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Strada per l'Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore - Buonconvento (SI) * Country road to Monte Oliveto Maggiore Abbey - Buonconvento (Siena)
© Riccardo Senis, All Rights Reserved
This image may not be copied, reproduced, republished, edited, downloaded, displayed, modified, transmitted, licensed, transferred, sold, distributed or uploaded in any way without my prior written permission.
Six miles high! You can see the snowdrift being carried off the top of Annapurna South and the main peak, Annapurna I, by the hurricane force winds of the jet stream. Annapurna I looks like its a part of the "South" peak but they are separated by a deep valley. Annapurna I is about 800 meters higher and set further back, hence appears level and connected with Annapurna South.
Getting a full moonrise over Yosemite Valley had been on my bucket list but had eluded me for some time. My original plan for the day was to shoot the full moon rising over the Painted Ladies with the San Francisco skyline during blue hour. However, the forecasted clearing storm in Yosemite was too promising to pass up.
While shooting sunset at Tunnel View, I was so engulfed watching the epic conditions unfold I nearly forgot about the moonrise. Once the sunset show was over, all the photographers began chattering about the impending full moon rise.
Somehow, no one seemed to know where or when exactly the moonrise was to occur. Figuring that we had already driven 4 hours to Yosemite, Alan, Aaron, and I decided to wait it out. Twilight began kicking in and all of a sudden, the moon appeared on the horizon north of Cloud’s Rest. At that moment, the entire crowd of photographers flocked southward at the Tunnel View overlook.
Initially I focused on shooting the moon using my tele lens in hopes of getting a giant moon framed with Half Dome. However, the moon’s position had too much spread from Half Dome and the wider angle shot seemed more optimal. For my last shot, I threw on my 24-70 lens for a midrange shot with hopes of a light star from the moon. I really did not expect much out of the shot but was pleasantly surprised with the result. It was an evening worthy to remember: an epic sunset followed by a full moon rise over Yosemite Valley.
Popular Photography Magazine Your Best Shot finalist for January 2013.
Canon 5D Mark II
EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II
Aprovechando la densa niebla por toda la costa, decidimos coger altura subiendo un puerto de montaña para fotografiar de noche el mar de nubes, la contaminación lumínica y el cielo estrellado.
Publicada en la revista nº 8 de canonikos: issuu.com/canonikos/docs/canonikos08
Web de fotografía nocturna --| www.josemiguelmartinez.es
Página en Facebook--------------| Facebook
Mi revista ONLINE ----------------| En Flipboard
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Explored 04-Jan-2013 (Highest Position #4 + Interestingness-page)
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Happy New Year Guys! I came back from the home town Tokyo :)
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Purple and Blue time at Ihama Rocky Beach in Minamiizu.
新年おめでとうございます。本年もよろしくお願い申し上げます。
ショットは南伊豆・伊浜の夕景で、4つ前にポストした夕陽の後のものです。
かなり暗くなってからiso320の60秒のスローにて。。
data:
Taken on Nov 21, 2012, 17:05.
Gear: Nikon D7000
Lens: Sigma 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM
Tripod: Manfrotto 055XPROB + #410 head
Shot on focal 10mm / Aperture f9 / with C-PLw filter.
Exposure : 61 secs / iso320.
Develop by Lightroom 4 and corrected on Photoshop CS6.
Facebook page: Tommy Tsutsui Photography
private site: 伊豆の海景・風景写真
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Ⓒ Tommy Tsutsui All rights reserved.
You can purchase license for this photo from Getty Images!
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From my sons I've got a GPS tagger as Christmas present. Since 2 years I wanted to buy one but I never knew which one I should take. Therefore I'm really happy about this gift!
These days I have tested the tagger and have tried it first in my neighborhood in the late afternoon. The tagger works very well and is easy to handle.
I've taken the shot above during this test walk ... nothing spectacular but I like it somehow and on the left you can see my beloved walnut tree.
Much better in Large On Black
© 2012 Ursula Sander - All rights reserved
I highly recommend pressing L to view this in Lightbox.
After I got off of work yesterday I quickly made my way out to the coast to try to catch what seemed to be shaping up to be a really killer sunset. I had plans to get farther south than this spot (San Gregorio), but there road to the coast is one lane in each direction...and I got stuck behind a big slow truck. Once I hit the coast road, I tried to hurry to get as far south as I could, but by the time I hit San Gregorio I could see the sun was quickly taking a nosedive over the horizon. Not a problem - San Gregorio State Beach is a great spot in its own right. Due to storms and unusually high tides a few weeks ago, there was A TON of wood debris on the beach. In fact, getting to the beach itself meant climbing over much of this debris.
It wasn't a super colorful sunset, but I loved the way the thick clouds broke in spots to allow rays of golden light to shine through. And the ocean looked a bit angry, so I quickly ditched the idea of taking HDR shots and instead set out to capture the drama shaping up in the sky and the ocean.
I'd like to thank the flock of seagulls for being in the perfect spot to be included in the photograph. How considerate!
Prints, mugs, heck...even mouse pads :) here: smu.gs/YZkXIb
Thank you for your visits and comments. Please feel free to add notes to any of my images.
I do a lot of HDR processing. All of my HDR photos can be found here.
I shoot with a Nikon D800. All my D800 photos are right here.
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A Ponte Presidente Costa e Silva, popularmente conhecida como Ponte Rio-Niterói, localiza-se na baía de Guanabara, estado do Rio de Janeiro, no Brasil, e liga o município do Rio de Janeiro ao município de Niterói.
O conceito de seu projeto remonta a 1875, visando a ligação entre os dois centros urbanos vizinhos, separados pela baía de Guanabara ou por uma viagem terrestre de mais de 100 km, que passava pelo município de Magé. À época havia sido concebida a construção de uma ponte e, posteriormente, de um túnel.
Entretanto, somente no século XX, em 1963, foi criado um grupo de trabalho para estudar um projeto para a construção de uma via rodoviária. Em 29 de dezembro de 1965, uma comissão executiva foi formada para cuidar do projeto definitivo de construção de uma ponte.
O Presidente Costa e Silva assinou decreto em 23 de agosto de 1968, autorizando o projeto de construção da ponte, idealizado por Mário Andreazza, então Ministro dos Transportes, sob a gestão de quem a ponte foi iniciada e concluída.
A obra teve início, simbolicamente, em 9 de novembro de 1968, com a presença da Rainha da Grã-Bretanha, Elizabeth II e de Sua Alteza Real, o Príncipe Filipe, Duque de Edimburgo, ao lado do ministro Mário Andreazza. As obras tiveram início em janeiro de 1969.
O banco responsável por parte do financiamento da obra foi N M Rothschild & Sons. Não foi permitida a participação única de empresas inglesas no processo de licitação da fabricação dos vãos principais de aço. Para concretizar a realização da obra, o Ministro da Fazenda, Delfim Neto, o engenheiro Eliseu Resende e a Rotschild & Sons assinaram, em Londres, um documento que assegurava o fornecimento de estruturas de aço, com um comprimento de 848m, incluindo os vãos de 200m+300m+200m e dois trechos adicionais de 74m, e um empréstimo de, aproximadamente, US$ 22 milhões com bancos britânicos. O valor destinava-se a despesas com outros serviços da ponte, totalizando NCr$ 113.951.370,00. O preço final da obra foi avaliado em NCr$ 289.683.970,00, com a diferença paga pela emissão de Obrigações Reajustáveis do Tesouro Nacional. Em 1971, o contrato de licitação para construção da obra foi rescindido devido a atraso nas obras, e a construção passou a ser feita por um novo consórcio das construtoras Camargo Correa, Mendes Junior e Construtora Rabello designado Consórcio Construtor Guanabara, sendo concluído três anos depois.
Extensão: 13,29 km (8,26 mi);
Inauguração: 1974
Limite norte: Av. do Contorno em Niterói, RJ
Limite sul: Av. Brasil no Rio de Janeiro, RJ
Concessão: CCR Ponte norte
> Trânsito sobre a Ponte
A ligação rodoviária foi entregue em 4 de março de 1974, com extensão total de 13,29 km, dos quais 8,83 km são sobre a água, e 72 m de altura em seu ponto mais alto, e com previsão de um volume diário de 4.868 caminhões, 1.795 ônibus e 9.202 automóveis, totalizando 15.865 veículos. Atualmente é considerada a maior ponte, em concreto protendido, do hemisfério sul e atualmente é a sexta maior ponte do mundo. No ano em que foi concluída, era a segunda maior ponte do mundo, perdendo apenas para a Causeway do lago Pontchartrain nos Estados Unidos. Ela continuou no posto de segunda maior ponte do mundo até 1985 quando foi concluída a Ponte Penang na Malásia. Na época de sua construção a sua travessia era gratuita, não existindo a cobrança de pedágio, implantado anos depois. a promessa era que o investimento fosse quitado por recursos obtidos do pedágio num prazo de oito anos, mas que o usuário deveria continuar a pagar o valor após a liquidação da dívida do Estado. Ao ser inaugurada, o pedágio da ponte custava Cr$ 2,00 para motocicletas; Cr$ 10,00 para carros de passeio, Cr$ 20,00 para caminhões, ônibus e caminhões com três eixos e rodagem dupla Cr$ 40,00, e Cr$ 70,00 para os caminhões com seis eixos e rodagem dupla.
Em 1995 foi feita uma concorrência para concessão da administração da ponte para a iniciativa privada, que foi vencida pelo consórcio Ponte S/A, atualmente, empresa do Sistema CCR.
Cinco operários morreram durante a construção do vão central da ponte, devido à altura em relação ao nível do mar.
> Projeto
O projeto da ponte Rio Niterói foi preparado por um consórcio de duas empresas. A firma Noronha Engenharia, sediada no Rio de Janeiro, preparou o projeto dos acessos no Rio de Janeiro e em Niterói, assim como a ponte de concreto sobre o mar. A firma Howard, Needles, Tammen and Bergendorf, dos EUA, projetou o trecho dos vãos principais em estrutura de aço, incluindo as fundações e os pilares.
Os engenheiros responsáveis pelo projeto da ponte de concreto foram Antônio Alves de Noronha Filho e Benjamin Ernani Diaz[1] e o engenheiro responsável pela ponte de aço foi o americano James Graham.
> Construção
O canteiro principal da Ponte Rio de Niterói do Consórcio Construtor Guanabara se localizava na Ilha do Fundão, pertencente à Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Havia, também, canteiros secundários em Niterói. As firmas executoras da superestrutura em aço foram Dormann & Long, Cleveland Bridge e Montreal Engenharia. A estrutura foi toda fabricada na Inglaterra em módulos, que chegaram ao Brasil por transporte marítimo.
A fabricação final da ponte de aço, com os elementos pré-soldados da Inglaterra, foi feita na Ilha do Caju, na Baia de Guanabara. A montagem das vigas de aço também foi feita pelas mesmas firmas fabricantes da estrutura.
Location: Malsha Para, Sirajganj, B A N G L A D E S H.
A group of bengali kids hanging out at their village near Sirajganj, Bangladesh. More than 60 million children live in Bangladesh. They don't get enough foods, shelter, education, protection, but still they are happy. Because happiness doesn't come from luxury, it comes from the freedom of your soul. This image was captured at a small village in Bangladesh.
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Please seek my consent to publish it anywhere.
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jakirrazu@hotmail.com
Mobile Phone no. 006 0163080112
Please add me in FaceBook : Jakir Ahmed Razu
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I appreciate your comments and Favs.
****** PLEASE NO GRAPHICS ******
A series of images that have little to do with anything other than the fun of creating them.
Happy Slider Sunday - HSS!
* FROHE WEIHNACHTEN * JOYEUX NOËL * FELIZ NAVIDAD *PRETTIGE KERSTDAGEN * BON NADAL * 聖誕快樂 * 圣诞快乐 * Καλά Χριστούγεννα * メリークリスマス * Gleðileg jól * GOD JUL *
Nativity Scene in handicrafted manger of plywood with the Holy Family, donkey and ox.
I have sawed out this crib and the figures of plywood and then painted with colors some 20 years ago. In the comment you can see all figures.
© 2012 Ursula Sander - All rights reserved.
En bicicleta por el cordón de Provile, visitando este sitio después de muchos años, desde cuando nos veníamos en caballos por 4 días desde el valle del Queuco.
Región del Biobío, Chile central.
Architect: Aron Johansson
Built in: 1897-1905
Client: Sveriges Riksbank and Riksdagen
The Parliament House, Riksdagshuset, is the seat of The Parliament of Sweden and located on Helgeandsholmen in central Stockholm.
The building was designed by Architect Aron Johansson and built between 1897 and 1905. When it was opened it replaced the old Parliament House on Riddarholmen. The building was originally constructed to house both The Parliament and The Swedish National Bank.
In 1971 it was decided that the bank part of the building was to be rebuilt into a new assembly hall for The Parliament. An architectural competition was won by the architectural firm Ahlgren-Olsson-Silow Arkitekter AB. The largest outwardly visible change was the copper-clad body of the old National Bank with the new chamber. The rebuilt building was inaugurated in October 1983.
Mi amiga Julia ( www.flickr.com/photos/juliatedesco_rauch_argentina/ ) me comenta más adelante lo siguiente:
Jabi, magnífica captura; ha sido un gran éxito tu intento de contrariar las inexorables agujas del reloj paralizándolo en este bello paisaje.
En cuanto al plano de expresión, tu técnica y creatividad nos permite revivir ese instante, en el cual los rayos de sol son una esperanza de calidez en el frío, y dan fuerza a la escena.
Muy buen ángulo de toma. Impresiona la magnitud.
Excelente equilibrio compositivo.
Muchas gracias por vuestras visitas y comentarios
Un montón de besos ¡¡
Thank you for your visits and comments
Kissess
Mi Blog - Mi caja de sueños
Textura Skeletal-Mess ¡¡Thanks ¡¡
The morning of this sunrise was hot and humid; in the 90s even before the sun rose. Despite the oppressive conditions, we managed to get some beautiful shots of the sun coming up over the lake.
Buy this photo on Getty Images : Getty Images
Interior of the Upper Basilica of St Francis and its fresco-covered walls (UNESCO World Heritage List, 2000), Assisi, Umbria, Italy
Submitted: 23/12/2017
Accepted: 31/12/2017
Published:
- Franciscan Alliance Informatio (INDIANA) 09-Jan-2018
- Banca Mediolanum spa (Italy) 27-Nov-2018
- Mondadori Education spa (Italy) 11-Dec-2018
- (China) 19-Dec-2021
- WHITE STAR S.R.L. (Italy) 03-Oct-2023
Beautiful autumn canopy from below in backlight in Stuttgart Rotenberg, Germany.
Love it Large On Black
© 2012 Ursula Sander - All rights reserved.
This bird was feeding in the grass near Stop 9 on Black Point Wildlife Drive this winter. I watched from a boardwalk as it kept making its way closer to me, completely oblivious to my presence. At one point it was no more than 10 feet away. Taken last winter at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida.
Canon Rebel XSi and Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
© all rights reserved by B℮n
Please take your time... to View it large on black
Levanto is the Hidden Gem on the Italian Riviera and the doorway to the Cinque Terre. A town of pre-roman origins, lies at the northern end of the enticing little villages. Levanto literally means the land situated east of Genova. It has a long sandy beach, an interesting old center, many delightful painted villas, a bustling Wednesday market, and good restaurants and shops. Levanto is a real town with a city park where families get together and the children have fun. You can actually even find a laundromat here as well as normal shops not always found in larger touristy locations. It's most picturesque, fun and quaint at the same time, very accessible, and terrific for swimming. Being on the water makes the cliffs more dramatic, the colors more intense, and the water a deeper shade of blue. Enjoying a partcularly mild climate, from here it's easy to visit the fascinating ports of the Cinque Terre, either by train, by sea or hiking.
Beautiful cycle path built on the route of the old coastal railway from Levanto to Bonassola. Along the stretch these young couple can also access to beaches and hidden coves otherwise unreachable except by sea. Among the most loveliest paths there is in Italy. Recommended to all.
Levanto ligt in de Italiaanse regio Ligurië en valt onder de provincie La Spezia. Levanto is voor vele Cinque Terre bezoekers de verblijfplaats voor hun bezoek. Er zijn heel wat hotelletjes en B&Bs, die doorgaans iets goedkoper zijn dan deze in de vijf dorpen van de Cinque Terre. Met de trein ben je vanuit Levanto op enkele minuten in Monterosso. Maar Levanto is ook zelf meer dan de moeite waard. Omringd door een uiterst vriendelijke plaatselijke bevolking en verwend met alle culinaire geneugtes van Italië is het een weldaad om in Levanto door te brengen. Onthaasten op een terrasje, heerlijk uitrusten aan het prachtige strand en 's avonds lekker eten. Het dorp is omringd door heuvels die zijn bezaaid met wijngaarden en olijfbomen en heeft fantastische stranden, adembenemende riffen en kristalheldere wateren. Leuk en erg gezellig, zeer toegankelijk en geweldig voor zwemmen. Het strand in Levanto wordt in de zomermaanden altijd druk bezocht door Italianen.
Click on image...Or....View On Black
♫... In the velvet of the darkness...
Model: MADmoiselleMeliStock...
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Thank you ALL my friends for faves,comments,notes & lovely support.:))
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DeviantArt: Link
This is the « Porte d’en haut », one of the two entrance of Perouges, a medieval walled town northeast of Lyon, France.
Perouges is one of the most beautiful villages of France. The narrow and meandering lanes are edged with small houses, generally without foundations, built with stones and pebbles.
Pérouges was inhabited by craftsmen, mainly farmers and linen weavers. It was probably founded by a Gallic colony returning from Perugia in Italy.
The high wall, reinforced at the corners with free stones, is made of boulders. It has a broken arch inside and is an integral part of the church.
In the XVth century, the inhabitants of Pérouges have turned their church into a real fortress with walls dotted with loopholes and the church tower allows access to the covered way.
Today, Pérouges is a popular tourist attraction.
I took so many beautiful shots of this beautiful place it would have been extremely hard to choose one to upload, if it weren't for the human element in this one, which I think adds a whole new dimension to the scene.
Actually, when the rural worker passed me by I asked him if I could take a picture of him...he said "no"!! Well, I waited for him to be in a safe distance from me and took the pic anyway...and then ran to my car! LOL
In the end, I'm glad I did it, I think it was worth it!
Vuelvo / quiero creer que estoy volviendo
con mi peor y mi mejor historia
conozco este camino de memoria
pero igual me sorprendo
hay tanto siempre que no llega nunca
tanta osadía tanta paz dispersa
tanta luz que era sombra y viceversa
y tanta vida trunca...
vuelvo y pido perdón por la tardanza.
I come back / I want to believe that I am coming back with my worst and my best story I know this path by heart but I still be surprised there is so much when ever comes so bold peace scatters so much light that it was shadow and vice versa and so much life truncates...I come back and apologize for the delay
Mario Benedetti
MAR MENOR - MURCIA- ESPAÑA
Continuing my Astro Projection series on maximum WARP!!
Zoom-long exposure travelling in my out-of-body & lens experience on downtown-scapes during Canada Day festivities this summer! It was an exciting 2-stop manual zoom-journey during the long 30 sec exposure, experiencing all these festive city colours, lights and CN Tower's magical projection too...
...all brought to you by my manual zoom / long exposure magic! : )
*It's a SOOC image, manual zooming during long exposure - no processing involved!
Click on image...
Or..... View On Black
Clown: piratequeen-stock.deviantart.com/ (account is inactive)
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Thank you ALL my friends for faves,comments,notes & lovely support.:))
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Explored 05-Nov-2012 (Highest Position #14)
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This was taken the same day as my post of 10/27, and slightly faster than that time.
Beach on the north side is protected from storm wave by Senganmon.
Though, it is more than 12 feet waves are rough here…
夕陽と荒波の雲見・千貫門の北側ビーチ。5つ前のポスト、大波の千貫門と同日・少し早い時間のショットです。
こちらは、大波の直撃は写真左の大きな千貫門に守られていますが、それでも4m弱の波が押し寄せていました。これ以上前に行くと危険なので少々引き気味ですが、それでもかなりレンズにしぶきがかかりました。。
この角度の千貫門は写真だと「ヒヨコ」みたいに見えますが、高さ30m以上あるのでその威圧感は凄いです。
data:
Taken on Sep 16, 2012, 17:46.
Gear: Nikon D7000
Lens: Sigma 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM
Tripod: Manfrotto 055XPROB + #410 head
Shot on focal 10mm / iso100 / with C-PLw filter.
Exposure : 0.5 / f16.
Develop by Lightroom 4 and corrected on Photoshop CS6.
Facebook page: Tommy Tsutsui Photography
private site: 伊豆の海景・風景写真
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Ⓒ Tommy Tsutsui All rights reserved.
You can purchase license for this photo from Getty Images!
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Ese dia salimos en busca de Amanitas para fotografiar alguna, pero no hubo suerte, no encontramos ni una sola, pero si ésta seta pequeñita que llamaba la atención debido a la luz que le daba en ese momento....
Muchas gracias por vuestras visitas y comentarios
Un montón de besos ¡¡
Thank you for your visits and comments
Kisses
Lightbox ("L") recommended!
Until my last two uploads it's been nearly a year (4th Nov 2011) since I uploaded a shot with a daytime sky in it. Only 2 of the 28 shots I posted in that time were even taken in the daytime. Even then, you have to go back to August 2011 to find any real number of daytime shots. So I'm trying, briefly, to redress the balance.
This is my first attempt at a panorama shot. It's composed of seven handheld exposures; shot portrait on manual. The output was 600Mb! You won't need too keen an eye to spot the beginners mistakes; like the artifacts from the attempts to process out the vignetting. Anyway, I'd shot the images to make a panorama, and felt it wouldn't count as following through if I didn't post them. Criticism would be, as ever, hugely appreciated.
I used content aware fill on CS5 to fill corners. When it built the other half of the far left tree, I was pretty stunned. It's more magic than technology.
This is a shot from Zumwalt Meadow; a spot at the end of California's Kings Canyon National Park which offers a little circular walk beneath these giant crags. I'd recommend it hugely.
I'm part way through catching up from a couple of week's away, so sorry for the slow tour. Hope everyone's having a fantastic weekend!
Spaziergang auf der herbstlichen Neckarinsel in Tübingen
Walk on the autumn Neckar Island in Tübingen / Germany
EXPLORED with best position of 331 on 21.10.2012
To View Large On Black, Please Click Here
Marienplatz is the heart of the city of Munich. In the Middle Ages, the square used to be a market place as well as the place where tournaments and festivities took place.The square was originally known as Schrannen but it was renamed Marienplatz (St. Mary's Square) as a way to ask Virgin Mary to protect the town from a cholera epidemic.
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All images displayed in this are protected under the International Copyright act and are not to be downloaded, reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated or used for any purposes without written permission and consent.
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Thanks for your visit and comments, I appreciate that very much!
Don't use this image without my explicit permission. © all rights reserved.
Regards, Bram (BraCom)
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I Love rain .. I Love Umbrella .
I have spent days after days viewing Paris Rain Shots.
Red umbrella, Black Coat, Paris Streets.
& my Rain shots are inspired by those Photos.
Great response came naturally, Thank You All
Pombal é terra de história, de lendas e de gente ilustre. Do grande Marquês de Pombal, do historiador e escritor João de Barros, do político Mota Pinto, da poetisa Martel Patrício, do médico e escritor Amadeu da Cunha, entre tantos outros. A construção do castelo de Pombal é atribuída aos Templários, a quem D. Afonso Henriques doou esta região, todavia há provas da existência de uma fortificação romana neste local, que os árabes terão ocupado até à reconquista cristã da península. Com a extinção da Ordem do Templo, em 1311, o rei D. Dinis, entregou este castelo à Ordem de Cristo e já no início do século XV, D. João I doou-o ao conde de Castelo Melhor. D. Manuel I, por volta de 1500, decide fazer obras de recuperação do castelo, algo degradado, e no século XVII, o conde de Castelo Melhor adaptou-o para a sua residência. Durante as invasões francesas foi saqueado e incendiado, o que ditou o seu posterior abandono e ruína. Classificado como Monumento Nacional, beneficiou de obras de consolidação e restauro, por parte da Direcção-Geral dos Edifícios e Monumentos Nacionais.
Edificado sobre uma planta em forma de escudo, destaca-se no seu interior, a Torre de Menagem, vestígios da primitiva igreja românica de São Miguel e a alcáçova Manuelina. A vila de Pombal viu ser erguido, na sua mais elevada e rochosa colina, um castelo pela iniciativa de Gualdim Pais, mestre da Ordem do Templo em Portugal, corria o ano de 1160. Esta seria uma zona defendida pelos Templários, numa época em que se temiam as incursões muçulmanas nas inseguras terras situadas a sul do Rio Mondego. Ao mesmo tempo que se valorizava a defesa territorial, as novas construções militares abrigavam populações recentes, essenciais para assegurar uma eficaz política de repovoamento do território conquistado. A fortaleza foi implantada segundo uma orientação noroeste-sudoeste, com a primeira zona defendida por uma muralha rectilínea e ameada, enquanto as partes restantes se articulavam segundo os ângulos das suas torres defensivas. Algumas áreas da barbacã ainda sobrevivem, bem como as ruínas de diversas estruturas arquitectónicas de diferentes épocas e que formavam o interior da praça de armas - tais como alicerces, pavimentos, paredes, arcos e ruínas da primitiva igreja românica de S. Miguel.
Na zona ocidental da muralha ergueu-se a alcáçova quinhentista, subsistindo da época manuelina os brasões reais e uma janela geminada. Extramuros, próximo da ala sul, situava-se a arruinada e antiga igreja matriz de Pombal, a Igreja de Santa Maria do Castelo. Poupada às vicissitudes da guerra durante alguns séculos, a população de Pombal viria a sofrer uma cruel e trágica devastação na época das Invasões Francesas. Com efeito, momentos de drama e horror foram vividos em 1811, por alturas da terceira invasão, sob o comando de Massena, que regressava derrotado das Linhas de Torres Vedras. A brutalidade e a vingança abateram-se sobre a indefesa população de Pombal. Na sua espiral de violência, os franceses destruíram igrejas e conventos, roubaram e maltrataram tudo que encontravam pela frente, para, finalmente, incendiarem toda a vila e o seu austero e pacífico castelo. São mentes destas que nunca deveriam ter tido a oportunidade sequer de viver… Mas como todos nós sabemos o mundo perfeito é uma perfeita Utopia…
Lenda do Mouro Al-Pal-Omar
Aqui habitava um senhor mouro de nome Al-Pal-Omar (de onde derivaria o nome de Pombal). Vivia no alto do morro do castelo, onde tinha o seu palácio subterrâneo. A lenda começa assim: Há muito tempo nas margens do rio Quabruncas vivia um belo jovem mouro de olhos verdes, cor de esmeralda traiçoeira, que procurava encantar todas as mais belas mulheres para o seu harém. A sua fama estendia-se desde as margens do Mondego até às margens do Tejo em vagas de simpatia e acanhado respeito. Certo dia os Templários guiados pelo Arcanjo D. Miguel deram-lhe um combate de morte que durou até ao luar de Agosto. No momento, viram-no desaparecer na gruta encantada do seu palácio. Taparam-lhe todas as entradas e construíram-lhe em cima um Castelo. As raparigas desta terra ainda guardam na memória a fama deste mouro encantador, contada de mães para filhas em singela advertência. Toda a menina que for ao Castelo depois do Sol se pôr, ouvirá uma música harmoniosa quase impercetível, e se ficarem curiosas a ouvi-la, serão encantadas por um belo rapaz que lhes cantará:” Menina vem ter comigo, vem o meu encanto quebrar, sou um mouro teu amigo, que só te quer namorar…
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