Pompeii at Pink Hour, a photo from Naples, Campania

Photographer's Note

ENGLISH: This is Pompeii in the Province of Campania. As everyone knows, in 79AD, Mount Vesuvius exploded, destroying the neighbouring towns of Herculaneum, Pompeii and Stabia (now Castellammare di Stabia, where my Dad is from). Such was the force of the volcano (scientists term it a Plinian eruption) that it altered the course of the River Sarno and changed the distance between Pompeii and the sea. Archeologists commenced excavating these zones in the 1600s with differing degrees of skill and success. Pompeii is the largest and most comprehensive excavation. Wandering its ghostly streets, you can see shops, courthouses, amphitheatres, cemeteries and forums not to mention everyday houses - there's even a brothel! - which have withstood millions of tones of lava and ash and two thousand years of history. Sadly, in the last month two iconic ruins have fallen and been demolished (the Gladiator's Quarters and another well known house) due to a lack of maintenance. Many of the original treasures of Pompeii are kept in the National Museum in Naples.

This photo was taken at the Pink Hour, when there was virtually no one around. The place was quite eerie and silent - a real ghost town. In this photo you can see Mount Vesuvius looming behind the arch. He is asleep for the moment. Based on past history, it is difficult to say that he will stay so.

My Workshop shows a plaster cast taken from one of the hundreds of bodies recovered from Pompeii. I can only imagine the terror these poor people must have experienced in their final minutes. And I hope and pray that there is never a tragedy like this again.

ITALIANO: Siamo a Pompei nella provincia di Campania. Come tutti sanno, nel 79 dC, il Vesuvio esplose, distruggendo le citte vicine di Ercolano, Pompei e Stabia (oggi Castellammare di Stabia, dove e nato il mio papŕ). Tale era la forza del vulcano (chiamato dagli scienziati "una eruzione pliniana") che essa ha modificato il corso del fiume Sarno e cambiato la distanza tra Pompei ed il mare. Gli archeologi ha iniziato lo scavo queste zone nel 1600s con diversi gradi di qualitŕ e successo. Pompei č lo scavo piů grande e completo. Vagando sue strade spettrali, si puň vedere negozi, palazzi di giustizia, anfiteatri, i cimiteri e forum, le case di cittadini ordinari - c'č anche un bordello! - tutti che hanno resistito milioni di tonnellate di lava e cenere e duemila anni di storia. Purtroppo, nel mese ultimi due ruderi iconica sono caduti e sono stati demoliti (la Casa dei Gladiatori e un'altra casa ben noto) a causa di una mancanza di manutenzione. Molti dei tesori di Pompei originali sono conservati nel Museo Nazionale di Napoli.

Questa foto č stata scattata l'ora Rosa, quando non c'era praticamente nessuno in giro. Il posto era abbastanza inquietante e silenzioso - davvero una citta di fantasma. In questa foto potete vedere il Vesuvio che incombe dietro l'arco. Egli č addormentato per il momento. Basato su una storia passata, č difficile dire che rimarrŕ cosě.

Il mio Workshop si presenta con un calco in gesso tratto da una delle centinaia di cadaveri recuperati da Pompei. Posso solo immaginare il terrore che queste povere persone devono avere sperimentato nei loro ultimi minuti. E io spero e prego che non c'č mai una tragedia come 79AD.

Canon 5D
ISO 640
Hand held
Exp: 1/160
f/8
Pattern metering
24mm using 24-105mm lens

kordinator, mozzy27, phwall, Longroute, vishaal, francio64, snunney, dkmurphys, baddori, pajaran, jjcordier, vasilpro, ade71, jafadabret, No_One oznaczył to zdjęcie jeko użyteczne

Critiques | Translate

mesutilgim (0) 2010-12-06 23:01

Good morning Lisa,
A quite unusual (and not seen) scene from this famous city of the antiquity.
Nice capture with quşte strange light; with good pov and veyr good usefull notes.
TFS and have a nice day
Best regards
MESUT ILGIM

danyy (0) 2010-12-06 23:10

Bonjour Lisa,
des lumičres basses bien maitrisées et des couleurs qui sous elles, chaudes, ressortent bien. Un POV avec beaucoup de profondeur, DOF efficace , et joli ciel, bref, un tas de choses qui accrochent dans cette ville ŕ l'histoire courte mais tellement dramatique.
Amitiés.
Daniel.

Bartleby (13552) 2010-12-07 0:24

Hi Lisa,
nice point of view and soft colors in the sky. A bit dark though, I wonder what a bit of fill-in flahs would have done here, or a real flash for that matter...

Philippe

mozzy27 (2) 2010-12-07 1:12

Hi Lisa
Great shot of the Entrance arch or gateway to the famous city of Pompeii, wonderful old architecture and that cobble stone path is just fantastic all under a pink sky and an eerie atmosphere but I wouldn't change anything, the exposure is perfect reflecting the time of day it was taken. What a history, very tragic, it must have been terrifying for all those people caught in the moment.TFS
Have a great week.
Cheers Peter

phwall (6787) 2010-12-07 1:34

Dearest,
Really good composition, nice touch putting Mt Vesuvius in the background of the shot, immediately one can see why Pompeii was totally decimated by the eruption.
Hmmm too dark, I don't think that's right, I can see Phillippe's point, but for me I think the foreground light is too flat, or in another word, too uniform. You need a kicker coming in from the direction of the sunset across the front and down one side of the arch to give it some definition and separate it from the rest of the shot. I don't think a flash fill would do the job.
Basically you were there at the wrong time for the light or you didn't get the right light because of the direction of the ruins. Crap happens.
I still like the shot, it is well thought out, executed perfectly and it tells a great story.

See yer soon
Pietro the gentle

Ilducabianco (940) 2010-12-07 2:14

Hi Lisa,

scrivo in italiano dato che mi sembra tu lo parli -o meglio scrivi- piuttosto bene.La foto č molto bella e non la trovo nemmeno cosě scura, anzi ciň crea un'atmosfera degna del posto.Pompei rischia di crollare pezzo per pezzo, mancanza di fondi, restauri fatti male, una grande ricchezza che rischia di essere perduta per sempre.Foto come la tua danno l'idea della magnificenza di questo patrimonio dell'umanitŕ.Il POV č eccellente con una composizione molto arguta.

Buona continuazione di giornata.

Alessio

Longroute (19600) 2010-12-07 2:23

Hello Lisa!

few minutes ago I was commenting this photo in IIF and curiously I'm finding it here now!!! (:-) Actually all your last posted photos here are not new to me!

Well, they are deserving photos which must be posted in both sites. I think I haven't never seen a photo of Pompei in Te (maybe I'm wrong) and so this is an important and fine contribution. As I told you, I like the fine and unique perspective created by those ancient stones and the pink sky is absolutely lovely. And the framing is a perfect one as usual with you.
Brava,
Donato

kordinator (8738) 2010-12-07 2:36

Hello dear Lisa
An amazing composition with very well written informative note.
We all know what a disaster befell this place.
Wonderful place,fantastic old architecture.
Excellent point of view and soft colors in the sky.
Great depth of field.
This is fantastic work.
Hugs
Saa

sabermonajati (11537) 2010-12-07 3:01

hi lisa
amazing gate with marvelous paysage you captured.
best regard
saber

vishaal (1042) 2010-12-07 3:54

Hi dear Lisa,
This is one of the most beautiful photos I've ever seen of Pompeii ! I can almost feel the silence of the place, that eerie feeling.....! Fantastic work from you.
Perfect time, a great POV and a beautiful vertical format, also showing us the Vesuvius.
Beautiful !
Warm regards,
Vishal.

francio64 (39888) 2010-12-07 4:00

Ciao Lisa,
Pompei la si potrebbe definire la seconda cittŕ eterna dato che questo onore č stato dato a Roma.
Bella la vista del Vesuvio attraverso l'antico arco e la vista delle case che danno l'aspetto di un luogo fantasma come hai ben scritto nella nota.
Il viale che conduce al vulcano conferisce una buona profonditŕ all'immagine.
Le nuvole rosa, abbelliscono l'immagine arricchendone la composizione.

Bello anche il WS.

Riguardo l'indicazione geografica mi permetto di farti una correzione: "Siamo a Pompei in provincia di Napoli, nella regione Campania".

Grazie per la condivisione e passa una bella serata.
Cicciů

snunney (130967) 2010-12-07 4:39

Hello Lisa,
Not the usual sort of image we see from this famous site of antiquity. The arch helps create an image of great depth with the eyes taken down the path towards the distant mount. I love the pink toned sky, which engenders a most particular mood.

My back continues to be painful, but the doctor has prescribed some painkillers that have eased the situation quite a bit. Just hoping it will be sorted by Christmas.

timecapturer (49288) 2010-12-07 5:18

Hi Lisa
nicely composed shot of Pompeii, great POV and although later in the day nice and sharp. Especially love the pink tones in the sky which enhance the textures of the stonework. Great shot!

Regards - Brian D.

Bluejeans (64251) 2010-12-07 5:33

Ola Lisa ,
Fantástica foto na hora Pink , gostei muito deste arco romano em primeiro plano a convidadar para entrar nesta cidade de ruínas , boa profundidade de foto ao longo desta estrada de pedra , parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

npecanhuk (79329) 2010-12-07 8:18

Hi Lisa!
Attractive picture!
I agree with someone who said it's a bit dark and maybe the use of flash would help a bit!
However, I really like the chosen pov, the vertical format, the colors and the composition!
TFS - congrats,
Best regards,
Neyvan

dkmurphys (79209) 2010-12-07 8:43

Ciao Lisa,
A beautiful composition, some impressive ruins. A gate through the glorious past times. Good work, fine presentation.

wolf38 (30) 2010-12-07 9:28

Hi Lisa. Title, photo and text - everything here fits together perfectly. The Great Gate is impressive. It looks out to the horizon. Very nice evening colors. A good shot. Compliment. Regards, Wolfgang.

baddori (20341) 2010-12-07 12:14

Lisa
Pompei ...ti piace ...bellissima ....enorme .
Si commenta da sola ...e da ola l'ha voluta ...rosa .
GF

pajaran (114821) 2010-12-07 13:53

Pozdrav.
Odlican tekst.
Ostali su tragovi jednog naroda, koji je za jedan trenutak nestao.
Lep poled na kapiju grada i vulkan, dobra kompozicija.
Dobar prikaz uglom snimka i lepom fotografijom.
Sve najbolje.
Paja.

Google.

Hello.
Excellent text.
Others are traces of a people, who for a moment disappeared.
Nice poled to the gate of the volcano, good composition.
A good view angle shots and beautiful photography.
All the best.
Paja.

SteveH (8220) 2010-12-07 14:39

Hi Lisa, I'm with you on the flash comment, rarely using them (although signal-womb gets some great results with imaginative lighting effects) another suggestion to add a bit of light to the arch would be to use a dodge and burn layer in Pshop. cheers, steve

jjcordier (79299) 2010-12-07 22:14

Lisa
Une telle lumičre dans un tel endroit magique, ça ne se refuse pas!Un trčs bon cadrage et de trčs beaux tons rosés. Je ne sais pas si tu pouvais éclaircir un tout petit peu les ruines en PP?
Amicalement
JJ

vasilpro (41801) 2010-12-07 23:37

Hello Lisa,
Wonderful hour for taking pictures with lovely color tones, interesting architectural scene from Pompeii, excellent light management, very good DOF, very nice POV.
Have a nice day, Vasilis.

lousat (138551) 2010-12-08 2:08

Ciao Lisa,l'arco e' rimasto un po' scuro ma non si poteva fare diversamente se si volevano i colori del cielo cosi' perfetti,non so se hai saputo che in questo mese di pioggia ogni tanto crolla quanche pezzo di Pompei,per adesso pero' l'arco e' ancora in piedi..ehhe...buona..notte!Luciano

Silvio1953 (220495) 2010-12-08 2:08

Ciao Lisa, splendida prospettiva, magnifica atmosfera, fantaticaora rosa, brava, ciao Silvio

ade71 (2228) 2010-12-08 3:53

Ciao Lisa, questa tua foto mi colpisce per la bellezza e mi commuove per l'atmosfera rosa. Un luogo meraviglioso nella nostra Campania. Bravissima come sempre!

Mari63 (4173) 2010-12-08 13:44

Pompei l'adoro cara Lisa, sei stata fortunata a visitarla nel periodo autunnale poichč vedo dalla tua foto che la luce č meravigliosa sulla cittŕ. Purtroppo come hai ricordato tu questo patrimonio ha subito nell'ultimo periodo un danno per cattiva manutenzione. pensa un po' ho una fotografia scattata quando ero ragazza della Palestra dei Gladiatori.
Bella ora rosa, tutta al femminile, eccellente prospettiva e nitidezza. Ciao Mari

kiasari (62) 2010-12-18 16:51

Hello Lisa,

The warm tones of this shot make it so fantastic. I like your idea to do such a light management. Well done!

Regards,
Abbas

jafadabret (56501) 2011-01-07 23:14

Bonjour Lisa,
Cette photo est trčs belle et elle semble raconter l'histoire de cette ville qui a été rayée de la carte aprčs l'explosion du volcan. L'heure rose passe sur ces ruines qui devraient se trouver ŕ l'abri des dégradations du temps.
Amicalement
Jacques

kiks (12805) 2011-01-29 9:09

Not only the colors are beautiful on this photo but i also like very much the perspective you create using te arch at the fg.
Best regards
KIKs

ikeharel (112395) 2011-12-29 2:40

A mighty old gate, ruined but remain intact, Lisa.
The clouds aloft with golden tone, adding a bit melancholy to the place we know was destroyed long ago, and not revived living there.
well managed low light condition.
Best wishs and a Happy New-Year,
Ike

No_One (4) 2012-08-24 5:07

Hiya Lisa,
this is realyl cool, the pink hour alone is excellent to capture, but to catch the entrance to this place like this amazing. It looks so spooky framed like this with the streets stretching out beyond. I never seen an image of Pompeii like this, and it really is cool. Excellent picture and note, cheers!
Noel

Photo Information

Copyright: Lisa DP (delpeoples) (60342)
Genre: Miejsca
Medium: Kolorowe
Date Taken: 2010-10-00
Categories: Ruiny
Wersja zdjęcia: Oryginalna wersja, Workshop
Temat(y): Pompeii and Herculaneum, My Pompeii, Campania Mia [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2010-12-06 22:56