Lens-Artists Challenge #371: Street Details
Sometimes, in unexpected places, we find things that grab our attention. The featured photo was captured in São Paulo’s largest urban park, Ibirapuera (approximately 390 acres in size). Seeing a Snowy egret (Egretta thula) cohabitating peacefully with around seventy-five thousand visitors on a typical weekend was not what I was expecting. The park was crowded, as expected, but the egret was undisturbed just a few dozen feet from me.
Spotting the unseen right under our eyes is the idea behind Ritva’s Lens-Artists challenge this week: Street Details. Those of you who read my blog regularly can imagine I am a fish out of water when it comes to street photography. Nevertheless, Ritva gives us ample ideas and striking photos to get us all contributing. She wrote: “The goal is to reveal the often-hidden, magical world.” So, here I go.
Stepping inside the Church of the Rosary (San Salvador, El Salvador) is a history lesson on several levels. The church breaks away from the traditional Latin and Greek cross type. There are no pillars. The stained glass arch is known as “Stairway to Heaven.” The church honors twenty-one people who lost their lives fighting for El Salvador’s freedom.
This monument is impressive and celebrates Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of a unified Italy. Even though a visitor could spend hours examining the details outside the monument walls, the detail that caught my eye was the garden with flowers in the colors of the Italian flag. I show that at the very bottom of the photo.
Officially known as the Minor Basilica of Saint John the Baptist and Parish of Our Lady of Remedies, this basilica is a feast for the eyes. I particularly enjoyed looking up at the arches and ceiling details. Located in the heart of Old San Juan, this cathedral is the third-oldest in the Americas.
To say that attention to detail is needed here would be an understatement. The Incas built these steps from Huayna Picchu leading down to Machu Picchu. Huayna Picchu is the mountain we see in every shot people capture at Machu Picchu. The steps are very treacherous because they are steep, irregular, and have no handrails. They can also get very slippery. My camera went into my backpack as I began climbing down here.
Finally, I close with a fascinating optical illusion found in the heart of Lisbon, Portugal. Famous for its beautiful and intricate stone work in sidewalks, none is more mesmerizing than the large sidewalk design around the Dom Pedro IV square. Although the photo shows the illusion of ondulating patterns, the sidewalk is flat. During busy hours, most people go around without noticing such an amazing design.
Last week, Sofia guided us with her “Ancient” challenge. I saw many great photos and approaches to that challenge. This week, what street details will you share? When you add your post, please don’t forget to use the “lens-artists” hashtag so we can easily find your post in the Reader.
Next week, Tina returns with a new challenge. It will go live at noon EST in the USA. Tune in to find out more about the challenge then. Please see this page to learn more about the Lens-Artists Challenge and its history.
That is the story behind the shots. If you liked this post, you may also be interested in others featuring Brazil, Churches, Cityscapes, El Salvador, Huayna Picchu, Italy, Lens-Artists, Parks, Peru, Puerto Rico, Snowy Egret, and Wildlife. Until the next time, keep clicking and capturing the beauty your eyes find.
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Writing to Freedom
I haven’t been seeing your posts in my feed, but I’m sure glad to see your beautiful photos Egidio.
Egidio Leitao
Thanks again, Brad. I guess WP has plenty of glitches. I’ve heard the same from time to time from other users.
Writing to Freedom
Thanks. Hopefully I’ll see your posts now.
Tranature - quiet moments in nature
Such a wonderful take on the prompt Egídio, I especially love the optical illusion created in the Dom Pedro IV Square 😊
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, Xenia. Sometimes we overlook beauty right under our eyes.
Tra Italia e Finlandia
La foto più affascinante sono gli scalini di Macchu Picchu. Amazing!
Egidio Leitao
Grazie. Anche la vista da lassù è mozzafiato.
Steve Schwartzman
You’ve given me saudades for Lisboa, where I spent the summer of 1966 and have never been back.
Egidio Leitao
Steve, we were there more recently, but we miss it, too. It’s a great country and very friendly.
Leya
Gorgeous – but I never wxpected anything else from you, Egidio. The egret is a beauty, and I loved Lisbon and its dizzy approach. But, the biggest surprise was the steps down to Machu Pichu! Never seen them or heard of them before! We were there in the 80’s, but didn’t know!
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, Ann-Christine. That mountain is called Huayna Picchu. It’s the one that appears on every photo people take in Machu Picchu. I did not know one could hike up there. The views were beautiful.
philosophy through photography
Egidio , such a wonderful collection of moments and places well noticed! Each scene reveals how art, history, and quiet wonder live in the smallest details.
Iglesia El Rosario, El Salvador click, my favourite.
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, Philo. That church is very special indeed.
philosophy through photography
Welcome, Egidio.
Rebecca Cuningham
Amazing capture in São Paolo!
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, Rebecca.
Sofia Alves
The portuguese sea right at the end of this beautiful post just made my day, Egídio. Thank you!
Egidio Leitao
I’m glad you liked it. Thanks.
Leanne Cole
You have got some great streets here Egidio. I love the steps, not sure I would like to live on that street. 😜😁
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, Leanne. I’m glad I found out about the steps only after I was up there. I think if I had read the article about them in advance, I might have had second thoughts. 🙂
Tina Schell
Amazing post Egidio. I loved every image and all of your explanations. I’ve seen so many images of Machu Picchu but never of those treacherous looking steps!!! Yikes.
Egidio Leitao
Thanks so much, Tina. That section of Machu Picchu (Huayna Picchu) only allows 400 visitors a day. Not everyone goes there because of the difficult trek.
Toonsarah
I can see how this theme will have challenged you given your usual choices of subject matter, but I really enjoyed the images you came up with! The egret is beautiful and I love that ‘Stairway to Heaven’ in the Church of the Rosary – amazing architecture!
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, Sarah. We love visiting churches when we travel.
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
Great sites you chose for this challenge and as for details I liked Cathedral of San Juan, Puerto Rico and the Praça Dom Pedro IV, beautiful and intricate stone work, just beautiful detail to share.
Egidio Leitao
Thanks a million, Ritva, especially for getting me to think outside the box.
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
You are welcome <3
margaret21
I love this! You leave us dizzy with that last shot.
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, Margaret. I totally understand the dizzy feeling. We felt that way walking in that area.
margaret21
There’s a similar paved are in Alicante. Must be an Iberian thing.
Egidio Leitao
LOL…
nesfelicio
Great details! The egret is unexpected, but I like the Italian colors and the basilica arches. The Lisbon square reminds me of a similar pattern in Macau.
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, Nes. The Macau patterns are part of the Portuguese heritage in that area, I guess.
JohnRH
Great photos Egidio. I like the Steps and Lisboa illusion in particular.
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, John. The steps were scary and fun.
Anne Sandler
Wow, Egidio you certainly have a photographer’s eye for detail. Even on large structures you pointed out the small details that made them special. I especially liked the stained glass arch.
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, Anne. It still surprises me what catches my eye and compels me to capture a scene.
Terri Webster Schrandt
Stunning details in your urban shots, Egidio. I’m also not much of a street photographer either. That undulating optical illusion of the square is amazing!
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, Terri. That square was one of our favorite spots in Lisbon.