Delft Blue, a photo from Zuid Holland, South

Photographer's Note

Today I make a short sidestep from my Patagonia travelogue for this particular occasion...

This afternoon I had to do a bit of shopping, so after work I went to the centre of my hometown Delft. The sky had such a beautiful blue colour and the air was so clear, that I couldn't resist taking a few very touristic pictures of the Nieuwe Kerk (English: New Church) on the market square. I tried to find a creative viewpoint and walked for several minutes from one corner of the square to the other, but finally I just ended up in front of the city hall on the other end of the square to get a frontal view of the church. I have to admit that probably hundreds of tourists take this shot every day, so I felt a bit ashamed of taking this picture....;-) But I think it is a nice view anyway.

The Nieuwe Kerk was built in 1496 and is of major importance to the Dutch people, as it hosts the vault of the royal family. The first member of the family that was buried here, is our patriarch - the founder of the monarchy - Prince William of Orange. He was murdered in 1584 in Delft by a religious fanatic (yes, also in those years....). A large monument for him can be seen inside the church. Since October 2002 three members of the royal family were buried here: Prince Claus (the late husband of our current queen Beatrix), Princess Juliana (our queen's mother, former queen of the
Netherlands) and most recently Prince Bernhard (the queen's father). The burials were accompanied by very impressive ceremonies with lots of important people from all over the world, turning the city of Delft upside down as security was at the highest level.

The tower has a height of 108.75m. Due to the application of different kinds of stone, the colours of the tower are varying from very light to very dark. The upper part is dark, as a porous stone was used that easily gets polluted by dust and other particles in the air. It is possible the visit the church and to climb the tower, from where you have a beautiful view over the city of Delft and the surrounding areas. More information about the church is available at its website: www.nieuwekerk-delft.nl.

fib2004, SavioCastro, jhm, Tue, jafadabret ha puntuado esta nota como útil.

Critiques | Translate

PixelTerror (0) 2005-08-04 5:36

Hi Michael,
NIce and sunny view of the church, it stands out very well over this fine blue sky. Wow with a 28mm lens you must have been quite far to get it all in you frame ?
Have a nice day,
Jean-Yves

Rinie_Hoff (9340) 2005-08-04 5:45

Hey Michael, the funny thing is, that yesterday I thought to go and climb the tower, and make a shot to upload it on TE! I just had not decided yet whether I wanted to do that on a market day like today, or not ;-) What a coincedence.
It IS a stunning view this way, and for me, having moved to Rotterdam, it still feels VERY familiar and pleasant to see the square and the church, especially as Rotterdam does not have many old buildings.
If I may link one: this is taken inside that church.

Yamada (2309) 2005-08-04 5:52

Very nice shot. Amazing that you got the whole tower in one shot. Great job. Love the clear blue sky as well. TFS

leonorkuhn (16237) 2005-08-04 7:32

Hi Michael,
I know this nice church. I like the colors, sharp and lightness. Good job.
Regards,
Leonor

SavioCastro (601) 2005-08-04 10:55

Bela foto, a composição nos permite imaginar a grandiosidade da igreja, muito bem enquadrada. Muito bem feito.

jhm (211734) 2005-08-04 11:33

Beste Michael,
Het is een statie foto met de kerk in de midden, de 108,57 m hoge toren rijk bijna tot aan de hemel, de blauwe achtergrond past hier wel mooi bij, ik vind hem mooi Michael!
John.

erdna (5713) 2005-08-04 14:25

It is really a very beautiful and architectural photo of the church. I do not care if some people attached the word "tourist shot" to my photo if that is the best angle available to define a building. Artistic shots usually do not give you everything. I like this photo and I like the lines and proportions of this church that emphasize verticality. What makes this different from other european churches is that the flying buttresses are not symmetrical.

Andre'

Tue (91648) 2005-08-04 17:35

Hi Michael,
Wat een enorme kerktoren, goed dat de omgeving er ook opstaat zodat je het verschil in hoogte met bijv. de huisjes kunt zien. Mooie blauwe lucht erbij, prima werk!
Groeten,
Lars

jafadabret (56501) 2005-08-05 7:39

C'était la photo qu'il fallait faire sans penser à autre chose. Là le sujet était superbe et le ciel à ne pas rater. En plus la note jointe est très instructive.

weswang (18247) 2005-08-05 10:40

Hi Michael, You have done a good job to have the entire building well captured. I like the clarity and nice contrast in this picture, which shows different colors in this building. A well taken symmetric architecture photo.