The Cloister World


This photo was done during a one-day trip to the fascinating city of Évora. Classified as UNESCO World Heritage Site, one can easily get amazed at the diversity and quantity of historic buildings, including Romanesque, Gothic, Manueline, Renaissance and Baroque architecture.

This is one of those special places where, on a weekend, without the noise of cars and the crowds, you can forget present time, and feel immersed somewhere in the past, when beauty was cherished, and schedules were not a concern.

One of the places I've visited was the amazing Cathedral of Évora, and one of it's strongest surprises: an exquisite and captivating cloister.

Cloisters have always fascinated me. In the past they were the place, inside a monastery, where the fusion of nature and men was strongest. Four cold stone corridors and a garden in the center, adorned with profound meditation, trying to reach the highest answers.

During the first 15 minutes I had some strong clouds in the sky, but the sun was uncovered and very strong. I tried to capture some photos, trying to properly expose both the building and the sky, but this proved to be impossible, even with ND Grads. Fortunately, mother nature helped, and the clouds finally covered the sun. Not only this helped in getting a correct exposure of the scene, but also lended a very special lightning to the whole scene, much different from the harsh light I had 15minutes before. This was the time to start shooting, and in 10 minutes I was able to cover some shooting angles I had planned beforehand. Here you can see one of them, hoping the image will be able to "capture" you into that magical place...

José Ramos
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Évora
Pentax K10d + Sigma 10-20
3 stop cokin ND Grad
Post-processing, vignetting, slight colour balance adjustment and levels.}