Basel’s Basilisk (and my 100th post), a photo from Basel Stadt, West

Photographer's Note

For my 100th post, I present to you my first shot of a whole new city in my travelogue, and one that I hope to return to next year (in better weather and for more than my all-too-short 3 ½ hours this year). Thanks once gain to PixelTerror for generously giving up his time for a rushed tour of the inner city.

This delightful fountain dates back to the 1920’s and is one of the few of the original 30 that still exists today. For a full view of the fountain and the attached dainty fluted drinking bowl for dogs, please see the workshop.

Basel's heraldic animal is the Basilisk, a mythical creature born of a yolkless egg laid by a seven-year-old rooster and hatched by a toad! It was reputed to be the most poisonous of animals, able to kill with but a single breath or glance. In medieval art, the basilisk symbolized the devil and the antichrist. After the Reformation, the Protestants used it as a symbol of the papacy.

There are many fanciful tales as to the reasons for Basel’s use of the basilisk. One story, for example has it that the Basilisk holding Basel's coat of arms can be traced back to an early 15th century monument (whose present whereabouts seems to be unknown) commemorating the fatal 1356 earthquake that almost levelled the city: "Basilisk, you poisonous worm and fable, now you shall hold the shield of the dignified city of Basel". The historian on altbasel.ch (http://www.altbasel.ch/fragen/basilisk.html) suggests that the most plausible theory is connected to the similarity between the names of the creature and the city. Basilea, the original name of the city is derived from the Greek Basileus (king or ruler) and means “the royal one”, while the name of the animal means “little king.” The relationship between the names of the city and the animal is obvious: Basilea - basilisk.
Tech: shot in RAW, converted to jpg without cropping, resized for TE and sharpened edges

Thanks for looking and for your kind critiques and any additional information you’d care to contribute.

kessi, pierrefonds, cam, gunbud, pablominto, jmcl, bibiweb has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

jplebrun (21208) 2007-07-05 10:57

Bonjour Sike, bravo pour ta 100 qui est une bonne composition bien cadré et assez original, un dragon qui crache de l'eau, bien vu, ;)
Salutations
Jean-Pierre

kessi (16) 2007-07-05 13:32

Hi Silke. Congratulations on your 100th post. And what a super one to celebrate with. His eyes really glare at one and I would hesitate to touch the water spewing from his mouth. It might melt one. Jokes aside, nice composition and clear focus of the creature. Maybe just a bit more blur of the background which would let the subject stand out more.
Still, great shot.
Regards, Irmgard

Royaldevon (86438) 2007-07-05 14:23

Hello Silke,
Congratulations on your 100th posting. What a wonderful subject to have chosen. You have a great pov and have cropped it perfectly. The blues and greens work well with the topic of water. I hoped to see more detail of the basilisk's wing so I tried a w/s to see if that was possible. I hope you like it my friend.
Kind regards,
Bev :-)
Kind regards

[workshop] [compare] +

pierrefonds (115518) 2007-07-05 16:53

Hi Silke,

Congratulation for your 100th post, a good POV of this fountain, the photo has a good composition, DOF and nice colors. Thanks for sharing.

Pierre

cam (9043) 2007-07-05 17:42

Hi Silke
Interesting fountain and good accompanying note.
The point of view is good as we can see the details quite well,and the workshop is very instructive,it helŝ to bring out the light on the statue.
Have a good day
Charles

gunbud (34066) 2007-07-05 18:50

Hi Silke,
Wonderful capture of this mytical beast seen in exceptional details and fine clear colors. Excellent informative note of its powers and orgins.
Regards, Tom

Graal (103040) 2007-07-05 23:49

Hi Silke,
congratulations on your 100th post in TE! Amazing fountain, good captured this "basilisk". Interesting informations. I like it.
Gr., Aleksander

UnTrained (0) 2007-07-06 1:16

Hi Silke,
congratulations for your 100th and thanks for a hundred shared moments. This well composed capture of the Basilisk (fine that's from Basel) has good textures and an informative note. The low green to green contrast is a pity and hides the high quality of the surface of the Basilisk.
Lieben Gruss, Ulf

PixelTerror (0) 2007-07-06 1:25

Hi Silke,
Congratulations for your 100th and the yellowing of yet another country on your world map !
You got here one of the few subjects most related to Basel, actually the essence of the city roots, here another Basilisgg with some background.
It was not the optimum time of the day to get that one and it's difficult for it to stand out from the tree, but this one is well maintained and we can feel its spitting fury !
Have a nice day,
JEan-Yves

wolf38 (30) 2007-07-06 2:03

Hello Silke. A further very more artful and nobly waterspout in your collection. And contrary to the wells in my hometown it seems to function. A beautiful and well taken motive. Best regards, Wolfgang.

Silvio1953 (222889) 2007-07-06 13:10

Hi Silke, congratulation for your 100th splendid photo on TE, beautiful view of a strange fountain with wonderful light and splendid colors, great composition, very well done, ciao Silvio

Clementi (52514) 2007-07-06 13:45

Ciao Sike ,
congratulazioni per il tuo centesimo post .
composizione molto bella , con una nitidezza super e dei bei colori .
Giorgio

pablominto (53746) 2007-07-07 0:25

Hello Silke,
The fountain is well framed and captured with fine details!
I like the diagonal movement and the aged colours...
Congrats on 100, that is a lot of work and hopefully also lots of fun!
Greetings,
Pablo -

:-) OK-

jmcl (14535) 2007-07-07 20:04

Hi Silke,

Congrats!!!!
Wonderful critter .. great focus .. and control of this tricky light and shadow situation .. I love the way the tone of the statue seems to link the trees and the water.

take care,

John

bibiweb (8) 2007-07-08 21:28

Hi Silke,
I'm coming back to this photo which I missed last week. Congratulations for your 100th post and best wishes for the next 100!
Despite all the Basel shots on TE, I think that it's the first one of the Basilik that I see. Your note is very interesting and despite the not-too-good weather, you managed a good shot of this statue and fountain.
Have a nice day.
Brigitte

FORJP001 (3819) 2007-07-11 20:05

Bonsoir Silke,

Félicitation pour votre 100ème photo publiée sur TE. Passée inaperçue au moment de la publication je me reprends ici en soulignant que vous vous êtes surpassée pour cette 100ème photo.

En effet, la petite histoire du Basilisk est des plus intéressante et captivante. Sa couleur noire et ses yeux perçants et vicieux en font un animal à rencontrer avec seulement une bonne épée et surtout pas celle qu'on nous vend au magasin à 1.00 $ et qui frise au troisième coup.

Jean-Pierre