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The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família (Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family) is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926). Gaudí's work on the building is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in November 2010 Pope Benedict XVI consecrated and proclaimed it a minor basilica, as distinct from a cathedral, which must be the seat of a bishop.
Construction of Sagrada Família commenced in 1882 by architect Francisco Paula de Villar with Gaudí becoming involved in 1883 after Francisco resigned as the head architect. Taking over the project, Gaudí transformed it with his architectural and engineering style, combining Gothic and curvilinear Art Nouveau forms. Gaudí devoted his last years to the project, and at the time of his death at age 73 in 1926, less than a quarter of the project was complete.
Sagrada Familia's construction progressed slowly, as it relied on private donations and was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War, only to resume intermittent progress in the 1950s. Construction passed the midpoint in 2010 with some of the project's greatest challenges remaining and an anticipated completion date of 2026, the centenary of Gaudí's death.
While never intended to be a cathedral (seat of a bishop), the Sagrada Família was planned from the outset to be a cathedral-sized building. Its ground-plan has obvious links to earlier Spanish cathedrals such as Burgos Cathedral, Leon Cathedral and Seville Cathedral.
Gaudí's original design calls for a total of eighteen spires, representing in ascending order of height the Twelve Apostles, the Virgin Mary, the four Evangelists and, tallest of all, Jesus Christ. Eight spires have been built as of 2010, corresponding to four apostles at the Nativity façade and four apostles at the Passion façade.
The Evangelists' spires will be surmounted by sculptures of their traditional symbols: a winged bull (Saint Luke), a winged man (Saint Matthew), an eagle (Saint John), and a winged lion (Saint Mark). The central spire of Jesus Christ is to be surmounted by a giant cross; its total height (170 metres (560 ft)) will be one metre less than that of Montjuïc hill in Barcelona as Gaudí believed that his creation should not surpass God's. The lower spires are surmounted by communion hosts with sheaves of wheat and chalices with bunches of grapes, representing the Eucharist.
The completion of the spires will make Sagrada Família the tallest church building in the world.
Information taken from Wikipedia
The climactic ascent of Mount Doom by Samwise and Frodo at the end of the Return of the King, as built by Andrew Alfeche.
Ascending
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The two girls ascending towards Zenjiflue in Graubünden, Switzerland
This is a very recent shot, 2 days old to be exact. We had some great days in near isolation with nice snow, nice weather, nice people, nice food and ... well, it was nice.
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Set: Back Home (» see other shots from "Back Home")
Refinements: A bit warmer, resized, cropped, sharpened.
Equipment: Nikon D70s, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm VR, still no UV-filter ...
Things have turned a deeper shade of blue
and images that might be real
may be illusion
Keep flashing off and on
...
...I'm so free...
No black and white in the blue
Everything is clearer now
Life is just a dream, you know
that's never ending
I'm ascending
The AeroShell Team climbing in formation during their performance at the Joint Base Charleston 2018 Air & Space Expo.
To view a hi-res version and for more information visit my website:Joint Base Charleston 2018 Air & Space Expo
The foremost monument of ancient Khmer culture is of course Angkor Wat, reputed to be the largest religious building in the world owing to the enormous expanse of the complex, surrounded by a moat (itself of impressively huge dimensions) which is normally the first glimpse of ancient Angkor for visitors travelling to the archaeological park from nearby Siem Reap. It is one of civilisation's greatest monuments, a massive testament in stone to the power of faith and Khmer rulers.
The temple was founded in the early 12th century by King Suryavarman II as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu. It was only at the end of the century that Buddhism began to replace Hinduism as the chief form of worship here as Cambodia shifted from a Hindu culture to a Buddhist one. As a result there is much in the temple's iconography that reflects this original purpose with extensive scenes from Hindu mythology such as the Churning of the Sea of Milk, the most famous of the many reliefs that are found in the seemingly endless long galleries that surround the central structure of the temple.
Through the vast expanses of endless courts and corridors one reaches the nucleus of the temple with its famous five-towered summit, built in the form of one of Angkor's 'temple-mountains', a huge stone terrace which can be ascended (via perilously steep staircases!) to reach the group of conical towers (or 'prangs') that dominate the complex. This forms the architectural climax of the temple and gives it its iconic appearance which features as the centrepiece of the Cambodian flag.
Throughout the temple complex are superb carvings and reliefs, the great narrative walls of reliefs found in the surrounding galleries would repay many hours of study alone, whilst the frequent appearance of graceful female Apsara figures adorns and enlivens so much of the exterior of the structures. The relief carvings throughout are of very high quality and both sculptures and structures are a wonderul tribute to Khmer artistry.
There is much more to see in Angkor beyond Angkor Wat itself, but this is the greatest of temples that no visitor to Cambodia should miss.
A view from the fisheye lens showing where I sat for 1.5 hours watching a juvenile Tricolored Heron (Egretta Tricolor) hunt for breakfast on Horsepen Bayou, Texas, USA.
You can see my Olympus OMD EM1 with ZD 150mm f2.0 on my DiY bipod and the other EM1 with MZ 300mm f4.0 IS Pro laying on the bottom of the kayak. Photograph taken with my EM5 and Bower 7.5mm fisheye lens.
Also want to mention the amazing Ronny Fisher PFD by Astral Designs. I am so happy they came out with a very high quality PFD aimed at fisherman and hunters. If you are in the market for a quality camo PFD, this is the one to get.
The Avro Arrow, a legendary Canadian design that experienced a turbulent and short ascent when the program ultimately was scrapped. The background is befitting it's story.
Taken at Latitude/Longitude:21.306308/104.762039. 0.85 km North-West Làng L??ng (VM19) Vietnam (Map link)