2004 Our of Lady Damme, a photo from West-Vlaanderen, Flanders

Photographer's Note

2020 - All rights reserved. The photos taken by photographer John Maenhout are registered and copyrighted. Use in any form (web, paper publication, public exposure, etc.) is strictly forbidden without the written permission of the photographer. To contact with photographer please use TE Contact Me

My own site:
http://users.telenet.be/johnmaenhout/index-EN.htm

Our Ladies church

Archive 2004

During the quarantine period, I search my archive
I found this photo of the church of Damme

Maybe the quality is less than the better cameras, but sixteen years ago I was very satisfied with it

History;
Shortly after Damme came into existence, there was already a temporary place of prayer. This chapel depended on the church of Oostkerke, which is older than Damme. In 1225, however, the construction of the current church started (and then the tower had a spire with corner towers!). The city grew quickly and the church soon became too small. It was therefore enlarged in 1340. In 1578 the church was sacked by the Beggars, after which it was restored between 1621 and 1626. However, things did not go well with the city. The depopulation that followed made the immense church (and the maintenance bill) much too big. In 1704 the demolition of part of the church was first discussed. In 1725 the "Grote Raad" in Mechelen gave permission for the demolition. The section between the tower and the current church building was demolished; the arches had to stand to support the tower. Then the dilapidated spire was also removed from the tower. The recovered materials were sold.

I hope you like it

Camera Model
Canon EOS 300D DIGITAL
File Size 2,1MB
Shooting Date/Time
16/04/2004 14:13:04
Owner's Name
Shooting Mode
Landscape
Tv(Shutter Speed)
1/160
Av(Aperture Value)
8.0
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO Speed
100
Lens
18.0 - 55.0mm
Focal Length
22.0mm
Image Size
3072x2048
Image Quality
Normal

PaulVDV, pajaran, jean113, worldcitizen, Fis2, tyro, Ilonka1974, pierrefonds, ChrisJ, COSTANTINO, papagolf21, papagolf21, macjake, quovadis, Royaldevon, adramad, PiotrF has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

PaulVDV (62746) 2020-05-26 11:05

Hallo John,
Deze kerk heb ik ook onmiddellijk herkend.
Ik herinner me in de buurt een tuintje met heel vreemd gesnoeide bomen.
De platte kerktoren is typisch voor dit deel van Vlaanderen. In Brabant zie ik dergelijke torens niet.
Ook zestien jaar geleden waren je foto's zeer helder en uiterst scherp. Geen reden om te twijfelen aan de kwaliteit van de foto.
Mooi gedaan!
Vele groeten, Paul

pajaran (114781) 2020-05-26 11:15

Pozdrav.
lep pogled i trenutak, interesantan i dobar tekst ...
Lepa fasada i detalji, lepa stara arhitektura. Lepo mesto i Crkva.
Lepo pokazano, dobro uhvacen trenutak sa oblacima koji dolaze.
Dobar tekst o koriscenoj tehnici i elementima snimka.
Zelim vam lepu i mirnu noc, sve najbolje.
Paja.

Greeting.
nice view and moment, interesting and good text ...
Beautiful facade and details, beautiful old architecture. Nice place and Church.
Nicely shown, well captured moment with the clouds coming.
Good text about the technique used and the elements of the recording.
I wish you a nice and peaceful night, all the best.

holmertz (101880) 2020-05-26 11:36

Hello John,
You have every reason to be satisfied with this photo even after 16 years. Maybe you have a better camera now, but the quality of this photo is still excellent. Most important is that the church is such a beautiful building and so nicely surrounded by trees. Sharpness is good and light and colours are wonderful.
Best regards,
Gert

jmdias (114150) 2020-05-26 11:42

john

looks like the tower would receive more details in the top but the money to the building was cut, nice details of this gothic style.

take care

jorge

Silvio1953 (220443) 2020-05-26 11:52

Ciao John, great view of impressive Church, superb sky, wonderful pastel colors, excellent clarity, splendid light and fine details, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

jean113 (27585) 2020-05-26 11:54

Hello John, do not apologise for the quality, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this picture.
Your notes give us a very interesting description of the history of the church, the remains of the original church are still worthy of a photograph.
I assume that the church is still used for services?
Taken from a good angle, a very good picture.
Kind regards, Jean.

worldcitizen (15930) 2020-05-26 12:09

Hello John,
This is a beautiful church, and the size is impressive. I can only imagine how difficult it was to construct a building this large so many centuries ago. I think the photo quality is very good, despite its age. :-) Take good care...

Fis2 (169589) 2020-05-26 12:56

Witaj John!
Something specific today.
A beautiful gothic church with a magnificent tower.
Good POV, composition and colors.
I love it.
Good evening.
Krzysztof

Tue (91450) 2020-05-26 13:22

Hallo John,
Een uitstekende foto van deze prachtige kerk met een heel statige toren. De kleuren zijn heel aangenaam in het prettige licht en laten de warme kleuren van de kerkmuren mooi uitkomen.
Lars

tyro (30513) 2020-05-26 13:31

Hello John,

How amazing it is that you have sat on this gem of a photograph for so long - but how wonderful that we are now able to see it!

Your note is absolutely fascinating - what changes have happened to this church in the last 800 years from being built, being enlarged then partially demolished and having the spire and corner towers removed - and yet it is still incredibly beautiful!

And your photograph has captured this beauty perfectly in the most lovely soft and warm light with lovely colours, perfect exposure and exquisite details and sharpness.

Beautiful!

Take care and stay safe.

Kind Regards,

John.

lousat (138521) 2020-05-26 14:03

Salut John,tres belle carte postale depuis ton archive,surement une parmi tes premieres photos numerique,la qualite' n'est pas mal et on peu bien voir les details de l'architechture. Belle soiree' et merci,Luciano

Ilonka1974 (10275) 2020-05-26 14:47

Hi John,
You've really well framed your shot, enhancing the architecture of that church. There's a very good equilibrium in this shot. Nice colors too, very good sharpness.
Best regards
Janusz

pierrefonds (113474) 2020-05-26 16:23

Hi John,

The trees are framing well the church. The point of view is shwoing the details of Our Lady church. The colours are beautiful. Have a nice day.

Pierre

ChrisJ (171146) 2020-05-26 16:51

Hallo John,

Good shot of this beautiful old stone Gothic Church with a nice angled pov and excellent lighting, sharpness and framing. Tfs!

COSTANTINO (115407) 2020-05-26 22:33

Hello dear John and have a nice day
and a happy new day
you have a great treasure of
archives...interesting capture of
this old church taken sixteen years
ago
welldone
regards
Costantino

jemaflor (146168) 2020-05-26 23:43

Hi John,
Excellent presentation for this church, good angle and perfect rendering, sharpness, light and tones, tfs.

papagolf21 (152605) 2020-05-26 23:52

Bonjour, cher ami John ,
Ici, point de clocher pointu, mais une belle tour carr馥 � la fa輟n du Royaume Uni !
Superbe 馘ifice fort bien photographi�.
Amiti駸.
Philippe

emka (157280) 2020-05-27 0:13

Hello John, Nice view of this big Gothic church of Damme. Excellent quality as always - well composed, nice colours and fine sharpness.
Stay healthy

MAlgo

ifege (46851) 2020-05-27 0:23

Hi John
No bike ride today. A good one from your archives.
cheers
Ian

foxy (3423) 2020-05-27 1:48

Hello John,
For sixteen years ago, this photo is good as any. As my saying, a 'green fingers' is a good gardener and a 'click fingers' is a good photographer. Your ability is beyond me.
When I feel down , church is my safe haven - unless it's less people in the church.
Well found photo and thanks for sharing.
Loong

rychem (72187) 2020-05-27 7:33

This church is very interesting because, as I can see, it has two different naves, an interesting history of this church
regards Ryszard

Miguel82 (47110) 2020-05-28 12:24

Hallo John, that old church contains a tower. It is surrounded by a garden. The building has a long history well summarized in the photo note. Fine colors, good sharpness, regards.

GyurMaster (24668) 2020-05-28 12:57

Dear John,

Nice portrayal of this old church! I like it!

Best Wishes,
Gy.

macjake (98256) 2020-05-30 0:17

Hi John
its great that you included the history of this church...and what a history that is. Its been through SO much, and its interesting that the Spire is not removed, I would love to see photos with it on. Nice shot from a long time ago, glad you posted it. cheers
Craig

quovadis (5711) 2020-05-30 21:47

Hi John.

An old days camera with the exposure of a brand new mega pixel Canon. Yes, the quality of your presentation is just outstanding. An interesting object of your interest, not fully appreciated then, turned into a classical architecture which most people these days adore.

Have a nice Pentecost Sunday!!!

Royaldevon (85576) 2020-05-31 4:32

Hello John,

Wow, this church has certainly had a sad history!

However, your photograph, shows the church standing proudly and well maintained. It is a very well executed photograph, both for sharpness and colours.

The weather was glorious giving a bright, blue sky, with just enough cloud detail.

Have a lovely Sunday,
Bev :-)

adramad (72524) 2020-06-02 11:32

Hi John.
Very interesting note about the history of the church that you show us today, despite the damage caused throughout its history, it looks imposing with its large windows and its beautiful unfinished tower.
A magnificent color that gives a lot of chromatic richness to the image.
Very good lighting management and very good sharpness.
Well done. I like.
I wish you a pleasant week.
Very best regards.
Luis.

PiotrF (54246) 2020-06-02 16:10

Hello John
Interesting view of Our Ladies church, nice old architecture.
Photo with nice colours, good composition and good sharpness.
Fine presentation.
Regards
Piotr

mkamionka (73198) 2020-06-07 2:15

Hi John,
very attractive church which seems to be standing in a rural setting. Old stylish and well taken care of.
Beautiful postcard style presentation, exactly as I like it.
You have selected a perfect angle here. The asymmetry cause by the presence of tower is pleasing to the eye.
I really like it,
M