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The Treasury building at Petra - the most famous building in this incredible archaeological complex.
A Catedral de Pamplona, localizada em Navarra, Espanha, ostenta uma fachada neoclássica que substituiu a antiga fachada românica. Projetada por Ventura Rodríguez e concluída entre 1783 e 1792, a fachada exibe influências da arquitetura clássica greco-romana, caracterizada por simetria, proporções equilibradas e o uso de colunas clássicas.
Pilastras coríntias sustentam um frontão triangular, elemento típico do neoclassicismo, e a ornamentação inclui esculturas e relevos de figuras religiosas e simbólicas, realçando o significado espiritual da catedral.
A catedral, originalmente construída em estilo românico no século XII, passou por várias reformas, culminando na sua fachada neoclássica. Esta transição reflete um movimento europeu que visava reviver os princípios clássicos em resposta ao excesso barroco. A consagração da catedral em 1880 marcou um momento crucial na história religiosa de Pamplona.
Curiosamente, a fachada neoclássica foi alvo de críticas por parte do escritor Ernest Hemingway, que a descreveu como "feia" na sua obra "O Sol Também Nasce/Fiesta". Apesar desta opinião subjetiva, a fachada é considerada uma das obras mais puras e representativas do neoclassicismo na Península Ibérica.
Erecteión. Cariátides.
Acrópolis de Atenas. Grecia.
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TODOS LOS DERECHOS RESERVADOS.
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Standing before the grand rotunda of San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts, it’s hard not to feel small—in the best possible way. The pink Corinthian columns rise proudly from the earth, mirrored in the still, green waters of the lagoon below. Ferns and flowering plants line the edge, softening the formality of the architecture with wild natural beauty. Even the air seems quieter here, the way it does in sacred places. As a Highly Sensitive Person, the harmony of shape, color, and reflection speaks to something deep within—an emotional resonance between art and environment, history and now.
Even better~press L.
Another shot from my wonderful visit to Rome.
Texture~Distressed Jewell, thank you.
Another shot of the Parthenon Temple at the summit of the Athenian Acropolis, Greece. As per usual, a large section of it is covered in scaffolding.
You can purchase this photo on Getty Images
Don't really know what to think of this shot. This is the best shot I have of the Spanish Steps - paid by the French, built in Italy; probably Rome's most 'European' landmark - regarding the architectural composition. I really like the mood and I can hear the noise and chatter almost through my screen, but their legs or worse are cut off. With my architectural background people have to annoy me, hehe. Now seriously, the distracting billboard is to raise funds through advertisement. With these icons of capitalism is the Eternal City more eternal - spanning more ages - than it probably would like to be.
The Spanish Steps (Italian: Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti) are a set of steps in Rome, Italy, climbing a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti, dominated by the Trinità dei Monti church at the top. According to some scholars, the Scalinata is the widest staircase in Europe. The monumental stairway of 138 steps was built with French diplomat Étienne Gueffier’s bequeathed funds of 20,000 scudi, in 1723–1725, linking the Bourbon Spanish Embassy, and the Trinità dei Monti church that was under the patronage of the Bourbon kings of France, both located above — to the Holy See in Palazzo Monaldeschi located below. The stairway was designed by architects Francesco de Sanctis and Alessandro Specchi.
Following a competition in 1717 the steps were designed by the little-known Francesco de Sanctis, though Alessandro Specchi was long thought to have produced the winning entry. Generations of heated discussion over how the steep slope to the church on a shoulder of the Pincio should be urbanised preceded the final execution. Archival drawings from the 1580s show that Pope Gregory XIII was interested in constructing a stair to the recently completed façade of the French church. Gaspar van Wittel's view of the wooded slope in 1683, before the Scalinata was built, is conserved in the Galleria Nazionale, Rome. The Roman-educated Cardinal Mazarin took a personal interest in the project that had been stipulated in Gueffier's will and entrusted it to his agent in Rome, whose plan included an equestrian monument of Louis XIV, an ambitious intrusion that created a furore in papal Rome. Mazarin died in 1661, the pope in 1667, and Gueffier's will was successfully contested by a nephew who claimed half; so the project lay dormant until Pope Clement XI Albani renewed interest in it. The Bourbon fleur-de-lys and Innocent XIII's eagle and crown are carefully balanced in the sculptural details. The solution is a gigantic inflation of some conventions of terraced garden stairs. The Spanish Steps, which Joseph de Lalande and Charles de Brosses noted were already in poor condition, have been restored several times, most recently in 1995.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish Steps
In 1494, Saint Francis of Paola, a hermit from Calabria, bought a vineyard from the papal scholar and former patriarch of Aquileia, Ermolao Barbaro, and then obtained the authorization from Pope Alexander VI to establish a monastery for the Minimite Friars. In 1502, Louis XII of France began construction of the church of the Trinità dei Monti next to this monastery, to celebrate his successful invasion of Naples. Building work began in a French style with pointed late Gothic arches, but construction lagged. The present Italian Renaissance church was eventually built in its place and finally consecrated in 1585 by the great urbanizer Pope Sixtus V, whose via Sistina connected the Piazza della Trinità dei Monti (outside the church) to the Piazza Barberini across the city. The architect of the facade is not known for certain, but Wolfgang Lotz suggests that it may have originated in a design by Giacomo della Porta (a follower of Michelangelo), who had built the church of San Anastasio dei Greci, which has similarities, a little earlier. The double staircase in front of the church was by Domenico Fontana. In front of the church stands the Obelisco Sallustiano, one of the many obelisks in Rome, moved here in 1789. It is a Roman obelisk in imitation of Egyptian ones, originally constructed in the early years of the Roman Empire for the Gardens of Sallust near the Porta Salaria. The hieroglyphic inscription was copied from that on the obelisk in the Piazza del Popolo. During the Napoleonic occupation of Rome, the church, like many others, was despoiled of its art and decorations. In 1816, after the Bourbon restoration, the church was restored at the expense of Louis XVIII.
This historic building in Stratford-upon-Avon, known as Trinity College School, showcases classic architectural features and a long-standing connection to the town’s educational heritage. Though not affiliated with Trinity College, Cambridge, it has played an important role in local learning and community life over the years, reflecting Stratford’s rich cultural history.
Some things start to impact you more than you initially expected. Sometimes, this feels like life overruns you, and you lose sight of the essential things. While not knowing what to do in this situation, the sensation of increasing overload spreads. However, finding a targeted solution is quite challenging when feeling powerless, helpless, and on your own.
Another problem is losing focus. Since the whole view becomes blurred, you can’t see everything well. Therefore, making the right choice amid uncertainty is hard in the gloom of the moment. In the end, the only solution might be to concentrate on the essential things to find your focus again.
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Sanssouci is the name of the former summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, in Potsdam, near Berlin. It is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles. While Sanssouci is in the more intimate Rococo style and is far smaller than its French Baroque counterpart, it too is notable for the numerous temples and follies in the park. The palace was designed by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff between 1745 and 1747 to fulfill King Frederick's need for a private residence where he could relax away from the pomp and ceremony of the Berlin court. The palace's name emphasises this; it is a French phrase (sans souci), which translates as "without concerns", meaning "without worries" or "carefree", symbolising that the palace was a place for relaxation rather than a seat of power. The palace is little more than a large single-storey villa—more like the Château de Marly than Versailles. Containing just ten principal rooms, it was built on the brow of a terraced hill at the centre of the park. The influence of King Frederick's personal taste in the design and decoration of the palace was so great that its style is characterised as 'Frederician Rococo', and his feelings for the palace were so strong that he conceived it as "a place that would die with him". Because of a disagreement about the site of the palace in the park, Knobelsdorff was fired in 1746. Jan Bouman, a Dutch architect, finished the project.
During the 19th century, the palace became a residence of Frederick William IV. He employed the architect Ludwig Persius to restore and enlarge the palace, while Ferdinand von Arnim was charged with improving the grounds and thus the view from the palace. The town of Potsdam, with its palaces, was a favourite place of residence for the German imperial family until the fall of the Hohenzollern dynasty in 1918.
After World War II, the palace became a tourist attraction in East Germany. It was fully maintained with due respect to its historical importance, and was open to the public. Following German reunification in 1990, the final wish of Frederick came to pass: his body was finally returned to his beloved palace and buried in a new tomb overlooking the gardens he had created. Sanssouci and its extensive gardens became a World Heritage Site in 1990 under the protection of UNESCO; in 1995, the Foundation for Prussian Palaces and Gardens in Berlin-Brandenburg was established to care for Sanssouci and the other former imperial palaces in and around Berlin. These palaces are now visited by more than two million people a year from all over the world.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanssouci
Frederician Rococo is a form of rococo, which developed in Prussia during the reign of Frederick the Great and combined influences from both France and the Netherlands. Its most famous adherent was the architect Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff. Furthermore, the painter Antoine Pesne and even King Frederick himself influenced Knobelsdorff's designs. Famous buildings in the Frederican style include Sans Souci Palace, the Potsdam City Palace, and parts of Charlottenburg Palace.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederician_Rococo
The building, which stands to the west of Sanssouci Palace, serves as a complement to the Picture Gallery, which lies to the east. Both buildings flank the summer palace. The chambers replaced an orangery, which had been built at that site in 1745 on plans by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff and held the terraces' potted plants during the winter months. Ramps, on which the tubs were taken in and out, serve as reminders of the building's original use. Master builder Georg Christian Unger was commissioned to turn the orangery building into a guesthouse. The building's basic elements were left alone, as were its size and floor-to-ceiling french doors. The most obvious change was the addition of a cupola on the middle section. The similarities between the architecture of the New Chambers and that of the Picture Gallery are such that the both buildings can be mistaken for the other.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Chambers_at_Sanssouci
There has been a windmill very near to Sanssouci Palace since 1738. From 1787-91, Frederick William II had the old, adjustable windmill replaced by a larger windmill based on a Dutch model that included a stone foundation and a gallery.
The Temple of The Olympian Zeus, Athens, Greece was the largest temple in the Ancient world. Construction started by the ancient Greeks and completed by The Romans. Shot at 200mm from High up on the Acropolis.
Some like to boost their stories artificially, making a mountain out of a molehill. Since wanting to make everybody else acknowledge the storyteller’s greatness, the whole play forms a buffer layer between reality and wishful thinking. And as the narrative evolves, fear and insecurity behind it slowly disappear in thig fog of hard-earned exaggerations.
Yet, one day this tactic always stops working, causing everything to collapse like a house of cards and ending in a complete mess. But making things bigger than they are, does not automatically make them better. In the end, is it the ones who can do without those pompous made-up stories who can convince by the simplicity of their purity.
I haven't post any adelaide building shot for quite a while. This is a last minute hdr processing cos i'm soooo tired this evening for some reason. Better finish this off before my eyes start to shut down any moment. Have a good evening everyone!
PS: I actually wanted to let you guys guess if this is taken with a wide angle or kit lens but i guess its a dead giveaway by the date haha!it does feel a bit like wide angle doesn't it :P
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About
The Barr Smith Library
The Barr Smith Library is the main library of the University of Adelaide, situated in the centre of the North Terrace campus. The Barr Smith Library owes its name to the Barr Smith family, a pioneer family in South Australia and benefactors to the University of Adelaide over many decades. Robert Barr Smith donated £9000 to buy books. In 1920 his family gave an extra £11,000 in the form of an endowment and in 1928 his son, Tom Elder Barr Smith, gave £30,000 for the Barr Smith library building.
In 1899 the University Council resolved that its library should bear the name "The Barr Smith Library
The Shot
Standard 3 exposure shot (+2..0..-2 EV) taken handheld using the Canon kit lens EF-S 18-55mm lens and polarized light filter
Photomatix
- Tonemapped generated HDR using detail enhancer option
Photoshop
- Added 1 layer effects of 'curves' to increase the contrast
- Added 1 layer effect of 'saturation' to slightly increase the overall saturation & reds to bring down the building tone a bit
- Added 1 layer effect of 'levels to adjust the tone
- Used 'unsharp mask' (as always) on the background layer
You
All comments, criticism and tips for improvements are (as always) welcome.
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View of the elegant Parisian streets las seen from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France.
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This is the entrance of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. I took this picture 4 days ago.
The above photo has been shot with the Samsung NX10
More facts: The National Archaeological Museum in Athens houses some of the most important artifacts from a variety of archaeological locations around Greece from prehistory to late antiquity. It is considered one of the great museums in the world and contains the richest collection of artifacts from Greek antiquity worldwide. It is situated in the Exarhia area in central Athens between Epirus Street, Bouboulinas Street and Tositsas Street while its entrance is on the Patission Street adjacent to the historical building of the Athens Polytechnic.
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For more information about my art: info@benheine.com
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Rome, Forum, view towards the Via Sacra, the Colosseum and San Giovanni in Laterano. One of the most fascinating places in all Rome, the forum, the beating heart of the ancient city, now blends several layers of history: you can actually see how the christian churches grew out of the ancient pagan temples. Better be warned, though, the via sacra can be a via dolorosa, visiting the forum in mid-summer is entering a furnace where shade is rare.
The winding path that hugs the lagoon at the Palace of Fine Arts feels like a gentle invitation to slow down. On one side, towering Corinthian columns reach skyward—silent sentinels of San Francisco’s grand architectural past. On the other, soft greens and wild textures spill toward the water’s edge, where birds skim across the surface and trees sway in rhythm with the breeze. There’s a quiet harmony here—between nature and human design, structure and softness, shadow and light. For the highly sensitive, it’s a dreamscape: serene, sensory, and rich with emotion, where every step offers another chance to breathe deeply and notice beauty.