Strophylia Reserve
Written by Sunday, 05 April 2009 00:00
"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair." Kahlil Gibran
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Strophylia Reserve, Peloponese, Greece Strophylia forest is located in the NW part of Peloponessos, 50km from the city of Patras and is protected by the International RAMSAR Convention. It features interesting flora, fauna, wetlands and an impressive sandy beach 22 km long. It combines the largest stone pine (Pinus pinea) forest in Greece along with lagoons, marshes, mudflats, seashore, sand dunes and the lime stone Black Mountains, all composing a place of splendid beauty as well as great ecological importance. Waterlands include the Kalogria Lake as well as various shallow lagoons with a smaller surface. During the raining season the surface of water increases dramatically – our visit there was immediately after a rainy day. In the first photo we used an ultra wide angle zoom lens on a full frame camera to capture as much of Kalogria lake as possible. We were after the plants in the foreground which are of paramount importance to the ecosystem, something which is nicely presented in the picture because of the low angle used to take it. The picture shows most of the lake with the sea entrance at the far end. The fourth and fifth photos were taken in the Strophylia forest during and after sunset. Since the camera was hand held a high shutter speed was desired so we opted for a high ISO setting which the D700 can handle extremely well. In the first one, we tried to capture the warm sunlight on the trunks of the pine trees, the long shadows behind the trees, the reflection of the forest on the other side of the lake in it and finally the sun. We chose a lens which would reveal much more detail with less distortion, a 28 mm fast lens which would be considerably stopped down. In such a photo, you can’t have it all, light values differ greatly between different parts of the photo so it is beyond the sensor’s range. However, we are proud of this photo since the camera almost got it right. True, the sun is “burned” and the shadows are almost black, but this only shows the overall exposure was the correct one and the “mood” was captured. In the third photo we saw the opportunity for a great picture. The water was still, an interesting sky was there and the tops of the trees across the lake formed very interesting shapes creating a “live” horizon. The tall trees with the mushroom-like tops are Pinus pinea and the lower ones belong mostly to the Pinus halepensis species, which slowly expands in the region at the expense of the former. Naturally, we exposed for the highlights. What a nice way to start the New Year, it was the first day of 2009. We all pay regular visits to this reserve so more photos may be added at a later time. Shooting data:
2. Photo by Nicholas Parchas 3. Photo by Marina Parha and George J. Reclos 4. Photo by Marina Parha and George J. Reclos 5. Photo by Marina Parha and George J. Reclos 6. Photo by Mahi Goula and George Parchas |
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Read the presentation of The Wetland of Strophylia and Kotychi.
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