Cathedral cloister, a photo from Aquitaine, West

Photographer's Note

Bayonne cathedral cloister dates from 1240.

The main parts of the cathedral itself, which is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, were constructed in stages between the 13th and 16th centuries. However, it was not until a major operation led by Paul Louis Boeswillwald, a pupil of Viollet-Le-Duc, that the 85 metre high spires were completed in the 19th century giving the cathedral the elegant outline it retains today.

It is Gothic in style and built using locally-sourced white and red stone on the site of a Romanesque cathedral which was destroyed by fire in 1258. Situated in the heart of the historic centre of Bayonne on a mound overlooking the Nive and Adour rivers, the cathedral contains relics of St Leo (St L駮n in French), a 9th century Bishop of Bayonne

It was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1998 as part of the French Pilgrim Routes of Santiago de Compostela.

papagolf21, ChrisJ, Fis2, holmertz, pierrefonds, Royaldevon, jhm, pajaran, ikeharel, rychem, cornejo, PiotrF, alvaraalto, macjake, Cricri, mcmtanyel has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

dkmurphys (79209) 2017-09-18 23:42

Good morning,
Superb decorations and contrasts in this scene. I like the idea of taking this image, well seen.

Daniel

ManuMay (36447) 2017-09-19 0:15

Hi Stephen!!

I remember well this beautiful cloister from my trip on Dec-2010!! A very beautiful and peaceful place, good to walk around and sit for a while. Good composition and good ligt management here!! Thanks for sharing...>>Manu

papagolf21 (152607) 2017-09-19 0:45

Bonjour, cher Stephen,
Ce clo羡re b駭馭icie d'une architecture de toute beaut� avec ces arcades donnant sur le patio.
Comment ne pas tomber sous le charme.
Merci du partage.
Amiti駸.
Philippe

lousat (139298) 2017-09-19 0:59

Hi Steph,great exposure! It's always difficult to take good pics in situations like that. A magnificent result,very bright and sharp,busy composition full of archs and decorations,i like it! Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

ChrisJ (171852) 2017-09-19 1:03

Hi Stephen!

Nice repetition of the cookie cutout style windows. The people provide scale and animate the scene. Good sharpness and the blue and red bg at right contrast well with the plainer beige colors at left. Tfs!

Fis2 (170807) 2017-09-19 1:10

Witaj Philippe!
Very nice courtyard.
Beautiful architecture.
Good frame, colors and light.
Persons add flavor to this composition.
Nice day.
Krzysztof

Nicou (193806) 2017-09-19 1:27

Hello

quels personnages assis sur le mur sueprbe image quel d馗oupage de ces arches avec les dessin le jeu de lumi鑽e le parc � l'arri鑽e quel recherche splendide.
Bravo et amiti�
Nicou

holmertz (102732) 2017-09-19 1:49

Hello Stephen,
A well composed photo where the foreground nicely combines elegant architecture with a strong human presence. The outside view is also attractive and both areas are well exposed.
Kind regards,
Gert

jean113 (27887) 2017-09-19 4:11

Hello Stephen, not always an easy shot looking through to bright sunlight like this, you have managed it extremely well.
I like the way that the tracery of the stonework shows up so beautifully.
Good idea to include the people.
And the higher vantage point is good too.
Regards Jean.

pierrefonds (114494) 2017-09-19 4:54

Hi Stephen,

The presence of the people is animating the scene. The point of view is showing the details of the cathedral cloister. The light is enhancing the beauty of the colors. Have a nice day.

Pierre

Royaldevon (85932) 2017-09-19 5:20

Hello Stephen,

You found a superb building for photography and chose an excellent viewpoint so that the contrasts of light and shadow reveal the beautiful patterns of the Gothic style arches. We really do seem to be sharing the experience with the figures in the shot.

My warm regards,
Bev :-)

jhm (211736) 2017-09-19 5:43

Bonjour Stephen,

The two windows in foreground are wonderful architecture and great artwork.
The picture gives depth and perspective
Sharpness and colours are wonderful.
Composition and presentation make your picture attractive.
Very well done, TFS.

Amicalement,
John.

Sergiom (117241) 2017-09-19 6:09

Bonjour Stephen,

J'aime beaucoup cette composition. Elle est originale et en plus, elle raconte une histoire. L'endroit est calme, comme il se doit et c'est superbe derri鑽e ces arches magnifiques.

Amicalement

Serge

pajaran (115941) 2017-09-19 6:59

Dobar dan.
Lep pogled i trenutak, interesantan i dobar tekst ...
Dobar rad, lepo pokazano mesto i trenutak, dobar kontrast i ostrina, lepe boje, lepo uhvacen trenutak sa posetiocima. Lepa arhitektra i detalji.
Zelim vam lepo popodne, sve najbolje.
Paja.

Good day.
A nice look and a moment, interesting and good text ...
Good work, beautifully shown place and moment, good contrast and sharpness, nice colors, nice caught moment with visitors. Nice architecture and details.
I wish you good afternoon, all the best.

sacimar (38173) 2017-09-19 8:11

Hello Stephen,

good image of this cloister, I like the composition with the people around, light management is very good, it must be an interesting place to visit, well done,

Best regards,

Sergio

Silvio1953 (221659) 2017-09-19 9:11

Ciao Stephen, great view of fantastic architecture, lovel composition with nice people, wonderful colors, good clarity and splendid light, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

rychem (72187) 2017-09-19 9:21

Simply beautiful, this cloister with its arches and traceries is fantastic, excellent photo, perfect management of light
regards Ryszard

cornejo (61504) 2017-09-19 11:04

Hi Stephen, very good photograph of this interesting cloister, very well captured in this interesting image, with good clarity, light, color and quality. Very good and interesting work perfectly done, my congratulations, my friend. Thank you for sharing this beautiful work.

Good night and happy week.
Affectionate greetings from the south of Spain.
Angel.

No_One (4) 2017-09-19 11:42

Hi Stephen
I don't think I ever said this before, but those are big cloisters :) I see cloisters in a lot of places I visit but they are usually quite ruined and never ornate. These are superb and with great natural light and colors.
Cheers
Noel

carlo62 (81265) 2017-09-19 14:34

Ciao Stephen
colonne e archi non ammettono dubbi sulla bellezza di questo gotico.
Anche in questo caso � molto utile la presenza delle persone per valutare al meglio le dimensioni di questa architettura.
Saluti
Carlo

PiotrF (54726) 2017-09-19 16:09

Hello Stephen,
Beautiful Gothic architectural details here.
Wonderful picture with good composition and nice colours.
Very well done.
Regards
Piotr

jemaflor (147184) 2017-09-19 18:30

Hi Stephen,
Superbe vue avec une excellente gestion des contrastes de luminosit�, tr鑚 belle mise en valeur du clo羡re, bravo !

emka (158198) 2017-09-19 23:55

Hello Stephen I like such cloisters, with the beautiful arches and the courtyards inside. fantastic composition with the couples young, middle aged and elder in the balanced composition. Fabulous Gothic arches. Great picture

Kind regrad s Malgo

alvaraalto (42804) 2017-09-20 5:59

Hello Stephen
Well composed photo with a good classical POV. Good balance between the dark and the light. Always very difficult with this kind of picture from the dark to the sunlight garden behind.
Excellent picture. Have a nice day. Groet Rob

macjake (98456) 2017-09-20 11:09

Hi Stephen
oh I think this one will be a popular shot for you :)
and why not, its pretty awesome my friend.
great to have the people sitting around and in various areas too. the arches, history, its elegance, so much going for it. sweet to have the light on the grass in the middle portion to give it some pop. lovely shot. cheers
Craig

Cricri (176) 2017-09-20 22:43

Hello Stephen
Belle id馥 de composition, int駻essante arcades avec vue excellente sur l弾xt駻ieur sou une lumi鑽e bien g駻馥, belle image
Belle journ馥
cricri

Tue (92402) 2017-09-20 22:59

Hello Stephen,
Terrific light management, both the foreground and the sunlit courtyard are very well exposed. The large Gothic window looks beautiful and stands out so well from the background. The visitors are well included too.
Lars

mcmtanyel (68569) 2017-09-25 20:18

Hello Stephen,
It is like lacework, it's beautiful.Good light management allows the viewer enjoy the vivid colors outside as well as the details inside.
Regards,
MT