Saturday, May 6, 2017

The Cathedral of Athens

802_6445 [Athens cathedral]

The Cathedral of Athens is centrally located, very close to Syntagma Square, and constitutes a major landmark of the city. It is 40 m long, 20 m wide and 24 m high. It’s construction started on Christmas Day of 1842 and was completed 20 years later. On May 21, 1862 it was dedicated to the Annunciation of the Holy Virgin Mary at the presence of the King Otto and Queen Amalia who had laid the cornerstone 20 years earlier.
 

Throughout its history, it has been the venue of all sorts of official ceremonies ranging from coronations to royal weddings and to funerals of prominent figures of the Greek society.

Photographed in Athens on July 20, 2016




 

802_6597 [Athens Cathedral: Interior]

 The interior of the Cathedral seems to impress all visitors who have the opportunity to admire the plethora of Byzantine-style icons and frescoes, treasures like a part of the chain that Romans used to chain up Paul the Apostle in Rome, or the tombs of two saints: Agía Filothéi and Patriarch Gregory V to name a few.
 

While the night-shot of the exterior of the Cathedral was easy to take with the use of a tripod, photographing the interior proved problematic. Huge dimensions, dim light, and no tripod permitted were only some of the problems any photographer would face. The problem was partially solved with 18 pictures HDRed into 6 and then stitched into the above hand-held 2x3 panorama.
 

Photographed in Athens on August 18, 2016
 

Please click on both pictures for a better view.

6 comments:

  1. fotos για σεμινάριο
    πρόκληση για μένα το φώς του εσωτερικού, μετά την ανακαίνιση από τον σεισμό.... μέχει εντυπωσιάσει

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    1. pan koub, σ’ ευχαριστώ για το σχόλιο. Ενισχύει την προσπάθειά μου να αντιμετωπίζω τις δικές μου φωτογραφικές προκλήσεις. Βλέπε την παραπάνω περίπτωση.

      Ήταν και για μένα μια πρόκληση που χρειάστηκε 3-4 επισκέψεις στο ναό με αντίστοιχες τεχνικά αποτυχημένες προσπάθειες. Δε συζητώ το τι έπαθα μέχρι να αντιμετωπίσω την καχυποψία των ανθρώπων του ναού που με το δίκιο τους απορούσαν γιατί βρισκόμουν κάθε λίγο εκεί. Όμως κάποιες δυσκολίες/προκλήσεις έχουν στο τέλος την γλύκα τους!

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  2. It was a pleasure meeting you yesterday evening. Did you get a shot of the moon? Your blog is wonderful and we will visit regularly!

    Fergus and Maria

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    Replies
    1. The pleasure was mine, Fergus. Meeting two people enjoyable to talk to and being “jealous” of their talents is not an everyday event. Thank you for being kind enough to stop and have a little chat with me. The tests of the moon have taught me a lot and I hope I’ ll benefit from them when time comes for the actual shooting. Say ‘Hi’ to Maria and thank you for visiting my blog.

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    2. I'd love to see these photographs when they're ready, Tony! Cheers, Fergus.

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    3. If only I had your email, Fergus.

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