Olvera on the white towns route, a photo from Cadiz, Andalucia

Photographer's Note

‘Olvera on the white towns route’

Just before Spain started to suffer from the first heat wave of this year, I made a trip through Andalucia.

In 2021, the village of Olvera was elected ‘Capital of Rural Tourism 2021’ (‘Capital del Turismo Rural 2021’).
247 Spanish villages had registered to vote. The conditions are that the nominated village has no more than 10.000 inhabitants, is willing to create high-quality tourist facilities and has not previously entered the competition.

In 2017 Olvera had 8.153 inhabitants.
From 1910 until the 1970s, the village had more than 10.000 inhabitants. Sometime in the 1970s even more than 11.500.
The current lower number of inhabitants has everything to do with the large rural exodus that exists in Spain.

The two buildings that attract the most attention in Olvera are the Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación (the Parish of Our Lady of the Incarnation) and the Moorish Castle, both built on the highest places of the village.
The origin of Olvera lies around the Moorish castle from the Nasrid period of the 12th century.

Here are 4 photos of the white village with the church and the castle, seen from a distance.
It is remarkable how short the transition between fields, olive trees and the village actually is.
At the present time, Olvera is dedicated to agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry, activities that are complemented by the tourist activities.
During my visit there were mainly Spanish tourists and not immediately a real influx.

These photos were taken with a new smartphone (the old one didn't survive a few falls). These photos look beautiful on my smartphone. But on the larger computer screen you can clearly see the lack of quality.

holmertz, ikeharel, Fis2, pierrefonds, PiotrF, worldcitizen, jemaflor, jean113, aliabazari, mcmtanyel heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

holmertz (103520) 2022-06-22 0:42

Hello Paul,
It's nice to see you finally back on the site. These four photos all show marvellously beautiful views and seem to capture the essence of what is typically Spanish. They are well composed and the colours are intense. The main photo is well chosen for the sense of life provided by the donkey. Looking at the enlarged versions I see why you complain of the lack of quality. The sharpness of at least two of the WS are not as perfect as photos taken with your "real" camera. The smaller versions are okay.
Best regards,
Gert

ikeharel (114435) 2022-06-22 0:58

Welcome back Paul, long time "missing" on TE - hope you had a successful trip.
The donkey is surely grabbing most attention here - but we get a marvelous sight of the white town andalucia style, the castle and the church atop the hill.
Wonderful upwards POV, fine outcome.
Have a nice new day,
Ike

Fis2 (171789) 2022-06-22 1:56

Witaj PAul!
Another nice set of photos.
I like the scenery, the views are impressive.
Good framing, colors and light.
Interesting place.
Well done.
Good morning.
Krzysztof

Silvio1953 (222747) 2022-06-22 3:50

Ciao Paul, great view of fantastic white city, lovely composition with horse in FG, fine details, excellent sharpness, wonderful colors and splendid light, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

pierrefonds (115408) 2022-06-22 5:17

Bonjour Paul,

La présence du cheval anime la scène. La prise de vue permet de voir les détails des immeubles et de l'église. La qualité de la lumière embellit les couleurs de l'image. Bonne journée.

Pierre

lousat (139906) 2022-06-22 9:52

Hi Paul,in fact the quality is not exceptional, but the photos are really beautiful. A little known village to mass tourism that retains the charm of the old days, beautiful views no doubt with the bonus of the donkey in the main one, you have avoided the heat wave that is making itself felt in Milan too. Have a nice evening and thanks,Luciano

Tue (93296) 2022-06-22 9:59

Hallo Paul,
Een prachtige eerste foto van je afgelopen reis. De kleuren zijn heel helder en sprekend. De groene velden zijn een mooie voorgrond voor de witte huizen en de kerk van het dorp. De ezel is bovendien een uitstekende bonus op de voorgrond.
Lars

PiotrF (55822) 2022-06-22 15:36

Hello Paul
Interesting view of Olvera. Nice photos in WS. Thank you for interesting and informative note. Picture with beautiful colour, good composition and quality.
Fine presentation
Regards
Piotr

worldcitizen (16226) 2022-06-22 17:08

Hello Paul,
It's great that you were able to visit Spain. Your first photo from Olvera is very nice, and I like the donkey in the foreground. It's cute, and adds more life to the scene. The church and castle are perched very high above the white houses, and there are distinct layers in this view: land, houses, church and castle. I like the WS photos, too. Take care!

ifege (49257) 2022-06-22 20:48

Hi Paul
A good series of Olvera, a town I had a enjoyable week staying in in 2009 (several photos on TE). I think we were a couple of the only tourists in town despite it being such a perfect location for exploring the region.
This is a great view that I didn't get to see, especially with the horse. It does show off well the 2 icons of Olvera and the main one does look good in the large view.
cheers
Ian

jemaflor (148094) 2022-06-22 23:34

Salut Paul,
Un beau voyage je suppose, dans cette région d'Espagne ... Superbe composition entre village blanc, champs fleuris et ce cheval en premier plan, jolie luminosité et teintes, bien aussi les WS, Merci du partage.

emka (158672) 2022-06-23 0:00

Hello Paul, I was wondering if you had already returned from your Andalusian trip. Beautiful view of this white village on the hill with the church and the castle dominating the valley. Lovely view fof the yellow flowers. Is this donkey? I would rather think it is a mule, it looks more like a horse.

Have a nice day

MAlgo

jean113 (28221) 2022-06-23 8:26

Hello Paul, pleased to see you posting again. Four shots that give us a good impression of Olvera.
Your main post is a well balanced composition, with the mule(?) in the foreground.
I especially like the shot with the yellow foreground.
Very interesting notes.
Kind regards, Jean.

aliabazari (23115) 2022-06-23 23:53

Hello Paul
Beautiful view of this village with white cover and magnificent church. Clarity and lighting done well. Good combination with background. The workshop view shows well. Beautiful shot. Thanks for sharing

mkamionka (75009) 2022-06-28 4:48

Hi Paul,
Welcome back. Sometimes I don't check the main gallery so often I miss if someone is posting not regularly.
Great series of photos as usually. They are subtly less sharp than your usual quality but the compositions clearly indicate that you still have great eye for attractive compositions.
Does it mean you didn't take the camera for this trip at all? I think for scenes like this the phone may be sufficient. For more challenging conditions like blue hour the difference may be more pronounced but probably also for a trained eye...
Very well done,
M

mcmtanyel (69063) 2022-06-29 17:46

Hello Paul,
It is a lovely looking town, but that mule clinches the photo.
Regards,
MT

foxy (3517) 2022-08-01 5:26

Hello Paul,
Yeah ... you were indeed very lucky with the heatwave but not so to the local mule.
I think this mule is the 'star' ... the biggest attraction for me. Again, you were lucky ... this mule was not a Bull :-)
I see a lot of interesting layers, blue sky, church & castle, white village, yellow landscapes and the beautiful mule.
I do like the WS3, as you said 'Classic' with olive tree fields.
Tfs ... wonderful Olvera.
Loong
P.S. I think I would have taken with a camera ... just my opinion.