Puerta de Alcala BW

by Joan Carroll

Title

Puerta de Alcala BW

Artist

Joan Carroll

Medium

Photograph - Digital Art

Description

Sometimes you get what you get! I only had a couple of hours one afternoon in Madrid and my goal was to photograph some architecture along Gran Via and up Alcala St to the Puerta de Alacala. It was mid-to-late afternoon on a winter day and the sun illuminated the other side of the monument, which is the back side as judged by the direction the statues on the top are facing. However, on the front side the sun almost straight on if you tried to get a picture of the monument centered. So I elected an off center shot. Still, I had to stand behind a bus shelter to avoid the sun flares, which meant that every minute a huge bus sat right in front of me! I also used the bus shelter to lean against to hold steady in the wind. As if that weren't enough, I had to time the lights just right so that the cars were not going past me in front. It took about 30 minutes of freezing and waiting before I was happy with the brackets I shot. Then a truck goes by, laying down salt for expected snow overnight. Really?! But aside from all that, it was a beautiful sunny day with some gorgeous clouds so in the end I was only cold for awhile while I can enjoy the fruits of my expedition for much longer. The Puerta de Alcala is a Neo-classical monument in the Plaza de la Independencia. It stands near the city center and several meters away from the main entrance to the Parque del Buen Retiro. The square is bisected by Alcala Street, although the street does not cross through the monument. There are six ornamental statues that adorn the top of the gate. These were the work of sculpture artists, Francisco Gutierrez and Roberto Michel. The raised central part at the gate's highest point has a plaque, which reads: "REGE CARLO III ANNO MDCCLXXVIII." This commemorates the date of the gate's inauguration by King Carlos III (1778).

FEATURED PHOTO, Creative Black and White Fine Art Photographs group, 10/21/19

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FEATURED PHOTO, Black And White group, 6/21/16

FEATURED PHOTO, Black And White Photography group, 6/21/16

FEATURED PHOTO, Spanish Theme Artwork Group, 6/21/16

FEATURED PHOTO, Places You Visited 3 per Day group, 3/15/15

FEAURED PHOTO, Historical Buildings of the World-100 group, 2/26/15

FEATURED PHOTO, I Wish I was There group, 2/8/15

FEATURED PHOTO, Premium FAA Artists group, 2/6/15

FEATURED PHOTO, Black and White Photography group, 2/5/15

Uploaded

February 5th, 2015

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