When in Portugal…, a photo from Madeira, Islands

Photographer's Note

I had a terrible weather on Madeira. It was quite cruel. When I left home a heat wave with beautiful susnshine started in England. At the same time on the day on my arrival thick layer of clouds arrived to Madeira island. The weather got beautiful in Madeira on the day of my departure again. We went there for two reasons. 1. In the search for the sun, which we nearly didn’t see for most of the week, and 2. To make a lot of sightseeing, and on most of the trips we had it was raining or at least the sky was overcast. Here I had one of the rare moments when the sun came out from behind the clouds.

The photo was taken on Praça do Município (Town Hall Square) in Funchal, main town of Madeira. The church which you see here is Igreja do Colégio - Igreja de São João Evangelista. I really like the context of the typical Portuguese pavement (read more about it below) and the repeated motif of the taxi cab.

Portuguese pavement, known in Portuguese as calçada portuguesa or simply calçada is a traditional-style pavement used for many pedestrian areas in Portugal. It consists of small flat pieces of stones arranged in a pattern or image, like a mosaic. It can also be found in Olivença (a disputed territory administered by Spain) and throughout former Portuguese colonies. Portuguese workers are also hired for their skill in creating these pavements in places such as Gibraltar. Being usually used in sidewalks, it is in town squares and atriums that this art finds its deepest expression.

One of the most distinctive uses of this paving technique is the image of Saint-Queen Elizabeth of Portugal, (Santa Rainha Isabel) in Coimbra, designed with black and white stones of basalt and limestone.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_pavement

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Fis2, macjake, COSTANTINO, ChrisJ, jemaflor, PaulVDV, ikeharel, jean113, ktanska, Royaldevon, adramad, worldcitizen, mcmtanyel heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

Fis2 (170639) 2021-06-10 13:45

Czesc Mariusz!
Bardzo duzo w kadrze.
Fajna kompozycja.
Ciekawy kosciol, interesujacy bruk i parada taksowek.
Super kolorki i ostrosc.
Podoba mi sie fasada kosciola.
Dobra robota.
Dobrej nocy.
Krzysztof

macjake (98402) 2021-06-10 16:06

Hi Mariusz
too bad about the weather, that really sucks, pretty bad luck.
its very hard to predict these things. easy to see why you decided to use so much of the vertical frame to include the tiles, its very photogenic. and of course the yellow taxis contrast so well with the blue sky. charming church too, lots to like here. cheers
Craig

Silvio1953 (221463) 2021-06-10 22:24

Ciao Mariusz, lovely composition with fantastic optical effect, splendid light, excellent clarity, fine details and wonderful colors, very well done, my friend, have a good week end, ciao Silvio

COSTANTINO (116377) 2021-06-10 22:50

Hello dear friend and have a nice day
and a happy evening
I love these details in this photo
I like the designs and generally
the architectural details
but another beautiful detail
here is ...the yellow cars...
lovely composition with fantastic
optical effect...
regards
Costantino

ChrisJ (171794) 2021-06-10 22:58

Hi Mariusz

Not only the repetition of the taxis, but their yellow colour contrasts perfectly with that rare patch of blue sky. The b&w pattern of the piazza is also nice. Tfs!

jemaflor (147018) 2021-06-10 23:03

Hi Mariusz,
well framed, perfect this large FG with these patterns, good also the yellw line with taxis, nice architecture for this facade, well done, tfs.

ifege (47957) 2021-06-11 0:02

Hi Mariusz
When the rain comes down we usually go in search of an art gallery or museum but I guess they might be in short supply in Madeira.
I do like that contrast in this photo between the yellow cabs and the bright white of the church.
cheers
Ian

PaulVDV (62846) 2021-06-11 1:29

Hello Mariusz,
I remember this beautiful square and the São João Evangelista church. I was there almost 11 years ago and have also posted a pic of it.
Funny, the tree on the right has not grown in those years. It looks even a bit smaller now.
The row of yellow taxis provides a nice visual sight and adds a vivid colour on this predominantly black and white photo.
The square with the pavement in a bat-like pattern is awesome.
The Portuguese rightly know how to give their sidewalks and squares a special attraction in this way.
I've seen such pavement also in some places in Spain. (I was never in Olivenza)
But it is true that it is typically Portuguese and in Portugal some masterpieces of it can be found in many places.
As for the weather in Madeira: Didn't it feel like déjà vu?
When you lived in Ireland, didn't you take the Irish weather with you when you travelled, like on your trip to Turkey?
Best regards, Paul

ikeharel (113241) 2021-06-11 2:56

Yellow cabs added nice contrasting colors to the mostly brown and white picture, Mariusz.
The checkered pavement is nowadays style i found everywhere in Portugal, it adds good sense of depth towards the church.
Good afternoon,
Ike

kasianowak (17676) 2021-06-11 4:44

Czesc Mariusz
Super kompozycja, gdzie kosciol, ktory niby jest glownym tematem zdjecia, tak naprawde sluzy za tlo. Wzrok przyciagaja dwa powtarzajace sie motywy: wzorki na "portugalskim chodniku", ktore prowadza do tego drugiego, czyli rzedu zoltych taksowek. Calosc daje naprawde dobry efekt.
Widzialam te mozaiki na wielu zdjeciach, ale wlasciwie nic o nich nie wiedzialam, wiec dzieki za ciekawa notke.
Pozdrawiam serdecznie
Kasia

jean113 (27819) 2021-06-11 9:08

Hello Mariusz, you made good use of the beautiful paving to lead our eyes towards the bright yellow taxis and the imposing church.
What a pity that the weather was disappointing!
Very interesting notes.
Kind regards, Jean.

lousat (139170) 2021-06-11 9:49

Hi Mariusz,a pity that you have not found good weather, on the contrary I am always lucky, the record was the week in Iceland without seeing a drop of rain .. hehehe ... the photo is very well done, classic scheme but that stands out the pavement and with the bonus of the yellow taxis that give a nice touch of color. I'm leaving tomorrow .... and a week of sunshine is expected! Have a nice weekend and thanks,Luciano

pajaran (115779) 2021-06-11 13:48

Pozdrav.

Lep pogled, interesantan i dobar tekst ...
Lepo mesto i arhitektura, dobro pokazano sa lepim bojama, kontrastom i perspektivom.
Lepa gradska kuca i fotografija.

Zelim vam lepu i mirnu noc, sve najbolje za vikend.
Paja

ktanska (44714) 2021-06-12 1:20

Hi Mariusz,
Layout of the pavement is perfect. The church looks lovely with dark brown details and shiny white wall. Uniform style of the taxis catch my attention too.
Kari

Tue (92302) 2021-06-12 4:06

Hello Mariusz,
Luckily you managed to get some sunshine as well for this shot. The vertical composition is excellent and nicely includes both the patterns of the pavement which is so characteristic for Portugal, as well as the church façade, which looks fine in the sunlight. The row of yellow taxis is a great addition to the middle of the photo as well.
Lars

Royaldevon (85862) 2021-06-12 9:57

Hello Mariusz,

I love this!
The eye-catching patterns in the f/g make a natural link, colour wise, with the b/g building and divided so artistically with the yellow line of vehicles.
Lovely composition!

My warm regards,
Bev 😊

jmdias (115046) 2021-06-12 10:11

mariusz

unfortunately the only sample of this kind of sidewalk in my town were demolished.
amazing result. you got marvelous repetitive elements and arranged them perfectly. the architecture of the church is fabulous too. I remember the black stones used in the churches were exactly the same I can find in my town. I liked a lot the yellow breaking the black and white mood.

take care

jorge

adramad (72934) 2021-06-14 10:46

Hi Mariusz.
At least at this moment the sky shows a blue patch, very beautiful the facade of this church that combines dark stone with white, a perfect symmetry in terms of balconies and windows, beautiful the effect of the typical Portuguese pavement, the line of yellow taxis gives a nice color scheme.
Wonderful image, sharpness, exposure, colors and POV are excellent.
Photo very well done. I like
Enjoy a good day.
Very best regards.
Luis.

worldcitizen (16048) 2021-06-15 13:26

Hello Mariusz,
This composition, with three distinct subjects, is very attractive. The yellow taxis make a nice dividing line between the church and the pavement. Of course the Portuguese pavement is very eye-catching, too.

mcmtanyel (68383) 2021-07-06 19:50

Hello Mariusz,
That calçada portuguesa looks wonderful - I must confess it is more attractive than the church to me. Did we see the Santa Rainha Isabel example in your photo "Women in Black"?
Regards,
MT