Portalegre Town Hall I Photo

Photographer’s Note

Let me show you another view of the town where I was born and spent my teenage years. Incidentally, the exact place where I was born is less than 200 meters away from this place and I'll pass the New Year's night very near also.

This is the "new" Town Hall of Portalegre. I put the new between quotes because the Town Hall used to be in another old building until about two years ago, when it was moved to this renovated building dating from the 17th century, which was originally built to house a Jesuit college, but was converted to a big textile factory the next century, after the expulsion of the Jesuits from Portugal. I have no idea of when the the factory stopped working. As far as I know, in the early 1970's it didn't work any more, although a small part of the building housed the tapestry manufacture that produced the relatively famous Portalegre tapestries [1, 2], which was moved to another place some years ago.

Link to all my posts of Portalegre: *

I already wished you all a Happy New Year in my last post because I thought I wouldn't be on-line before 2009, but I renew those wishes again.

Location (latitude, longitude): 39.2946,-7.4286

Update 15-Jan-2009: I posted another photo of this place, with a wider angle.

ChrisJ, feather, xuaxo, riclopes, Atousa, gracious, Bluejeans, jean11-3 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

ChrisJ (69464) 2008-12-25 19:38

Ola Jose

Good colour, sharpness & perspective. The 2 people in the bg add scale. I like the subtle reflections in the fg water. Parabens and obrigado!

feather (49848) 2008-12-26 3:38

The way you have composed this José, has resulted in an excellent graphic image with lots of lines and angles. I also like the reflections in the window. I looked for the photographer but don't see him ;D In case I don't get another chance Happy New Year to you too.
Kath

xuaxo (5627) 2008-12-26 16:13

Olá José,
Interessante, se não fossem as plantas (e as pessoas ao fundo) isto seriam só linhas, ângulos, rectângulos, etc.
Já agora, aquela janela foi mesmo desenhada "torta" pelo arquitecto ou é "obra" do fotógrafo?
Boas férias e ano novo!
F.

riclopes (32845) 2008-12-27 0:40

Bom dia José, pressuponho que já estejas em Portalegre por isso aqui vão os votos de boas entradas em 2009. Quanto à foto parece pobre e vazia à 1ª vista, mas aos poucos começa-se a apreender a lógica de encaixe destas linhas todas, com a sensibilidade de um arquitecto que está a desenhar um alçado ;-) E o pequeno pormenor das pessoas lá ao fundo não passa desapercebido talvez devido a esta nudez toda. Faz-me lembrar um pouco a arquitectura minimalista do pavilhão do Mies em Barcelona que ficou associado à frase "less is more".
Bons passeios fotográficos no Alentejo,
ricardo

alvaraalto (5225) 2008-12-27 2:06

Hi Jose,

Excellent presentation of this straight architectural detail. I like the slight slope of the stair around the building. The reflection in the windows is a nice bonus to the picture.

Best wishes for 2009,
Groet Rob

Atousa (3434) 2008-12-27 4:42

Salam Jose,

You did a great job with the lines n angles .. I like the soft colours and also the tree n the little flowers ( Banafsheh in my language! ) remind me of the beginning of the spring that we see them more.. TFS
Best wishes for you n your family, A

gracious (20017) 2008-12-27 9:15

Ola my friend Jose,
It's a beautiful architecture image with good angle in capturing this one! I especially loved that corner planted with a growing tree and little flowers! also the architecture design on the surrounding!
many thanks for the wonderful sharing
sincerely wishing you and family
A JOYFUL AND HAPPY NEW YEAR2009
cheers
tony

AiresSantos (41272) 2008-12-27 13:21

Ola Amigo Jose
Uma perspectiva interessante e pouco habitual. Gosto do enquadramento, formas e grafismo
Um abraco e continuacao de boas festas
Aires

Graal (57220) 2008-12-28 0:10

Hi Jose,
an interesting place and informations. Amazing stairs, fine geometric lines. Unusual lonely tree. I like it.
Happy New Year!
Gr., Aleksander

Bluejeans (31529) 2008-12-29 10:07

Oi José,
Muito bonito este espaço para as pessoas passearem , ainda bem que que estas câmaras do interior estão a investir dinheiro nestes espaços tornando estas cidades mais bonitas e atractivas para viver , gostei muito do ponto de visão com estes ângulos , parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

Boas Festas

Benedict (7060) 2009-01-01 9:11

the geometric figures of this capture is just as amazing as the cool pastel colors. happy new year.
Benedict

paura (37736) 2009-01-03 12:38

Jose Pires,
Apesar dos difíceis f/5.0, 1/60 seconds o resultado técnico ficou excelente. A imagem também é muito bonita, com as interessantes formas e cores. Muito boa fotografia, amigo.

abraço

Paulo

jean11-3 (2799) 2009-03-07 3:20

Hello Jose,I like your PoV for this shot.The steps provide us with interesting lines and perspective.[Is there water on the steps, or are they just made from a very shiny material?]The solitary young tree standing in its flower bed is placed well in your composition.
The distant people add scale.
Good colours.We even have the bonus of some of the towns' buildings reflected in one of the windows.
Tfs,regards Jean.