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Croatia photographic journey iPad App is available now!

Photographic Journey app brings you captivating images from around the world. It reveals the most intricate details about historical monuments, unique architecture, nature, and of course – people!

Each collection tells its own story, full of pictures, historical facts, little-known details, tips, useful links, and hard-to-come-by insider information. With this app, you will feel as though you were actually there; able to feel the textures, smell the air, and experience the magic of each artistic project.

This one of a kind app will stretch your sensibilities and display images captured with amazing angles, and lighting. Each photo has its own meaning – but it is for you to discover!

Aeron Photography goes beyond the ordinary with each still shot, presenting you with a line of fascinating pictures that will take you on a worldwide photographic journey. We hope you enjoy!

A photographic journey with Aeron Photography

Photographic Journey app brings you captivating images from around the world. It reveals the most intricate details about historical monuments, unique architecture, nature, and of course – people!

Each collection tells its own story, full of pictures, historical facts, little-known details, tips, useful links, and hard-to-come-by insider information. With this app, you will feel as though you were actually there; able to feel the textures, smell the air, and experience the magic of each artistic project.

This one of a kind app will stretch your sensibilities and display images captured with amazing angles, and lighting. Each photo has its own meaning – but it is for you to discover!

Aeron Photography goes beyond the ordinary with each still shot, presenting you with a line of fascinating pictures that will take you on a worldwide photographic journey. We hope you enjoy!

The bridge was designed by engineer John Drake Mercereau, who built this 1,486-foot long structure out of concrete and steel in 1913. It stretches over the Arroyo Seco (“dry stream”) canyon and carries with it the elegant look of neoclassical French Beaux-Arts architectural style.

Through centuries, various features were drawn by architects from French and Italian Baroque, Rococo, Impressionism and Realism artistic styles. Combined, they produced a unique blend of  elements that make up the foundation of Beaux-Arts architecture.

The Colorado Street Bridge has many distinct characteristics of this style – numerous arches adorn the open spandrels throughout the entire length of the bridge, resting atop  of soaring arched ribs, which connect its numerous pillars. Its curved deck is contained by two elegant rows of balustrade, with classical multi-globed street lamps lighting up the sidewalks at night.

In the years following its completion in 1913, many people chose to end their life by leaping off the bridge, which gave it its infamous name – the “Suicide Bridge.” The very first incident occurred in 1919, and from there on, there have been many more cases, with a noticeable increase in the 1930′s, during the Great Depression. Historians estimate that the total number of people who took the plunge off the bridge is anywhere between 100 and 200 to date!

The bridge is 144 ft tall, which is roughly an equivalent of a 13 or 14-story building. However, its height is not the only thing that’s blamed for such a large number of suicides. The Colorado Street Bridge, according to locals, is also haunted…

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An unfortunate premonition occurred right before construction was completed in 1913. For some time now, a story had been circulating about a worker who fell to his death into one of the concrete shafts which was dug out to support one of the bridge’s pillars. We’ll never know if the story is true or simply a myth developed by human imagination, but it is said that the ghost of this man appears to suicidal people on the bridge and somehow lures them into jumping off. Yet, Yet other visitors claim that they heard strange noises coming from below, and saw mystical shapes moving around at nightfall.

After so many fatal leaps off the “Suicide Bridge,” a barrier has been added to prevent more people from jumping off. However, to this day there are still occasional suicide reports being received by the local police.

Between 1989 and 1993 the bridge was temporarily closed and retrofitted for increased resistance to seismic activity. Since its reopening, a local historic preservation organization Pasadena Heritage has established a large-scale bi-annual summer festival called the “Celebration on the Colorado Street Bridge.” This festival draws thousands of people and offers entertainment for all ages – live music, dancing, food and libations, a classic car show, kids activities, and much more. For additional information about this fun-filled festival, visit the official website of Pasadena Heritage.

© Aeron Nersoya

Soundtrack

Title: Stigma-remix
Artist: Chill Mood
www.ChillMood.com

Palace of Versailles is indeed a unique work of art of enormous proportions. But the men who designed and built this colossal monument are truly the ones to be admired, for they are the ones who gave it its eternal beauty, with exaggerated opulence of its architecture and landscapes, that well represents the rich history of its time period.

The Palace is exuberantly decorated with elements of Baroque architecture, a word  which means “bizarre” in Italian. The main difference between Italian and French Baroque styles is that in France, its lavish elements took on an orderly and symmetrical shape, which gave the Palace a very structured and well-proportioned look.

In 1624, what is known today as the Palace of Versailles began as a humble hunting lodge of Louis XIII. Each subsequent generation, beginning with his son Louis the XIV, have added their own structures and elements that in some shape or form expanded and improved the Palace.

Following the completion of the Hall of Mirrors and the Grand Apartments of King and Queen in the 1670′s, Louis XIV ordered the construction of the Grand Trianon, which became a separate residence for himself and his mistress Madame de Montespan in 1687. It was built out of marble, porcelain, and porphyry, and is surrounded by a beautifully romantic garden with many flowers.

During the next century, the Firth Chapel of the Chateau of Versailles was completed in 1710, which was the last, and the most magnificent royal chapel of the Palace. Louis XV, carried on his father’s legacy by building a grandiose Opera (L’Opéra), completed in 1770, where his grandson Louis XVI was to be wed to Marie-Antoinette in that same year.

Louis XV also started a remodel of the facade and portions of the garden surrounding the Palace. His son Louis XVI, however, was the one left to finish these projects left to him by his father. His wife, Marie-Antoinette, became instrumental in the construction of The Petit Trianon, a beautiful estate that served as her own private residence, away from court life, and heavily protected against any unwanted visitors.

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One of the most distinguishing features of the Palace are the intricate and vast landscapes surrounding its walls. Immediately in front of the Chateau there is an enormous garden bed filled with water – the Water Parterre. Beyond the Parterre is the Grand Canal, which seems to stretch all the way to the horizon, thus adding even more magnitude to the massive layout of the Palace.

It took decades to build all the beautiful gardens around the Chateau, as most of the land was previously covered by woods, bogs and grassy openings. In order to complete the task ordained by Louis XIV, landscapers had to bring in huge amounts of dirt and shift around large sections of land in order to achieve the desired effect with various fountains, statues, and landscaped flower beds.

When the French Revolution broke out in1789, Louis XVI was arrested and the Palace of Versailles was sealed for protection. In 1804, five years after the French Revolution, the Chateau became Napoleon Bonaparte’s imperial palace, and the Grand Trianon was the new residence of Emperor of the French.

The last royal resident of the Grand Triagnon was Louis-Phillippe I, who became King of the French in 1830, and subsequently made Versailles into a Museum of History of France on June 10, 1837.

For close to two centuries following the French Revolution, and post-Napoleonic France, the Palace of Versailles has been undergoing constant reconstruction and restoration. Today, it is known throughout the world as one of the most extravagant, and highly praised examples of French Baroque architecture.

Besides its immense architectural and artistic value, the Palace possesses an even bigger historical significance – it gives the modern day observer a good glimpse into the self-indulging, boundless might of the Ancien Régime ruling class of the absolute monarchy period in French history.
© Aeron Nersoya

In 1957, a renowned American writer Ray Bradbury published “Dandelion Wine,” a novel which used dandelions to symbolize the essence of summer, joy, and happiness. These flowers have been our faithful companions for many centuries, and with each new spring, they show up to entertain us with their colorful beauty and aerial nature.

The familiar bright-yellow dandelions come in two main varieties. One is called Taraxacum Officinale, or “common dandelion;” the other is Taraxacum Erythrospermum, a red-seeded dandelion that is common to North America and the north.

An interesting fact about dandelions is that the yellow flowers don’t actually turn into a silky sphere of pappi (or “parachutes”), but the pappi bud comes up on its own stem from the middle of the plant, and carries many small fruits, called cypselae. Dandelions show up in early spring, with first blossoms making their appearance in March. The plants bloom all summer long, and even as late as October – you can see them peeking through the grassy landscapes.

A single dandelion can produce up to 2,000 seeds during the year,  which get fired up into the air at the slightest wind-blow. Most seeds never sprout, but many do – ensuring that dandelions keep on multiplying year after year.

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Dandelions have been around for so long that people have discovered many uses for this versatile plant. Its dark green leaves trump spinach with their high content of iron and calcium, and also contain a lot of vitamin A and C. The leaves can be used in salads, to make wine, jam, syrup, and even for medicinal purposes. Its roots can be roasted and ground up, and used as a great coffee substitute.

A long time ago, it was very common for families to gather dandelions in spring, and make light summertime wine. They would harvest the flowers in April or May, add spices, fruit, berries, sugar and yeast, and ferment the mixture for several months. Recipes vary widely in the list of ingredients that can be used for making dandelion wine, and depending on the process, it can be aged anywhere from 3 weeks to 2 years.

Dandelions have also been incorporated into many different art forms throughout centuries. This is one of the only flowering plants that makes its first appearance in a strikingly bright yellow color, and later produces a frail, silver and white, somewhat nebulous pappi as a stark  contrasted to its predecessor. Both have been used to produce wonderful pieces of art, which can enchant one with a mysterious, inviting, happy and calming mood of this ancient flower.

© Aeron Nersoya

The construction of Notre Dame began in 1163, and was finally completed in 1345. It was built in an era heavily influenced by Gothic architecture (12^th -16^th centuries), and to this day, it is one of the finest manifestations of the might and artistic beauty of its time period.

The facade of the Cathedral is characterized by pointed (ogival) arches that were used for their structural strength, and flying buttress systems, which provide support to the interior walls, thus containing them form expanding outward.

Interior architecture includes ribbed vaulting – this type of construction secured firm support for the ceiling. This also allowed placement of numerous windows high up toward the ceiling of the Cathedral. Not only did this infuse natural light into the building, but it was also believed to be an inviting gesture for visiting angels and saints.

Medieval stained glass windows decorating the Notre Dame Cathedral represent gorgeous works of 13^th-century Gothic art. Most of them portray beautifully detailed Biblical designs of enormous depth and complexity.

Three different “Rose windows” can be seen inside the Cathedral – the South Rose, the West Rose and the North Rose. The South Rose is the main element that towers over the transept of the main body of the Cathedral, and is dedicated to the New Testament; the West Rose signifies human life and is decorated with signs of the Zodiac; the North Rose carries a symbolic meaning of the Last Judgment – it depicts Virgin Mary with Christ in the center, surrounded by various saints and prophets.

In the mid-19^th century the Cathedral underwent a major restoration, and many of the buildings were arranged around a cloister. The arcatures facing the cloister had eighteen glass windows in them; these windows were laid with stained glass, with each frame representing a part of the Legend of Saint Genevieve. Only the last six windows are visible to the public from the adjacent corridor.

The West front of the cathedral has one of its most recognizable features – two tall towers, each raising 228 feet (69 meters) up in the air. To get to the top, one has to climb a total of 402 steps. In 1685, the Cathedral’s famous bell “Emmanuel” has been placed in the South Tower, where it is rang out on special occasions and certain holidays.

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The Notre Dame Cathedral has three West portals – Portal of the Virgin, Portal of the Last Judgment, and Portal of Saint Anne. Each one is opulently embellished with various sculptures, which beautifully represent early works of Gothic art.

There is also a large number of working doors throughout the Cathedal which lead into various halls, buildings, and chapels. An interesting fact is that there is a very small “mystery door” on the interior of Notre Dame that doesn’t seem to lead anywhere. It appears to be made of wood, have a hand-cast brass door pull, and an opening for a key. This door, however, is not open to the public, and one can only wonder where it may lead.

The Cathedral remains busy with life late into the night, when visitors can enjoy free shows hosted in the nave of Notre Dame. Most of the time, these are concerts made up of images and sounds, which produce and magnificent visual effect when projected onto a transparent screen that is hung between the columns.

In addition, nighttime visitors can enjoy beautiful performances put on by street fire dancers. These street artists gather crowds in front of the Cathedral, and put on incredible shows for tourists from all over the world.

The best time to visit the Notre Dame Cathedral is during the off-season months, from October through March. This way you will have a better chance of avoiding massive crowds and long lines.

Tours of the Cathedral Towers begin at the foot of the North Tower, with 20 visitors being admitted every 10 minutes. The Cathedral is open daily from 8 AM to 6:45 PM, and until 7:15 PM on Saturdays and Sundays.

For more detailed information, please visit Notre Dame Cathedral’s official website.

© Aeron Nersoya