 In yesterday's post, I mentioned that I would profile the entire view of the Versailles gardens in a future entry. I have decided to make that future entry today. In the foreground is the Latone (Latona) Fountain (Bassin de Latone). Designed by André Le Nôtre, sculpted by Gaspard and Balthazar Marsy, and constructed between 1668 and 1670, the fountain depicts an episode from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Latona and her children, Apollo and Diana, are tormented with mud slung by Lycian peasants, who refused to let her and her children drink from their pond. Latona appealed to the Greek god of the heavens, Zeus. He responded quickly, turning the Lycians into frogs, who flank the perimeter of the fountain (the frogs may be seen on four levels of the fountain). The episode from mythology depicted on the fountain was chosen as an allegory to the revolts of the Fronde, which occurred during the reign of the Sun King, Louis XIV. Seen in the background is the Grand Canal of Versailles, illuminated by the golden light of the sun. In yesterday's post, I mentioned how the Grand Canal stretches for a mile in length. I hope that the image in today's entry gives you some idea of its length. The total distance from where I was standing (to capture this photograph) to the end of the Grand Canal is about two kilometers. Amazing, right? This image is a high dynamic range image. I used Photomatix Pro to tonemap the final result, and I did some retouching work in Photoshop (most significantly, I cloned out the pipes seen at the bottom of the Latona Fountain). I chose to go with the HDR technique for this particular image because I wanted to showcase the gardens of Versailles in all their glory. I was able to pull out significant detail in the Latona Fountain, the surrounding forest, and the sky in this final presentation (the frame is symmetrical around the Latona Fountain, with Latona's figure seemingly dividing the Grand Canal into two; the final presentation is in the typical 3:2 crop). Still, the bright yellow in the distance - where the sun is setting - is overpowering (even the HDR technique failed to properly recover these highlights). Therefore, I prefer yesterday's image to today's (note: yesterday's image is a single exposure, so you see the very dark shadows on either side of the Grand Canal). Of the two images I posted, which one do you prefer? If you're not a fan of HDR photography (and there are plenty of critics of the technique, I know), then I would venture to guess that your preference is for the single exposure in yesterday's post. However, if you like high dynamic range photography, then do check out two other shots from Versailles I captured here and here. Finally, thanks to those of you who have left comments in the last twenty-four hours. If you would like to enter my free print giveaway (first described in the caption of this post), then leave a comment on any one of my images answering the following question (phrased in three different ways): 'Why does this image move you? What about this image stirs your senses? How do you connect to this image?' Note: My entire HDR gallery is here. My travel gallery is here. My images from France are here. |
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