Story of an image - Number 2
So what are we looking at here? That is Los Baños de Doña María de Padilla, or The Baths of Lady Maria of Padilla if you'd prefer in English! These stunning reflective pools are rainwater tanks beneath the Patio del Crucero located in the Spanish Royal Family's summer palace, the Reales Alcázares de Sevilla.
The tanks are named after King Pedro’s mistress, Maria de Padilla, a Castilian noblewoman who would come here to seek solace in the subterranean gallery. Maria met King Pedro in the summer of 1352 and their relationship lasted until her death despite the King’s other marriages and affairs. Well that's love for you!
So, how did my photo come about? I had a trip to Seville planned, and as always I used Flick to scout out locations to shoot. I came across a photo of the above, but thought I could do better.
Anyone who visits Seville has to visit the Reales Alcázares, it's one of the must-do things. Oh by the way, are you a Game of Thrones fan? If so then you are already familiar with the Alcázar because it was the location for the Water Gardens of Dorne, seat of House Martell.
My visit to the Alcázar was a mission, a mission to take the above photo. It's tucked away and not an easy to find place, but I hunted it down. After actually finding it the next problem is the amount of people wanting to take a photo. So I patiently waited till I could get a clean shot. Being a dark location means it needs a long exposure. Thankfully there is a wall to rest a camera on. Often the self-timer and a wall are a great alternative to a tripod!
Anyway, I got the shot I went for. As an added bonus the shot was chosen by Flickr to feature in their "Explore" section - the 500 most "interesting" photos of the millions uploaded that day. What an honour!
Settings were 4 seconds at ISO100 with aperture at f5.6.
Thank you for reading
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardodaforce/
#seville #sevilla #realalcazar #photography #travel #spain #españa #gameofthrones #reflections #fotomondeo