An escape to the village of Menton. Known for its lemons (and oranges), it offers an incredible trip to the heart of franco-italian architecture and culture. Being at the border between France and Italy, it truly evokes the strong link both countries have together via its history. For me, it's also a symbol of what I live between both countries, often finding myself in the middle.
The idea
As I saw the beautiful orange hill of buildings topped with none other than the cross, I wanted to transcribe that sense of vast structure toppling over the city as if to say it was above all else. Of course, the symbol of christianity atop all is quite strong.
It truly feels like the buildings are there to barricade the way up to the church, as if, by all means, the structures' role was to defend its God.
Because of the disposition, the dome suggests the very nature of the sacred building, which is to give refuge to those in need, a bit reminiscent of Noah's arc. The ensemble is like a citadel forged to counter an enemy's assault on the church at any moment.
The incredibly white sky increases the notion of holiness by creating a surreal background akin to a fantasized world. The contrast with the colored building gives a beautiful 50/50 composition clashing color/the earth/mud/humans with the sky/the holy/the greater.
The technique
This photo is a good lesson on focal length and aperture.
To give the impression that all the buildings were mixed with one another on the same plane I zoomed as much as possible. Indeed, the longer the focal length is, the more you lose the notion of foreground and background.
Then, to keep all my subjects in focus, I closed my aperture enough to mix luminosity and focus.
The basic editing I then did was to increase the luminosity of the sky, and to strengthen the orange. To make the dome stand out, I also increased the contrast slightly.
Tools
Camera: Canon 1300D
Lens: 18-55 mm or 80-200mm
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