NEX-6 images from the incredible Matthias Church, Budapest - and views from the hill

[Mel Snyder]

You step inside this church and are overwhelmed by the intricate beauty of a building first constructed in 1015, repeatedly destroyed (once made into a mosque) and rebuilt in a cornucopia of architectural styles. Named after King Matthias, it was the site of the coronation of the last Habsburg king, Charles IV.

I love church, synagogue and mosque architecture, because invariably, they each reflect the aspirations of citizens maintained over extended periods - more than 1000 years in the case of St. John the Divine in New York City, nearly 1000 years in some European cities.

These are some of the images I made with a variety of lenses on my NEX-6, all handheld despite the fact that, except for pin spots, it's really pretty dark. We entered at dusk when the exterior and windows are lit largely by the many artificial lights shown on the last image in the series.


The altar, shot with the 55-210

[ATTACH alt="A 180 degree image from a balcony, with the Rokinon 8mm, corrected in Photoshop Elements with the Image Trends "Hemi" plug-in"]317409[/ATTACH]
A 180 degree image from a balcony, with the Rokinon 8mm, corrected in Photoshop Elements with the Image Trends "Hemi" plug-in

[ATTACH alt="For all the criticism of the 55-210 being "dark" and "soft," I was very pleased with its performance, thanks to its excellent OSS, which let me shoot at f8 @1/25th all the way across the church to capture this image."]317410[/ATTACH]
For all the criticism of the 55-210 being "dark" and "soft," I was very pleased with its performance, thanks to its excellent OSS, which let me shoot at f8 @1/25th all the way across the church to capture this image.


A cropped (about 150-degree) image shot with the Rokinon, corrected in Lightroom for the fact that I tipped the lens up to capture more of the ceiling and less of the floor

[ATTACH alt="One of the most successful verticals shot with the Rokinon - rotated 90 degrees in Photoshop, corrected with Image Trends "Hemi" plug-in, then rotated back."]317412[/ATTACH]
One of the most successful verticals shot with the Rokinon - rotated 90 degrees in Photoshop, corrected with Image Trends "Hemi" plug-in, then rotated back.


Shot with the 16mm f2.8 and UWA - of the more than 8,000 shots over my 3 week trip, at least a third were shot with this combination


Shot by pushing the NEX-6 and Rokinon through a metal grate, to get a full 180 degree view


Another less-than-180 Rokinon shot, after correcting for vertical issues in Photoshop


Just could not get the NEX-6/Rokinon high enough to make a fully correctable image, but hey, it shows the detail I wanted to capture and remember.

[ATTACH alt="My "walk in and shoot" image - first one into the church. I always preset my camera )16mm + UWA, usually ISO 1600) for the worst-case scenario - some petit fonctionnaire appears to tell me "no photos!." As in this case, such shots are rarely my best or sharpest, but at least a sweeping take of the interior."]317418[/ATTACH]
My "walk in and shoot" image - first one into the church. I always preset my camera )16mm + UWA, usually ISO 1600) for the worst-case scenario - some petit fonctionnaire appears to tell me "no photos!." As in this case, such shots are rarely my best or sharpest, but at least a sweeping take of the interior.

I hope you enjoy these images - if you haven't visited it, put it on your bucket list. Not quite up to Prague, which is in a class of its own.

 

[C h u c k K]

Wonderful.

 

[Lightshow]

Nice shots Mel, makes me wonder if Samyang will make a more compact fisheye for the FF E-mount.

 

[Mel Snyder]

Lightshow wrote:

Nice shots Mel, makes me wonder if Samyang will make a more compact fisheye for the FF E-mount.

 

[davect01]

Impressive shots from an impressive location.

It is amazing what these people were able to create.

 

[Mel Snyder]

davect01 wrote:

Impressive shots from an impressive location.

It is amazing what these people were able to create.

 

[C h u c k K]

Mel, I'm wondering did you have special access to some of those areas or was no one around. This had to be more time than in the midst of a group tour. Just wondering. They are great shots. Thanks for sharing. -Chuck

 

[Mel Snyder]

C h u c k K wrote:

Mel, I'm wondering did you have special access to some of those areas or was no one around. This had to be more time than in the midst of a group tour. Just wondering. They are great shots. Thanks for sharing. -Chuck

Actually, Chuck - no. Over the years, I've adopted the approach of being very, very quiet. I try to avoid tours, ESPECIALLY those where people are firing flash. I go off by myself. I sit in the pews like I am there to pray, until the yahoos are gone. I carefully examine how I might get high enough to shoot without people in the way - especially with the Rokinon, which works best if I can shoot with the viewfinder level perfectly squared.

Respect is key. If you enter with respect you can go a long way. In small towns, you will discover people will go out of their way for you if you ask questions - in a small Sicilian town, they wanted to move their large icon of St. George on horseback out from its shrine for me!

 

[Dr JLW]

Thanks for the great photos and insights.

I too love Budapest but missed this Church. If you have not yet seen it and still can be sure to get to the Synagogue there. It too is amazing and has quite story to tell.

Probably a reach but we got to Esztergom and the Cathedral there which it the main center. Its very impressive but I think we should have gotten to Matthias and thanks to you we will on our next visit.

I hope also you got to Central Market which a photographer's paradise.

 

[nzmacro]

This was the thread I meant to post in last night and then all heck broke loose with the new cameras mate, LOL. I lost my way, but found it again ;-)

I'm impressed with the details and lighting, never easy in these conditions and very well done.

Man the artistic work in there is just mind boggling. True art and then you have the architectural structures, incredible work and just thank goodness its looked after today.

All the best Mel, IMO darn fine shots mate and good work to get them.

Danny.

 

[Pi lover]

Beautiful shots Mel.

Using the 55-210 at 75mm and things still look like you are a mile away. I get the feeling this is one of those places you have to see to really understand.

Thanks for sharing.

Grant.

 

[leekleek]

Fantastic pictures, Mel. I'm glad you enjoyed the beauties of my hometown. I hope you'll be back soon.

 

[Mel Snyder]

leekleek wrote:

Fantastic pictures, Mel. I'm glad you enjoyed the beauties of my hometown. I hope you'll be back soon.

I adore Budapest!

Our AirBnB was right above a Hungarian pastry shop, with the buttery smells of calorie-dense delights wafting up each morning about 5AM... OMG.

More Budapest images to come!


Orthodox service at San Giorgio chapel, Budapest

[ATTACH alt="View from "The Citadel" on a hazy morning..."]317444[/ATTACH]
View from "The Citadel" on a hazy morning...

 

[Mel Snyder]

Dr JLW wrote:

Thanks for the great photos and insights.

I too love Budapest but missed this Church. If you have not yet seen it and still can be sure to get to the Synagogue there. It too is amazing and has quite story to tell.

Probably a reach but we got to Esztergom and the Cathedral there which it the main center. Its very impressive but I think we should have gotten to Matthias and thanks to you we will on our next visit.

I hope also you got to Central Market which a photographer's paradise.

I spent about three hours at the Doheny Street ("Grand") Synagogue shooting the details there, and in the museum attached. It will be the subject of a second post. Seeing and photographing it was a prime reason for my wanting to go to Budapest.

We went to the market, and yes, it is great - actually, almost overwhelming. Some shots to come from there, too.

Thanks for the comments on the photos - much appreciated!

 

[Mel Snyder]

Thanks, Danny. Yes, posting before the A7 announcement wasn't great timing. Are you considering either body?

 

[Mel Snyder]

Pi lover wrote:

Beautiful shots Mel.

Using the 55-210 at 75mm and things still look like you are a mile away. I get the feeling this is one of those places you have to see to really understand.

Thanks for sharing.

Grant.

Thanks, Grant - yes, it can only be appreciated in person...although it's fun to look at one's travel images on a 47 inch LED TV screen (my birthday present from a grateful son to whom I was a single parent).

 

[C.Eaton]

Glad to see those 'crappy' NEX lenses are giving you such 'bad' images...

Nice work as usual ;-)

 

[PBoyL]

How is the 16mm + UWA comparing to the 8mm Fisheye if you correct and crop the fisheye image a bit?

Or in other words: if you where to choose one of the two, which would you take?

 

[Dirk W]

Very nice! And the Rokinon seems perfect for this kind of photographs.

 

[Pi lover]

Mel Snyder wrote:

Thanks, Grant - yes, it can only be appreciated in person...although it's fun to look at one's travel images on a 47 inch LED TV screen (my birthday present from a grateful son to whom I was a single parent).

I'm sure that 47 incher is a Sony ;-).