Roman Architecture

Hi Folks,


It has been a bit awkward trying to post on the blog lately but none the less here is the contribution for this post.
Split or Spalato as it was formerly known was formerly the Roman Emperor Diocletian's holiday residence.
It was basically an army fortress and the walls were thick and high.
Inside near the area called Peristille was where he used to be his final resting place.
The Romans were influenced by the Greeks and the Egyptians in the way they built buildings etc.

The Greek Influenced Architecture

 Columns being one of the things they liked to support they're structures. Marble was the stone of choice as well so definitely very strong. What is my observation here? Well apart from the fact that it is 1700 years old I just like the lines and the late afternoon sun. The old bell tower is at the back (Sveti Duje's Camponel) which was built a long time later after the fall of the Roman Empire.


The next part of the architecture is the placement of the little Sphinx supposedly to guard the Emperor's resting place.

The Little Sphinx

It is also quite old but that is where the Egyptian influence is.
I made this photo a black and white because it was mainly dark and light contrast so ideal for black and white.

Those are my photographic observations, feel free to make any comments whether they are good or bad.


Vedran















j

If I Were A Rich Man

Hi Folks,

It has been a little while since my last post so the theme of today is boats.

Here around Split apart from the traject's (car ferry's) that go to the islands there is also a sailing club.
It is situated below Marjan Hill and there are sail and pleasure craft there.

A few yachts in the marina.

There are plenty of yachts here and they are all quite nice looking. People come from all over Europe and America to Split, as the sailing around the islands of the coast of Dalmatia is phenomenal. There are over 1000 islands along the coast.

The next type of boat is the type that the millionaires seem to own and they are nice to look at altho out of most peoples price range I would assume.

Nice Playboy Toy

Not sure as to whom this belongs to but it is definitely something I would love to have one day if I wasn't so afraid of the water. This little boat to me is a Playboy Toy with its different colouring and the three levels. I like the styling and it is not the usual cream/white that tend to be the colour scheme of most boats these days.


We come now to what I call the pleasure craft which are not quite in the league of the boat previous but still expensive none the less.

The Pleasure Craft.

Even these boats are beyond my affordability but it still is nice to see them. Just looking at them makes me drool but maybe one day....

These are My Photographic Observations for today.
I like the light that shines of all the boats as I took these photos late afternoon/early evening and it just gave a nice softness to the photos over all. I hope you all agree.


Vedran

Amongst The Arches

Hi Folks


I was in the main piazza within the walls of Diocletian's Palace in Split when I saw a great photo opportunity. A man was standing in front of this building and I thought I like this.
The old bricks and the way the arches at the front and behind just seem to make a good symmetrical photo.

Oblivious to the beauty behind him.

The man who I don't know was standing around looking for a cigarette. He seemed oblivious or not to fussed about the beauty behind him.
It seems there are plenty who do not seem to appreciate what is around them (of course not necessarily him) lol.
Now to describe what I like which is the arches on both the front of the building and the door and windows at the rear. It seems to give it a picture in a frame type of feel. I also like the texture of the building which is old and black from age in a few places.
I have framed this shot in a way that all arches are seen but the man is in the bottom third of the photo using the rule of thirds.

Vedran

Lucka Kapetanija (Port Authority)

Hi All,

I must say that sometimes when you observe things you always find something new. Now I must also say that there is nothing in particular that does it for me with this building.

What is the building I hear you ask?

The building is the Split Port Authority offices or Lucka Kapetanija as it is known in Croatian.

Like all port authority's it organises and does the timetables and renting for all the Trajects(car ferries) yacht's and boats etc.

Lucka Kapetanija with the late afternoon light.

Is there anything about this building I like? Well yes, there is the symmetry with the windows but what I like most off all is the late afternoon/early evening sun that is lighting the top half of the building.

I think it gives it a nice soft glow and there is a nice golden hour feel about it.

What is the golden hour you might ask? Well lucky for you I will let you know :-)

The golden hour is the light that is around roughly an hour after sunrise and an hour before sunset.

That really nice soft goldy type of glow.

Until next time

                      

Something New!!!

My photographic observation is titled something new.
Around Split there are a lot of old buildings and structures that add a lot of charm to the place.
Keeping in mind that Split is over 1700 years old and over the century's things good and not so good have been added.

Somethings needed and not needed. What I like about this photo is the lines of the staircase leading to the gate at the top. It has a rustic charm about it and also the late afternoon sun just bringing out the rust and the colour.

The rustic staircase with the bright new toilet sign.

The something new is the brand new toilet sign bolted on to the top of the ceiling.

It adds a nice juxtaposition of the new sign and the old stair case.

To me it kind of sets a mixed message in the sense that if you are going to renovate an area then wouldn't you also kind of spruce up the area with a bit of paint. I mean sure the photo would not be as interesting but heck at least it would look inviting.
Incidentally if you need to use the toilet there is a price of 2 kunas just to get rid of water and if you need to do a number 2 then it is 4 kunas. Females pay 4 kunas all the time cos it is in a cubicle.

Well I hope my photographic observation was enjoyable and if you have any comments that you would like to make  than feel free.

Interesting Window

Hi Folks


As always in my meanderings around the city I find something that catches my eye.
This was an occasion while I was eating my ice cream that I noticed the patterns of this window.
Kind of like a frame outside a frame with arches.

French Style Window In Split

Very eye pleasing and more than likely of French influence over time. I kinda feel that a lot of designs of today do not seem to have that character about them anymore. I mean this is like a window to me.

With elegance and style and character. 

The engravings and the workmanship that went into this is just great.

People don't have either the imagination or the money and or time to be able to do this anymore or could I be wrong altogether and say there is no interest at all anymore.

Vedran...

Sports Car

It is amazing what you can find when you walk around a city.
This little sports car was on display and it was a sleek different looking machine. I don't know what type of car it was but definitely something I had never seen before.

As you see it is kind of like a MG but I don't think that is what it is. I was looking for the owner because I did not see any names on it as such. It is black but it was marvellous to look at. The interior was something else as well all these little gauges and different shade of black /grey steering wheel.

It was really a beautiful design and I am assuming it would have been nice to drive being so low to the ground. I will do research to find out what car this is and low and behold it seems to be called a Morgan.

Looking at the foto closely it also has airbags fitted so not a vintage of any sort.

I hope to find more things like this to photograph as it is something you don't see everyday.

This series of fotos were shot at about 5:45PM and there was a bit of sunshine around on a generally overcast and rainy day.