Nigel Dalton, EPSA
April 2026 - Mateus Palace
About the Image(s)
Here's an image I took whilst on a River Douro Cruise in Portugal last year. It is the front of the Mateus Palace (think Mateus Rose wine).
The building looks a little out of alignment and I don't think it was entirely me although not having a tripod and lots of visitors around didn't help much. The light direction at the time of day we were there also didn't help. Nevertheless, it's a record shot of the visit and I like it. I think it wouldn't be something that I'd enter into a competition but it will just stay as a reminder of a lovely day.
I processed in RAW DXO5/Lightroom, then used Nik Colour EFEX detail extractor and pro contrast with a few brush tweaks here and there.
11 comments posted
Excellent job of capturing a portrait of the Mateus Palace and I'm sure it will offer you fond memories of "a lovely day." I especially like how you captured the hallway leading from the entrance to the back. This helped anchor the image and gave it a more pronounced focal point. Posted: 04/01/2026 13:21:10
Its a great capture. Like it. I would feel more compfortable of giving a more space at the front and a more darker sky. Posted: 04/03/2026 17:40:13
Thanks for your comment John. The sky was awfully grey and as it's not going to be a competitin shot I just left it as it was but I see where you're coming from. I have more detail available at the front of the image and will check out your suggestion. Posted: 04/04/2026 11:21:23
Nigel,
this is an excellent travel image and I think you have done a great work to get an image without people around.I disagree with John about the sky. The palace is dark and the bright sky is creating the perfect contrast to highlights the details of the upper portion of the building. I think this could also be an excellent image in black and white.
Best
Michele Posted: 04/06/2026 15:23:35
this is an excellent travel image and I think you have done a great work to get an image without people around.I disagree with John about the sky. The palace is dark and the bright sky is creating the perfect contrast to highlights the details of the upper portion of the building. I think this could also be an excellent image in black and white.
Best
Michele Posted: 04/06/2026 15:23:35
Thanks Michele. I also have it in black and white and I see where you're coming from but to me, the word "palace" and the gold facade matched each other. It's also the shade of gold which made me think of how old the place was. I'll try to dig out the B&W version for comparison. Posted: 04/08/2026 15:43:36
Nigel, the Mateus Palace is outstanding. Your positioning for the shot is nearly perfect. I'm genuinely impressed that the sides of the building aren't skewed, though I suspect you may have corrected that in post. The sharpness and detail are excellent, and the colors feel very natural and true to life.
The only element that gives me pause is the sky. I experimented with adding clouds but didn't quite like the result, then tried darkening it, which might work-but I'm still unsure of the best approach there. Posted: 04/08/2026 13:31:53
The only element that gives me pause is the sky. I experimented with adding clouds but didn't quite like the result, then tried darkening it, which might work-but I'm still unsure of the best approach there. Posted: 04/08/2026 13:31:53
Posted: 04/08/2026 13:32:50
Thanks for your conversion Tom. I think I prefer my original shot as the clouds are a bit distracting. You're right about the verticals - I sought a little technical assistance. I used the transform tools in Lightroom to make a 4 way set of lines to straighten it all as best as I was able. The right hand turret then became slightly shorter than the left hand one so I made a selection of it and used CMD+T(distort) to stretch it to the correct height. I think Michele might be on to something with mono because although I still like my original colour version the mono one is also good. Posted: 04/08/2026 15:48:26
Nigel, I think you did a near perfect job with transform and keeping all lines vertical or horizontal. Posted: 04/08/2026 15:56:31
Nice capture of all the details. I also would like to see a bit more foreground at the base of the stairs. Agree this would also make a nice good B/W image. Posted: 04/08/2026 15:54:48
Thanks Spring - here's my mono edit. Posted: 04/08/2026 16:39:17