photographer's Note

Perhaps the most famous landmarks of Segovia are Roman Aqueduct and Alcázar, but what stands out the most from the distance is the tall white tower of the cathedral seen here that is 90 m / 295 ft high.

This is the view of the old part of the town seen from the gardens of the Alcázar.

On the WS's I present closer views of the cathedral:
• 1 - A street beside it.
• 2 - Close-up of the back façade.

The next lines were copied from the notes of my earlier post of Segovia.

Segovia is a charming town of 55000 inhabitants that lies North of the mountain range of Sierra de Guadarrama. These mountains, whose highest point lies 2428 m / 7965 ft above sea level, separate it from Madrid, which is just 90 Km away (45 min.s by highway).

The town is famous for its imposing Roman Aqueduct, the best preserved of the Roman monuments in Iberian Peninsula (a region where that kind of monument is far from scarce) and the Alcázar, the fairy tale medieval palace that inspired Walt Disney to design the Cinderella castle.

The name of the place denounces its Celtic origin - the original name, not changed by the Romans, was Segobriga (Sego [victory] + briga [city] in Celtic language). The Aqueduct proves its importance during the Roman period. Although the Alcázar was originally a Moor fortress (again the name indicates that, as it derives from the Arabic Al-Ksar, which mean "the castle") that was built on the top of some Roman fortifications, it appears that the city had little importance during the Moorish period and some even believe that it was practically abandoned. It regained importance during after the Christian reconquest and it was often the residence of the Castillian court in the 14 and 15th centuries.

Link to all my posts of Segovia: *.

Location (latitude, longitude):
• pov: 40.95213,-4.13016
• tower: 40.9502,-4.126

shevchenko, paura, PaulVDV, Gerrit, Sne011, feather, danos, Emile, ellelloo, gracious, Didi, JCG, Jardim, siolaw, Docarmo, AiresSantos, sunamoon, riclopes, jaywalker, robiuk, sacavem, parbo, dta, Atousa, bakes888, xuaxo, banyanman trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

lousat (133149) 2008-11-19 16:00

Hi Jose,really beautiful,a lucky choice of point of view,great details and colors and wonderfuls clouds as background,just my best compliments,luciano

MiguelP (14470) 2008-11-19 17:38

Hi José, Segovia is one of the most photogenic places in this part of the world, and your photo is a good way to probe it. Congratulations.

batalay (41261) 2008-11-19 19:01

Hello José,

This beauty must have been on your trajectory just a week before got together in Barcelona. This image of the Alcázar dominated view is a compositional masterpiece, with perfect lighting. The two versions in ws are excellent architectural portraits. The note is a short lesson in geography and history.

Warm regards, José,

Bulent

zeynepe (0) 2008-11-19 21:56

Ola José,
You selected a beautiful way to present these fantastic architectural details with us. The narrow street in WS1 looks so warm and inviting and for WS2, I also frequently forget ISO settings.And I need your kind help about stitching photos:)
Parabens & um abraço,
zeynep

shevchenko (20560) 2008-11-19 22:19

Hello Jose,
Good pov to show an old resident quarter built inside a protection wall, nice to see different types of clouds on the sunny sky, attracted a cathedral in complecated design, thanks for sharing the historical town.
Ally

HimalAnda (10671) 2008-11-19 23:06

Hello Jose,

This is a nice picture with a very good composition, excellent sharpness and beautiful colors. Clouds are really beautiful in the deep blue sky.

Stephane

Rafer (0) 2008-11-19 23:17

Bonita presentación de este gran monumento que no he visitado pero a la que pueda...muy buena luz y encuadre adecuado..sdaludos

Morac (27725) 2008-11-19 23:50

Bonjour José,

Belle photo bien composée avec l'église et les bâtiments bien décentrés sur la gauche,
La beauté des couleurs et du paysage forment en bel ensemble harmonieux.
Bonne journée
Marc

marjan (7) 2008-11-20 2:37

HOla jose, super composition and fine strog colours.
Marjan

paura (25802) 2008-11-20 2:54

José,
Uma beleza de apresentação, amigo. Parece que tudo estava colaborando para que você obtivesse a linda fotografia, em especial destaque para o lindo céu.

Abraço

Paulo

PaulVDV (57641) 2008-11-20 3:58

Olá José,
You found an excellent POV to show the cathedral, the other beautiful buildings in Segovia and the city wall.
Very beautiful colours. I like the white clouds above the mountains very much.
Best regards, Paul

denisn72 (8314) 2008-11-20 4:36

Hi Jose
What an impressive view and a stunning sharpness and luminosity! Colours are nice as well as the sky. I like very much the natural framing on the bottom. Splendid architecture of the tower of the cathedral. Good work!
Best regards
Denis!

Gerrit (59968) 2008-11-20 5:27

Hi José,
if the building in front of the Cathedral is a hotel it must be the place with the best view.
Excellent view over the city in fine colors.
Reagrds, gerrit

feather (51130) 2008-11-20 6:27

Very good wide angle view of the cathedral, which is dominating the entire scenery. Very well placed on the left with the slope leading towards the right corner. The WSs are good too and don't seem to suffer from the high ISO. I wish I had £1 for every time I forgot to change the ISO. I would be rich!
Kath

delkoo (68) 2008-11-20 6:44

bonjour josé,
même venant de loin , cette cathédrale est immanquable, sa longue flèche s'élance gracieusement vers le ciel la la rencontre de dieu.
le ciel légèrement nuageux fait un fond parfait pour cette remarquable photo .

didier

danos (110407) 2008-11-20 7:16

Hola Jose,
nice the shot of this really landmark of Segovia the tall tower of Cathedral.Meanwhile i like and the whole environment with the splendid sky and the brilliant light.The trees in the foreground and the pointed tents windows of the building in front of the Cathedral,make the scene more interesting.Well done.

Have a nice afternoon,Danos

Emile (20352) 2008-11-20 7:33

Hola José.
Un esplendida vista del Alcázar y parte de la ciudad, me gusta mucho como captaste esta estupenda foto y como sobresale tan majestuosa deificación, los colores y tu POV son muy buenos. Muy buena iluminacion y fantástica composición.
Abrazos mi buen amigo.

ellelloo (6572) 2008-11-20 9:51

Hello José,
A beautiful photo from Segovia with excellent quality. I like the POV and composition, the most beautiful colours and gorgeous sky. Together with you comprehensive note this is an excellent TE contribution. Thanks for sharing!
Greetings,
Lasse

gracious (20025) 2008-11-20 11:04

Ola Jose,
I totally appreciated this image from heart with it's quality and presentation!
the colour contrast here is really superb also the best pov!
the distance clouds formation makes a great balanced in this beautiful composition indeed!
many thanks, my friend!
cheers
Tony

Didi (61589) 2008-11-20 11:21

Salut cher José
Je dynamiterai volontiers l'immeuble aux parasols bleu turquoise:)
Le point de vue est bien choisi, je constate avec les WS qu'il n'est pas simple d'avoir une vue complète de cette cathédrale extraordinaire.
Amitiés

JCG (35153) 2008-11-20 11:38

Ola José,

Cette ville fortifiée me semble superbe bénéficiant d'un bel environnement et sous cette lumière estivale c'est encore plus beau. J'aime bien ton cadrage qui met bien en valeur cette cathédrale qui, je vois sur tes photos complémentaires, n'est pas facile à photographier compte tenu de son imposante architecture. Le ciel est magnique et donne un relief supplémentaire vraiment appréciable. Merci José.

Avec toutes mes amitiés et à bientôt,

Jean-Charles

Jardim (3243) 2008-11-20 13:29

Olá José,

Uma vista muito bonita em tom de brincadeiraapetece-me dizer "se agobia con tanta belleza"

JJ

vascao (192) 2008-11-20 14:32

Uma wide impressionante, José, com um belíssimo céu e a luz incidindo no ângulo ideal. Tecnicamente perfeita e lindíssima.
[]'s
Sergio

angela926 (1884) 2008-11-20 16:10

Hello Jose,
beautiful sharp, crisp photo, amazing vivid colors,
excellent composition, nice light and superb depth of
field, nice natural framing with the trees on the bottom
and lovely view of those distant mountains,
well done.
TFS
Angela

siolaw (38294) 2008-11-20 21:24

Salut Jose!
Une belle lumière et des couleurs naturelles... Le POV en contre plongée donne une perspective intéressante a la cathédrale.
J'aime bien l'utilisation de la bordure d'arbres pour cadrer l'image en bas...
Joli
Laurent

Docarmo (9767) 2008-11-20 21:28

Olá José,
Todas as três imagens estão belíssimas. A diagonal formada pondo a cumplicidade de diversos elementos aqui está muito fotogênica. O céu está lindíssimo.
Obrigada pela nota informativa,
MCV

AiresSantos (56155) 2008-11-21 2:03

Ola Jose
Uma belissima vista de Segovia com cores magnificas. Bem escolhido o local para tirar a foto. O ceu esta lindo e aluminosidade muito boa
Um abraco e bom fim de semana
Aires

PixelTerror (0) 2008-11-21 2:03

Ola Jose,
A nice pov and a very good light to outline the structures of this city, due to distortion there is a strong impression that it tilts to the right which I thnik you should correct.
Have a nice day JY

[2] +

pablominto (53746) 2008-11-21 3:25

Hello José,

The tower stands tall, and even more visible since it is sited on the hilltop!
A fine balanced composition with a well defined eye-catcher, colours are nicely reproduced in this wonderful light..,.
A beautiful place!

Greetings,
Pablo -

sunamoon (10) 2008-11-21 5:41

Muy bonitos colores y gran claridad de imagen,
me gusta la profunidad, y esas nubes increibles,
muy buena definición, gran vista! bien hecho!

Un saludo,
Elena

riclopes (35577) 2008-11-22 2:14

Pois está claro, o pessoal prefere esta vista histórica cheia de sol e cor. E está fabulosa, José. Simples e perfeita, sem ângulos complicados. A altura da torre é impressionante, parece um foguetão pronto a rumar à lua. É sem dúvida a melhor das 3, se bem que gosto muito do WS2 também, fazendo-me lembrar 'o bucha e estica' :)))) O WS1 tem um ângulo esquisito.
Um abraço,
ricardo

jaywalker (16105) 2008-11-22 14:37

Hi Jose, A lovely view of the magnificent architecture, the tall tower is a stunning figure over looking the area, excellent detail & very good light indeed, the beautiful sky makes for a great background, TFS, kind regards Wilson.

robiuk (10807) 2008-11-23 13:26

Ola Jose!
Just a short one - what I like in this one particularly is th ePOV and composition placing the cathedral to the left with the neighbourhood sloping down to the right. Nicely framed with the cloudy sky above and trees from below.
Good job with an extensive note accompanied by WS photos.
Cheers,
Robi

sacavem (18620) 2008-11-24 6:59

Olá Jose,

Excelente vista de Segovia, grande POV cor e definição é um autentico postal ilustrado para turista ver.Grande colecção de fotos de Castilla y Leon. A nota descritiva é excelente.

Um abraço,
Filipe

fkokol (1636) 2008-11-25 7:17

This is great view with amazing sky. wonderful detail from this beautiful town. great colours and clarity.
greetings,
figen

jmcl (14535) 2008-11-25 7:36

Hi Jose,

Beautiful and thoughtful sky to go with the ancient structures .. really beautiful exposure .. nice control of all the bright and dark areas .. take care, John

parbo (11092) 2008-11-25 17:55

Olá José,

Your photo is an eye catcher with its splendidly blue colored sky and clouds. Excellent usage of lights shows every details exactly in your photo. Well chosen complementary posts shows closer view of Segovia perfectly. Wonderful.

Parabéns e Abraço!

Ertugrul

mirarer (4751) 2008-11-26 5:28

Hola José,
Excelente punto de vista y bonita luz para esta gran ciudad.
Saludos,
Mirari

dta (98848) 2008-11-26 7:53

Bonjour Jose ,
J'aime beaucoup , ici , le déséquilibre dans l'image , ce qui crée une belle diagonale , qui attire l'oeil sur ce merveilleux clocher . Superbe , également , le ciel , avec ces cumulus sur le sommet des montagnes .
Excellente netteté et couleurs
Bravo
Denis

Atousa (7131) 2008-11-27 5:08

Salam Jose,

Great POV n wonderful colours in this shot..it is really magnificent n I like the way you included the trees in the FG to add to the shot's depth n beauty..TFS
Regards, A

jmdias (107339) 2008-11-29 15:22

zé

bela vista da catedral com boa luz e cores, o céu está muito bonito. a nitidez da imagem é fantástica e perfeita. belo trabalho

abraços

jorge

bakes888 (18499) 2008-11-29 23:05

Hi Jose. Very impressive cathedral. Well composed to give the cathedral the prominence it deserves. Good colours and sharpness also. Thanks for sharing.
Have a good Sunday, Paul.

Bluejeans (64251) 2008-12-03 11:55

Oi amigo ,
Belo ponto de visão sobre a cidade de Segovia a catedral e magnifica bem alta , ficou muito bonito este primeiro plano com a vegetação em diferentes tons , o céu ficou fantástico , parabéns !!
Um abraço Gonçalo

danyy (0) 2008-12-03 22:19

Bonjour Jose,
bien cadrée cette vue et aussi très profonde, elle laisse la part belle à un ciel agréablement garni et d'un beau bleu.
Tous s'y détache bien et cette frange de végétation au premier plan apporte couleurs et vie.
Best regards.
Daniel.

leo61 (0) 2008-12-04 10:50

Hi Jose!
A great view at the city with this big wall in the foreground.Excellent sharpness and great depth with the mountains and clouds in the distance.
Regards,Leo

npecanhuk (79329) 2008-12-08 3:58

Olá José!
Aproveitei o meu último comentário e dei uma olhada em mais esta de Segóvia! Também gostei, acho que a escolha foi difícil entre mostar mais o céu (que estava muito bonito) ou mais a parte inferior, com a vegetação! Enfim, um ou outro talvez ficassem excessivos, mas temos de escolher certo!? Enfim, isso não chega a ser um problema enorme e o resultado final me agrada bastante, com o objeto principal no destaque e muito bem registrado!
Linda cidade e linda imagem, com certeza!
Parabéns, abraços e até mais!
Neyvan

xuaxo (6854) 2008-12-10 5:55

Olá José
Aqui está uma foto muito bem arrumadinha, com tudo no seu lugar, beneficiando de um belo céu.
De 0 a 10, esta merecia uns 9 pontos!
Cumprimentos,
..-. .-. .- -. -.-. .. ... -.-. ---

banyanman (7797) 2009-01-19 6:30

A very impressive photograph, Jose, in excellent light and woth superb sharpness. Personally I would have cropped this closer removing about 20 percent of the image area top and right, but that's more personal taste than a criticism of your treatment because the sky is nice and I expect many would like it as you have presented it. Cheers . . . David