Ligaria – Crete

Ligarias Bay and the houses on the hillside

In the aerial photos, the bay of Ligaria is framed by an almost closed semicircle of buildings and rising terrain. There is a narrow, bright beach between the water and the first houses. The side boundaries of the bay can be seen together from above.

The semicircle of Ligaria

At Ligaria the houses follow the shape of the bay but at the same time climb up the slope. A picture with visible roof echelons shows both directions at once.

The two sides of a bay do not have to take up the same amount of space in an aerial photo. Often the closer headland obscures part of the opposite bank. A higher view opens up the space in between and shows the transition to open water. This makes a second view particularly valuable for depicting the location. While one image explains the location on the coast, the other can show the sheltered interior area, where the course of the shore and the use of the land are more clearly visible.

The slope of a landscape

It is difficult to estimate how steep a slope is from a top view alone. A street that rises in curves or the staggering of neighboring buildings gives the eye additional clues. The relief becomes even more vivid if part of the valley floor or the bank remains in the picture. Anyone who selects a recording for a location description can pay attention to this connection. It helps to understand the position of individual subjects without having to estimate height differences from the apparent distance in the image.

What the roofs reveal about the floor plan

A city center can often be read by its roofs. Where narrow gables are close together, the street space is also divided into short sections. A large, connected building interrupts this sequence. In the aerial photo you can follow the direction of an alley from such an interruption. For an illustration in a smaller format, a section with just a few easily distinguishable roof groups is worthwhile. In a large print, however, the spaces and small changes in direction are allowed to keep their place.

The distribution of blue tones

For a direct image comparison, use shot 4 and shot 3 from the gallery with 4 aerial photos. In the first excerpt, shades of blue play a smaller role. In the second shot, blue areas take up more space. Blue can extend over a large contiguous area or only appear in individual parts. What also counts for the effect is whether these areas extend to the edge of the picture or surround the main subject.

According to camera data, Shot 1 and Shot 4 were taken on October 7, 2020. There is a gap of around 5 minutes between the two pictures. ISO 100 and an exposure time of 1/500 second are recorded for both files.

Select the coastal view for a photo series

When telling a story about a coast, the order of the images counts. A further look first explains the course of the bank. A closer view can then show the transition from land to water. If an image series begins with a narrow section, readers usually need an additional location reference. The planned size is also important for the aerial photographer. A small indentation can be a clear reference point on a double page spread and almost disappear completely in a narrow column. The caption should match the actual section used.

Related motifs in the aerial photo archive

The article Agia Pelagia – Crete offers another perspective. At Agia Pelagia the houses follow the bay that extends deep into the land. In the gallery Stavros Beach – Crete there is a different focus. At Stavros Beach on Crete there is a surprisingly closed area of ​​water behind the curved beach line.