Reflections of State House, a photo from Khomas, South

Photographer's Note

Here you see a reflection of the Old State House in central Windhoek. The photograph was taken from the grounds of the Dutch Reformed Church. It is practically impossible to get close to the building as it is surrounded by high walls and the entrance gates are under 24 hour guard and the reflection in the windows of a commercial building affords the best view I managed to find without being arrested!

The site of the State House was once graced by the residence of the German colonial governor, but that was razed in 1958 and replaced by the present building, which became the home of the South African administrator until Independence. Today it serves as the official residence of the Namibian Prime Minister.

Here is a larger version

This photograph is copyright of Rosemary Walden - ｩ Rosemary Walden 2014. All rights reserved. Any redistribution or reproduction of the image in any form is prohibited. You may not, except with my express written permission, copy, reproduce, download, distribute or exploit the content. Nor may you transmit it or store it in any other website or other form of electronic retrieval system

snunney, ktanska, holmertz, No_One, Hansaphotos, krzychu30, jcpix, Kielia, RhodieIke, adramad, adramad, macjake, annjackman has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

snunney (130967) 2014-03-18 9:23

Hello Rosemary,
Best to avoid being arrested:-) Any way, this reflection is very attractive framed by the colourful vegetation. Pleasantly lit and with fine crisp colours.

rychem (72187) 2014-03-18 9:36

Beautiful colorful photo taken on a sunny day, the reflections are really impressive, i like the colorful flower and reflected palms, very well spotted and captured
Regards
Ryszard

photographer_sg (6059) 2014-03-18 10:53

Hello Rosemary
innovative way indeed to capture the beautiful building :-). The vivid colours and strong contrast work well to present a striking image. Thanks for sharing and have a nice evening.
best regards
Satya

ktanska (45126) 2014-03-18 10:56

Hi Rosemary,
It is a surprising combination of modern glass architecture and very fresh garden environment. Excellent framing. Reflections give a good view of what's behind and still add some special looking distortions.
Kari

holmertz (103762) 2014-03-18 11:18

Hello Rosemary,
It's a bit sad that in a lot of African countries you can still get arrested for taking pictures of official buildings or even for just getting too close. I'm glad you cheated those unfriendly guards by taking this picture instead. I get some idea of the colonial style building but this view is probably more attractive than a straightforward shot would have been. The glass tiles create a fine pattern and the view of the State House is nicely framed by the trees. The undulating shape of the hedge with red and white flowers is very nice.
Kind regards,
Gert

lousat (140082) 2014-03-18 12:33

Hi Rosemary,the brightness of this pic is absolutely fantastic! What a magnificent reflection and what a great choice of point of view to take this spectacle in a natural border made by the trees on the left and right and the flowers below,very original and very well done,i like it! Have a nice evening and thanks,Luciano

No_One (4) 2014-03-18 13:01

Hi Rosemary
This is a brilliant scene, the reflection of that sky is amazing, and of course the building makes a nice focal point. But the way you have framed the reflection with the myriad of colors of the flowers and the natural green surround is just perfectly done! Really nice result, and an enviable sky :)
All the best
Noel

Hansaphotos (11381) 2014-03-18 13:41

Hi Rosemary

Haha, not easy to be a photographer, but you solved the task perfectly with this creative shot. Well framed shot with splendid colours. Great work! Thanks.

Greetings, Erling

krzychu30 (15512) 2014-03-18 14:55

Hello Rosemary,
this distorted reality so nicely reflected in glass facade makes your shot really unique and beautiful.But I like also the balance between "reflected"part and the "real"(these lush greenery around provide magnificent natural frame for the scene and a counterpoise for the abstract "reflected" part)

Kind regards
Krzysztof

jcpix (14030) 2014-03-18 16:07

Hi Rosemary,

The challenging photos most often net the biggest rewards, and I love what you've come away with from this exercise! A superb 2-for-1 effect, put together creatively, showing a keen eye for detail and composition. You may not have been able to get any closer, but there's no need when you can achieve a result like this. It's almost hypnotic, only the geometric pattern of the glass structure and warped lines of the House give away the reflection. Clever framing and realization, beauty shot! Enjoy the new day. Take good care.

Friendly wishes,

Jason

carlo62 (81265) 2014-03-18 16:25

Ciao Rosemary
bellissimo riflesso, con magnifici colori, la scomposizione dell'immagine � splendida, sembra quasi perfetta nella sua imperfezione.
Saluti
Carlo

jjcordier (79299) 2014-03-18 23:22

Rosemary
Belle lumi鑽e cr饌nt ce joli reflet tr鑚 contrast� que tu as tr鑚 bien mis en image.
Amicalement
JJ

mesutilgim (0) 2014-03-19 3:59

Hello Rosemary,
Very nice observed and captured ! Great graphical effect. Nice warm colors.
Interesting notes makes your entry a perfect TE job.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

Sergiom (117241) 2014-03-19 6:27

Bonjour Rosemary

J'aime beaucoup cette composition, car c'est le genre d'image que j'aime prendre. J'aime les reflets lorsque la lumi鑽e est aussi belle et les couleurs aussi satur馥s. Le cadrage est excellent.

Amicalement

Serge

dkmurphys (79209) 2014-03-19 9:09

Hi Rosemary,
Well spotted reflected scene. I like the fresh colors and the exotic mood.
Have a fine evening.

Daniel

subhendu_bagchi (26091) 2014-03-19 9:09

namaste Rosemary,
a beautiful reflection shot here. The reflected image as if, created an abstract artwork here. Nice to see it under such a bright and colourful sky. Nicely spotted out view. Great composition. Tfs.
S

Kielia (24077) 2014-03-19 9:31

Hi Rosemary,
it was here on TE where I learnt to love reflections. The reflections you are presenting here are extremely beautiful and moody. Very good management of the light and lovely colors. This image is a pleasure for the eyes. My compliments!
Warm regards
Harriet

Silvio1953 (223141) 2014-03-19 10:12

Ciao Rosemary, fascinating reflection, lovely composition with beautiful flowers, wonderful natural colors, splendid light and excellent clarity, very well done my friend, ciao Silvio

photoray (13981) 2014-03-19 14:45

Howdy Rosemary,

Provocative way to reveal the State House, mirrored in rectangle windows, and surrounded in flowering shrubs, with large palm trees.

Good job,
Cheers,
Ray

jurek1951 (42198) 2014-03-19 23:50

Hi Rosemary,
this is a superb photo of this exciting architecture and I like the reflection and the spectacular details, the POV is excellent. Great shot,
Georg

RhodieIke (11752) 2014-03-20 2:55

Hi Rosemary,

Like your thinking here over your dilemma how to photograph this very secure Prime Minsters house.
Great Pov, on to this reflections, fantastic colours, Well managed, Tfs,

Cheers, Iain.

emka (158988) 2014-03-20 11:01

I like these reflections with so deep saturated colours, specially the sky is marvelous. A lot of flowers and greenery, must be a joy for the people from desert country. The Prime Minister has a charming residence.

MAlgo

adramad (73524) 2014-03-21 12:13

Hi Rosemary.
Wonderful composition in which the proud reflexes, harmonize superbly with two trees left and right of the glass and the flowery hedge at the bottom of the image, they create a framework for the same effect, of great beauty.
A perfect colorful these vivid colors.
A bright image with optimum clarity.
Good job. I like.
Enjoy a good weekend.
Best wishes.
Luis.

macjake (98544) 2014-03-24 14:28

Hi Rosemary
we don't get to see many inner city shots on TE from Namibia :)
most seem to be of nature or wildlife, so this one really interests me for obvious reasons.

well, you may not be able to get up close to the building itself, but the photo still turned out to work in your favor.

the criss cross of the blue colored squares give that dynamic flavor thats needed. Looks like a very warm and perfect day to take some photos.

PS
I tried to email you back but it's not working for some reason. Tosca and I want to thank you for the email, the link and of course any help you can give :)
and yeah, we'd much prefer to rent a jeep and just drive around. we'll certainly be in touch in the future and i hope we can all meet up too :)
cheers
craig

annjackman (23019) 2014-04-05 23:02

Hello Rosemary,
This is an eye-catching shot and one I missed while I was away. I love the way that the bushes and trees frame the reflection of the State House. The colours are vivid and the everything is so wonderfully sharp. Excellent picture from Windhoek.
Kind Regards, Ann

claudeD (47754) 2014-04-21 8:49

Hello Rosemary,

very fine picture from Namibia showing this amazing reflections in the front facade of this modern house.Very fine colors and sharpness.Very well done.TFS.

With regards from Luxembourg

JC