cat and light, a photo from Istanbul, Marmara

Photographer's Note

Hagia Sophia (Greek: Ἁγία Σοφία; "Holy Wisdom", Turkish: Ayasofya) is a former patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum, in Istanbul, Turkey. Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture. It was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years, until the completion of the Medieval Seville Cathedral in 1520.
The current building was originally constructed as a church between 532 and 537 AD on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, and was in fact the third Church of the Holy Wisdom to occupy the site (the previous two had both been destroyed by riots). It was designed by two architects, Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. The Church contained a large collection of holy relics and featured, among other things, a 50 ft (15 m) silver iconostasis. It was the patriarchal church of the Patriarch of Constantinople and the religious focus point of the Eastern Orthodox Church for nearly 1000 years.

This place impress me most in Istanbul :) and because in this city you find cats all over i did find this one inside ...maybe a visitor just like me:)

theblackhead, isabela_sor, faubry, Dpbours, kapt73, Floydian, kagemusha, Wanda1, irimi, quillo, carper, rigoletto, IgorDeleze, ahaberal, chpp, johannes68, lilimih33, Bartleby, pasternak, hgupta, OLF, photographer123, jaywalker, zeca, alainh, marknunnerley, doubay, ak47apache, msastre, dnms531 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

bruce_wayne (1507) 2008-02-07 4:29

Ciao Anellise
great mood in your shot!! Very very interesting work! I like lights, they are very well done and an great point of view, congratulations!

Alessandro

isabela_sor (47748) 2008-02-07 4:33 [Comment]

Show Comment

sevy (58) 2008-02-07 4:36

Hello Anes,

Very nice shot because of the light very soft doing reflections of the stones of the floor.
The cat is very nice as first ground.
It seems to me there is a little tilt of the left. It should be easy to correct in Photoshop, but I wonder if it is not normal.

Yves.

faubry (35447) 2008-02-07 4:41

WOWWWWWWWWWW, wonderful bright floor... and amazing cat... really a superb photo, i like a lot this perspective,
te pup
francine

okahraman (4591) 2008-02-07 4:45

hi Anellise ;

輟k 軋rpıcı bir kadraj olmuş renkler kompozisyon ayrıntılar bir harika elinize sağlık

ﾖnder Kahraman

ninaL (21348) 2008-02-07 4:45

Hi, Anes.
Beautiful :).
Light is very interesting here and the cat is perfectely included here...
Cat as a citizen !
I like this vision.
Best regards. Grazyna.

pcp (3396) 2008-02-07 4:50

Hi MOSS,

Miiiiyyyyyyaaaaauuuuuuuu.......... Wonderful shot, I'm thinking how managed to take this low angle shot ?? :D wonderful with lights. lucky cat :D

TFS

Senthil

Dpbours (222) 2008-02-07 4:50

Hi Anellise,

I normally don't have much with cat-shots on TrekEarth, but it was the light that attracted me to this one! Good note as well and funny to see there's a cat in the Cathedral / Museum. There must really be a lot of cats in Istanbul :-).
Thanks for sharing!

Greetings,
Dennis

efi (5303) 2008-02-07 5:45

merhaba anellise;
wellcome to turkey..POV and light are perfect.needs a very little bit rotation.nice shot.tfs.

Floydian (30970) 2008-02-07 6:02

Dear Anellise,
Wonderful light reflections on the path you got here. Really remarkable how you control that light and still have an excellent focus on the cat but also an eye for the composition. Very good work from you, it shows that you not only can take very good landscapes but also this kind of work.
Regards, Henk

Valerka (8171) 2008-02-07 6:21

Hi, Anes,
Tres jolie photo et composition verticale.J'aime le pp traitment.Merci pour le partage.
Bon apres midi
Valerka:)

MarcT (20964) 2008-02-07 6:28

Hi Anes,
That' a gorgeous one. The cat is perfectly placed and is enhancing the picture a lot. Your post processing is also beautiful.
Cheers
Marc

Paolo (41258) 2008-02-07 6:40

Th efloor...the reflections on the floors are the winning piont of this wonderful view IMHO!
not only the cat, the brilliant POV, the amazing light, but the floor, where you have captured the 1500 years, the millions of people that walked over that stones!
great shot.
thansk, ciao

Wanda1 (15142) 2008-02-07 6:56

Hi Anellise,
The light beams through the high windows hitting the highly polished floor is lovely, and I like that there is a strip of light directly behind your perfect subject the cat. The colouring is also wonderful and adds to the great atmosphere of the building. Very nice!
Regards
Wanda

vts_ch (2624) 2008-02-07 7:18

Hi Anelise,

This image is amasing, the PP is just perfect, I guess you've spend a lot of time on it, but the result is here...

Lovin' it

Vince

wolves00 (152) 2008-02-07 7:53

Anellise,

Great photo, point of view, light, mood and the lovey cat! Agree with one of the earlier posters though, it might have a slight tilt on the photo however I don't feel it detracts from the photo too much.

Thanks for sharing,

Richard

irimi (890) 2008-02-07 8:03

Hello Anes,
Beautiful composition and great use of light. Well done.

Ahmet

quillo (11858) 2008-02-07 8:31

-

Hello Anellise, a spectacular image with the tender touch of ' Mister Cat ' who seems as if he was guarding it ' former patriarchal basilica ' in Istanbul, a photo with a very interesting low POV and a few sheens in walls and soils that do of your composition an excellent work.

Congratulations.

Un Saludo.

-

gezimania (6288) 2008-02-07 8:34

Hi Anellise,
I surprised about the amount of the light in Hagia Sophia. Especially the light reflecting at the ground, behind the cat looks very lively..
Good POV, congratulations..

Selnur

Cormac (26565) 2008-02-07 8:44

Great lighting, great low angle, and wonderful feel to this. The positioning of the cat is just right to be able to see it without any distracting background. Nice idea to use the cat to contrast between the natural world and the complexities of human culture. I really like the processing here, with a kind of washed out colour, very earthy and interesting. Great work!

totoamoto (1107) 2008-02-07 9:07

Salut Anellise..
Super composition avec des couleurs "aluminiums"..
Bravo
Cyril

Merline (0) 2008-02-07 9:12

Hello there, come here lovely pussy cat...how could I resist ?:-)
A good work! The silvery colors and textures of these so old stones are beautiful, shining and polished. I love your low pov at the cat's level that makes for an interesting perspective and depth. A little redress of the perspective could be easily done:-). Lovely.
TFS
Cheers, Mich鑞e

kagemusha (1288) 2008-02-07 9:20

Hi,
amazing photo. How did you manage to look like this?
i like the reflection on the floor.
cheers
mali

jonathan_hart (21276) 2008-02-07 9:28

a difficult light to manage from the windows, but these OE parts are a minor detail, in such a case I would do a verticale lines correction
but of course the idea of composition is very smart and the result has a great impact
regards
jo

[workshop] [compare]

Dyerco (10185) 2008-02-07 9:33

Hi Anellise
The monochrome look works well here. I don't know if these were the actual colours or whether you desaturated them a bit. Nice POV to include the cat as FG interest.
Phil

carper (96) 2008-02-07 9:57

it's a mistyc shot my friend,
the fantastic atmosphere is captured very well, the cat is very nice in the composition and I like the perspective and the light in this fantastic photojob, well done, have a nice evening.
gr. jaap

mesutilgim (0) 2008-02-07 10:18

My dear Anellise,
Wonderfulll ! Very good pov; great compo with the cat. Most probably the only capture ever been made in this great Monument, with a cat as main figure !
Soft colors and very nice light on the old marble floor.
TFS and best regards,
MESUT ILGIM

dkeus31 (27739) 2008-02-07 10:23

hi Anes,
a very nice image from inside, the light management is good, the composition with the cat even better, except, well, i would guess ther might be a little tilt... :)
hugsss
didier

delkoo (68) 2008-02-07 10:31

HI anellise
youdid a great job here, i am stunned by the tones andlight in your photo, and the cat is a spectacular element in your composition.
very well done
regards
didier

rigoletto (34279) 2008-02-07 10:32

What did you do to Hagia Sophia Anes? At least the ceilings supposed to look yellow! Now they look rotten :P
But no problem, your ideal here is already presenting the cat, the place is only a surrounding for him >:D
(do i sound jealous because you photo is better than mine??? LOL)

IgorDeleze (585) 2008-02-07 10:57

Hello Anellise,
Where is the terrible cloudy sky !?! ;o)
Great shot. The have reached a fantastic result.
Greetings.
Igor

Morac (27725) 2008-02-07 11:24

Hello Anellise,

The cat is perfectly placed and is enhancing the picture a lot. Your post processing is also beautiful.
Regards
Marc

kfreud (1231) 2008-02-07 11:33 [Comment]

Show Comment

chpp (4283) 2008-02-07 12:02

Hi Anallise
excellent composition. I like the light and the textures through out the image.
good light and great POv
cheers
chris

johannes68 (3469) 2008-02-07 12:50

Dear Anellise,

what a proud cat! Looks more like the housekeeper than like a visitor...

I love the composition of your photo - so clear, clean, it all looks so easy...

Te pup, Johannes

lilimih33 (9918) 2008-02-07 16:01

Hello Anes!
Incredibila compozitia ta!!!
Culorile asta pamantii si lumina sint fenomenale plus ca ai inclus si pisica. Eu ador pisicile!
Perfecta perspective!
Super super super, dragutz-o!
Pup!
Lili

dilane (861) 2008-02-07 16:06

Bonsoir Anellise
J'ai vu Marmara en 騁�...je pense que tu as eu beaucoup de chance de pouvoir y aller en f騅rier... en Juillet cet endroit aurait 騁� envahi, alors que l�, le chat est roi - quel parterre, bravo pour cette photo -

amicalement
daniel

Bartleby (13552) 2008-02-08 0:11

Hi Anellise,
Impressive picture! I love the tones and the light. And the cat is a proper introduction to the whole picture. I also like the silght tilt which brings a feeling of oddness to the whole place.
Well done!
Yours,
Philippe

horatiuTT (4570) 2008-02-08 0:30

Superba poza o data in plus Anellise.Imi place aceasta perspectiva de jos...misto lumini si stralucire si matza ii
senzatie.Poate ma inveti si pe mine odata...;)...glumeam...pana
la urma fiecare cu stilul sau.Numai bine
HOratiu

ahaberal (6469) 2008-02-08 1:19

selam anellise
wellcome to turkey
beautiful colours and contrast.wonderful composition.well done.
asim

barrufeto_77 (28888) 2008-02-08 2:48

Hi Anes.

Nice, nice picture from that amazing POV. That's unusual in a place like this so...smart idea!

Rgs, Oscar

pasternak (15185) 2008-02-08 3:38

Mjauwwwww...

an excellent shot, the low PoV is exceptional, hope you haven't destroyed his (or her?) privacy much LOL :)))

Cheers
Alexander

hgupta (1323) 2008-02-08 4:16

Hi Anellise,

This is really some art. Wonderful POV and fantastic light. The texture and the atmosphere captured beautifully. I am amazed looking at the light pouring fprm everywhere and still its so subtle and beautiful.
Lovely shot

Hemant

smarcell (19965) 2008-02-08 5:17

The light is excellent, as well as the POV.
I guess there is some photoshop work, but the result is excellent.

Stefano

OLF (4017) 2008-02-08 9:46

Hi Anellise!
Terrible icy and metal feeling on that picture, a terrible depth for that photo with your pov that hightlighting the architecture place!
Very well done!
Regards,
Olivier

johnfreeman (2274) 2008-02-09 2:28

Hello Anes,
Beautiful shot, a cat's-eye view of Hagia Sophia. I remember cats everywhere in Istanbul! What I most like however is the light and the subdued, almost monochrome colours, the shimmering surface of the marble floor.
Have a nice weekend,
John

jaywalker (16105) 2008-02-09 10:14

Hi Anellise, An amazing photo &, the composition is excellent, you chose a wonderful POV with the cat brilliantly placed, the cobbled walkway is stunning & I love the shine from the lights, superb architecture &, great effects, TFS, kind regards Wilson.

batalay (41261) 2008-02-10 7:09

Hello Anellise,

This is a spectacular image of the interior of one of the world's greatest architectural wonders. This must have been taken during your recent sojourn to Istanbul and meeting with fellow Trekkies � a wonderful group. The composition is imaginative, the quality of the exposure superb! The reflection of the light on the worn floor is beautifully managed.

Warm regards,

Bulent

zeca (19762) 2008-02-11 17:55

Hi Anellise!
Excellent work! The lights are absolutely great! Amazing composition with the cat. Nice architecture. Perfect framing with the cat placed in a nice position and the good view of the ceiling. Really an amazing work! Congratulations!
Regards,
Zeca

Signal-Womb (13048) 2008-02-12 11:23

That,s a great result Anellise, I would love to have taken this one myself. Your low POV was well chosen and you have retained enough shadow details on the cat. Love the sheen and texture of the floor, great monochrome look to this. I would rotate this by a margin to complete a fantastic shot. Regards Steve.

rbcy1974 (20758) 2008-02-17 5:09

Hello
This is lovely
Great capture of the cat on the foreground, and nice details in the background, i relaly like the tones, what did you do to get these moncohromatic tones?
Regards
Daniel

alainh (33209) 2008-02-18 4:58

hello Anellise
all was said about this beautiful, and mysterious picture. great post-processing, and an unusal used of this hard light. i like a lot the atmosphere found !!
very nice job, are you Magician to, Anellise ????
have a nice day
alain

marknunnerley (2780) 2008-02-19 3:12

Looks like an hdr but is very impressive Anellise. The position of the cat is just right and the old building gives a really great look. Great gallery.
best regards
mark

calm (66) 2008-02-20 0:04

very great!
very nice !
saeed

doubay (674) 2008-02-21 13:44

How lucky you were! The cat just sat at the best place possible filling your frame in the foreground perfectly. Excellent shot with very smart chosen POV and great pp, which utilizes this very special moment in the very best way and offers us a very impressive and rather different insight into the unique Agia Sofia.
Cheers
Andreas

vicana (74) 2008-03-03 4:26

Magnificient shot! The angle of the shot,.. composition and the colours make thuis a special one. But I think a little more details on the cat might have made the picture even better! Anyways,.. great work.

ilhanucar (477) 2008-04-22 15:02

Hello Anellise,
Excellent compo, very nice perspective, colors and perfect shot.
Well done.
ilhan

ak47apache (217) 2008-05-06 12:26 [Comment]

Show Comment

rozy975 (3047) 2008-05-22 6:47

This is a great shot, Anelisse.
I love the colors and the mood in this one.
Cat is a beautiful addition to the scene.
Well done!

avid82 (26) 2008-06-20 2:27

truly turkish tone ...i like the colour of marbles as well as the camouflaged cat
matching the tone of the picture great shot annelis

michelloupis (0) 2008-07-21 2:41

Fascinating picture. Timeless!

Take care
Nuno

AnaRita (1741) 2009-05-04 7:15

Ol� Anellise!
The light reflection on the polished floor is beautiful. The inclusion of the cat worked really good.
Congratulation and thank for sharing,
Ana

pawelx (11) 2009-06-10 12:01

Wow! Different take on such a common theme.

jrleborgne (1554) 2009-09-21 3:22

Bonjour Anellise,

Superbe composition baroque , grande ma羡rise de la lumi鑽e.
Bravo
Jean-Renaud

ifanik (21679) 2009-10-01 12:38

Wonderful photo Anellise
Congratulations
Very beautiful atmosphere
Best regards
Nick

marcdemoulin (1870) 2009-11-29 12:42

This picture is terrific and the lighting outstanding!!
Marc

livermore (1631) 2009-12-30 3:13

Un chat noir et blanc n'aurait pas rendu aussi bien, celui l� a vraiment la tenue id饌le.
Magnifique compo de qualit�, avec un cadrage tr鑚 soign�.
Bravo!
Vincent

ariarezaiefar (2) 2010-02-15 7:29

Great shot

Tabris (140) 2010-02-19 15:14

Hello Anellise,

A very enigmatic scene with an enigmatic animal. Very good composition. Thanks.

Best regards,

Nabil.

michelleknight (112) 2010-02-22 15:54

Another beautiful shot!
Your point of view is great. I love the cat in the foreground and the beautiful ceiling. Another place I must see.

Michelle

cak (4931) 2010-02-23 6:21

very special and cute cat.it is there in every Kariye photos as an model .it is master of Kariye ,maybe
debth and angle are nice.TFS

HFASSOURAKIS (4) 2011-01-30 9:41

WELL DONE
NICE PERSPECTIVE
THE MARBLE TILES LOOKS FANTASTIC WITH THE LIGHT REFLECTION
AND YES AGIA SOFIA IS A PLACE THAT MANY BEAUTIFUL PICTURES CAN BE SHOT

I LOVE CONSTANTINOPLE AND THOSE WHO LOVE IT TOO

THANKS HERCULES GREECE

malatya (50) 2012-01-02 7:16

Hi dear,
Nice shot , perfect light ...
+ your note : In the word , first time one priest and one imam prayed for the whole world.
TFS
Regards
Selcuk