The Gate of Dawn, (lt. Ausros vartu, pl. Ostra Brama), Vilnius, 2016
The baroque Church of St. Theresa and Ausros Street leading to the shrine with a revered Madonna painting Our Lady of the Dawn, venerated for centuries. This is the city view of the last surviving gate built in the first years of 1500s together with city walls which were to protect Vilnius from Tatar invaders. I made another calotype of the other side of the gate and city wall here flic.kr/p/GDn52N . My first visit to Lithuania.
This was the third of four exposures I made on that trip and I was hoping for enough evening sunlight to lit the shrine when I set up the tripod. Just as I was ready a dark cloud appeared and covered the sun. A cold wind picked up in strength blowing from the direction of the gate. I had no choice but to start exposing as it was my last evening here and the most important site. Some three minutes in the exposure (12 min in total) the wind blew harder and pushed the camera nearly knocking it down, I am sure I cought it when it was falling down but managed to put it back on all three legs of the tripod. This happened twice! Well, what is the chance that the tripod falls back into exactly the same position? I thought may be less than 5% and did not expect much from it. Still, this slightly blurred image seems to deny common sense. Was it another miracle from the Ostrobramska Madonna painting? My mother strongly believed in her powers when she lived here as a teenager. Some locals still believe the place has extraordinary Powers www.flickr.com/gp/51129607@N07/5No481
See the shrine interiour with the numerous offerings on the walls after recent restoration here www.flickr.com/gp/51129607@N07/v7i139 or in a panoramic viw of the interiour www.panoramas.lt/m_katalog.php?p_id=2714&lg=2
Salt print on Lana Royal watercolour paper
3,4% KCl in 1% gelatine
12% AgNO3
sun 40 min
Made from an unwaxed calotype negative (May 16th, 2016)
The Gate of Dawn, (lt. Ausros vartu, pl. Ostra Brama), Vilnius, 2016
The baroque Church of St. Theresa and Ausros Street leading to the shrine with a revered Madonna painting Our Lady of the Dawn, venerated for centuries. This is the city view of the last surviving gate built in the first years of 1500s together with city walls which were to protect Vilnius from Tatar invaders. I made another calotype of the other side of the gate and city wall here flic.kr/p/GDn52N . My first visit to Lithuania.
This was the third of four exposures I made on that trip and I was hoping for enough evening sunlight to lit the shrine when I set up the tripod. Just as I was ready a dark cloud appeared and covered the sun. A cold wind picked up in strength blowing from the direction of the gate. I had no choice but to start exposing as it was my last evening here and the most important site. Some three minutes in the exposure (12 min in total) the wind blew harder and pushed the camera nearly knocking it down, I am sure I cought it when it was falling down but managed to put it back on all three legs of the tripod. This happened twice! Well, what is the chance that the tripod falls back into exactly the same position? I thought may be less than 5% and did not expect much from it. Still, this slightly blurred image seems to deny common sense. Was it another miracle from the Ostrobramska Madonna painting? My mother strongly believed in her powers when she lived here as a teenager. Some locals still believe the place has extraordinary Powers www.flickr.com/gp/51129607@N07/5No481
See the shrine interiour with the numerous offerings on the walls after recent restoration here www.flickr.com/gp/51129607@N07/v7i139 or in a panoramic viw of the interiour www.panoramas.lt/m_katalog.php?p_id=2714&lg=2
Salt print on Lana Royal watercolour paper
3,4% KCl in 1% gelatine
12% AgNO3
sun 40 min
Made from an unwaxed calotype negative (May 16th, 2016)