27 Jan 2024

Destination: Brasília

Lens-Artists Challenge #284: Day & Night

Brasília – Day & Night

For this week’s Lens-Artists challenge, Sofia suggests celebrating the “Yin/Yang of our everyday life” with day and night and “the beauty of each one of them.” I initially thought I would struggle with the challenge. I envisioned searching my catalog for photos of the same location during the day and night. I thought that would better illustrate the day cycles. Soon, I realized that when I travel, I like seeing those destinations during the day and night. I picked one location to feature here: Brasília (Brazil‘s capital).

Having found the location, the main problem was that the photos I have from our trip there were captured in 2005 with a 1.9 MP camera. Can we say low quality and not enough resolution? Thanks to advancements in photography software in recent years, I noticed the photos could be rescued to an acceptable level of quality. I will let you be the judge of that. If you want to skip reading and see a slide show, click on the first photo and take it from there. That will also show the photo in full size.

The first stop is at the Supreme Court (STF or Supremo Tribunal Federal, in Portuguese) complex, the country’s highest court of law. Besides the building’s architecture, another interesting fact about Brazil’s Supreme Court, according to Wikipedia, is that “all judicial and administrative meetings of the STF have been broadcast live on television since 2002. The court is open for the public to watch the meetings.”


The next stop is the National Congress complex. The towers house offices for bureaucrats, senators, and deputies. The two saucers are the Senate (right-side up) and the Chamber of Deputies (upside-down saucer). Those are functional buildings with chambers for those branches of government.


We now proceed to the Itamaraty Palace (Palácio do Itamaraty), which houses the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Bruno Giorgi designed the marble sculpture “Meteor” in the reflecting pool.


Finally, we reach the National Cathedral. In the daytime photo, you can see the 66-foot (20-m) tall bell tower. The nighttime image shows the four Evangelist statues created by sculptors Alfredo Ceschiatti and Dante Croce. Each bronze statue is 9.8 ft (3 m) tall.


All the main buildings in Brasília are the brainchild of renowned Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer (Dec. 15, 1907 – Dec. 5, 2012, Rio de Janeiro). For more photos and information about Brasília, visit the links here.

I hope you enjoyed last week’s challenge. Ann-Christine gave us plenty to think about when using quotes along with our photos. Next week, I will host a new challenge: “Warm Colors.” Please leave a comment on Sofia’s original challenge post, and make sure you use the hashtag “lens-artists” in your post. We look forward to your joining this and future challenges. Please see this page to learn more about the Lens-Artists Challenge and its history.

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58 Responses

  1. restlessjo
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    These are great! I’m rubbish at night time photos.

  2. Brad
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    Those are very interesting buildings and good photos that contrast day and night. Kudos Edigio.

  3. JohnRH
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    WOW. Great comparisons Egidio. Very well done. 👏

  4. robert heft
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    hello egidio,

    a wonderful and interesting mix of architecture that you have chosen for the challenge i like them all,
    especially the 1st and 5th, i like the perspective.

    best regards robert

  5. Tra Italia e Finlandia
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    Bei gioielli architettonici. Grazie per la condivisione.
    (Mi ricordo quando è morto Oscar Niemeyer.)

  6. Tina Schell
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    A marvelous view of day and night Egidio. I was stunned by the beautiful architecture which is equally spectacular at both times. They have surely mastered the art of lighting to perfection. Your images came alive with your updating technology – well done!

  7. Egídio Leitão
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    Thank you for the kind words, Brad. Have a good weekend!

  8. Egídio Leitão
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    So glad you liked them, John. Thank you.

  9. Egídio Leitão
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    Robert, thank you for your feedback.

  10. Egídio Leitão
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    Il piacere è tutto mio. Grazie per il commento.

  11. Egídio Leitão
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    Tina, I am so thankful for your feedback. I was going to include another image, but the “restoration” process was not good. I agree about the lighting. They created it to enhance the building’s view at night. It’s a marvel indeed. Thanks for your comments.

  12. Alison
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    You’ve done a brilliant job rescuing those photos. How amazing that they all look so different during the night. Great selection

  13. Egídio Leitão
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    Alison, I do appreciate the feedback. Much gratitude!

  14. Egídio Leitão
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    I think I lucked out on those shots. As I often tell friends, I don’t do night or astrophotography. Thank you for the feedback.

  15. Wind Kisses
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    What a great idea for tackling the challenge, Egidio. And fantastic images of the “rescues”. It is amazing what we can do with old photos now. I especially loved the National Cathedral.

  16. Anne Sandler
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    What a great take on this challenge Egidio. I liked that you showed us the same buildings as viewed in daylight and at night. The architecture is stunning. I will say that I’m partial to the night images because of the way the buildings are lit. Just beautiful!

  17. Sofia Alves
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    A photographer’s dream, Egídio! For someone that doesn’t do night photography, you’re doing rather well 😀
    I love the way you organised your photos in pairs. The architecture is obviously amazing but you had a great eye for how to capture it.

  18. Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
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    Great photos, I have to say the night shots speak to me more, the beautiful sharp photos, I really like the last one it’s like a crown rising up

  19. Teresa
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    Good job with your collection of night and day shots.

  20. Yanti
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    Great day and night photos, Egidio! The magic of accentual lighting 😍😍

  21. photobyjohnbo
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    I would have loved to spend time in this beautiful city, Egidio! My time in Brazil was short and confined to coastal cities.

    Nice work on the day and night photos. I will have trouble finding similar perspectives at different times of the day. Great response to the challenge!

  22. solaner
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    great selection, Egídio. Initially I had the same idea for this challenge and put day and night images of the same subject side by side. But, I decided otherwise. When I was kid, I was very astonished about what’s possible with concrete when I saw images of Brasilia. So, thanks for sharing your view! 👍👍👍

  23. Dan
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    Brasilia is truly unique. A city without traffic lights. A brilliant design. I was there 30 years ago.

  24. Shelley@QuaintRevival.com
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    Excellent choices! Your photos revived nicely, and they feature how a well-designed space is intriguing to our eyes both by day and by night. Well done!

  25. Egídio Leitão
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    Donna, thank you for the comment. I’m glad you liked my take for the challenge.

  26. Egídio Leitão
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    Anne, many thanks for the feedback. I was glad I was able to find similar photos of the same location. Brasília’s architecture is impressive. Everything was planned from the moment the government decided to build the city. I’m sure the lighting was part of the deal.

  27. Egídio Leitão
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    I’d love to return to Brasília with a better camera and knowing what I know now. It is a photographer’s dream city if you like architecture.

  28. Egídio Leitão
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    Ritva, thanks for your kind words and feedback.

  29. Egídio Leitão
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    Thank you very much, Teresa. I appreciate your words.

  30. Egídio Leitão
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    Yanti, many thanks. I’m glad you liked the photos.

  31. Egídio Leitão
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    John, thanks for your feedback. Yes, I must admit I was lucky to have taken similar shots. I was not thinking about that when I was in Brasília 19 years ago.

  32. Egídio Leitão
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    André, I’m pleased you liked the selections. The city’s architecture was really advanced when the city was built from scratch. Thank you for the feedback.

  33. Egídio Leitão
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    Dan, I used to think the city did not have traffic lights. Actually, the planned portion remains true to the initial plan. Cities merge into others using traffic circles. It’s fascinating. Thanks for your kind words and feedback.

  34. Egídio Leitão
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    I’m so glad you liked the gallery. It is a fascinating city. Thanks for the compliment and comments.

  35. Amy
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    Remarkable photos of these architecture, Egidio! Thank you for the fabulous tour of day and night!

  36. Egídio Leitão
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    Amy, I’m so glad you enjoyed the tour. Thank you.

  37. pattimoed
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    Terrific post, Egidio. I thought of organizing my post this way, but I didn’t have enough day/night pairs of images. You’ve shown us beautiful examples at both times of day. Wonderful images! I love the contrast. Most of the time, I enjoyed the night image as much or more than the day.

  38. Shelley@QuaintRevival.com
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    You’re welcome!

  39. Egídio Leitão
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    Patti, thanks for the feedback. Like you, I also ended up liking the nighttime images better. I think I need to remember that whenever I travel to other places.

  40. 100 Country Trek
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    Thanks for sharing this idea Anita

  41. Egídio Leitão
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    Thank you for your comment.

  42. Leya
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    Well, you managed excellently to find both day and night images of the same place! I tried to organize my post the same way, but hade to give up finding photos for it.
    And the restoration you did went perfect. I remember as a child beeing fascinated by pictures of buildings in Brasilia. Extravagant architechture. So glad you chose pictures from your capital.

  43. Philo
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    Fab collection!
    Love the night clicks and the lighting!

  44. Egídio Leitão
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    Ann-Christine, I was not sure I would be able to do that. I certainly was not thinking about it when I made those photos almost twenty years ago. Thank you so much for your kind words and feedback.

  45. Egídio Leitão
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    Philo, the night shots are my favorite, too. Thank you.

  46. pattimoed
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    Me, too.

  47. Archer
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    oh wow, that Itamarany night shot is absolutely gorgeous. the grand scale and warm colors give out such an engaging presence.

    it must have been a joy to take these shots at both times of the day. thank you sharing these Egidio!

    Archer

  48. Inside the Mind of Isadora
    |

    Thanks for showcasing the image in the day and then at night.
    I never thought of doing the same photo that way. I learned something.
    I enjoyed seeing your choices. It looks like there are many wonderful
    plcaes to visit.

  49. tgeriatrix
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    I liked your examples of day and night. I also like the achitecture. For sure, I will join next week.

  50. Egídio Leitão
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    Archer, many thanks for your compliment and feedback. Itamaraty is indeed a beautiful building. I must confess that it had been my intention to capture both day and night. I just happened to be in the area at both times of the day.

  51. Egídio Leitão
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    Thank you so much for your comments. I appreciated them. I’ll be looking forward to your post next week, too.

  52. Egídio Leitão
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    Isadora, thank you very much for your kind words and feedback.

  53. PR
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    Lovely to see the comparisons, Egidio

  54. Egídio Leitão
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    I’m glad you liked them, PR. Thank you.

  55. 100 Country Trek
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    Thanks

  56. Egídio Leitão
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    Thanks for stopping by, Anita.

  57. SoyBend
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    Great pictures showing those places in daylight and at nighttime!

  58. Egídio Leitão
    |

    Thank you for the compliment, Siobhan.

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