The World Below

[Pete Askew]

Excavations below the new Acropolis Museum in Athens as viewed through the glass floor.

Leica M9 + 35 mm Leica Summilux M f1:1.4. ISO 160, 1/60s at f1:4. PP in LR / Nik ColorFX 4.

 

[Glenn Clabo]

Interesting shot Pete.
I lived in Greece for 3 years in mid 70's. I don't remember a glass floor. I have to dig up some old slides...we could see the Acropolis from our apartment balcony.

 

[Pete Askew]

This museum wasn't there then Glenn, it's the new one. Very impressive it is too. I went there a few years back just after it first opened and again last week.

http://www.theacropolismuseum.gr/en

Whereabouts in Athens were you living?

 

[Glenn Clabo]

This museum wasn't there then Glenn, it's the new one. Very impressive it is too. I went there a few years back just after it first opened and again last week.
http://www.theacropolismuseum.gr/en
Whereabouts in Athens were you living?

Nice...thanks for the link Pete.

Actually we lived outside of Athens in Neon Faliron. Out by the soccer stadium. The Acropolis was 3-4 miles away...but you could see it clearly...especially at night. Besides the fact that we had our car blown up ...we really enjoyed living there. We lived with a Greek family so it was a real educational experience.

 

[Brian Moore]

Interesting, Pete. I'd love to have some idea of the scale of what the picture shows. Its impossible to tell.

 

[Paul Lange]

The dots make it seem like some sort of Time Team survey and I like the way they make my eyes wrestle with the depth in the image, I know it has some depth but I keep seeing it as flat.

Who would have thought they had electric cables in those days!

 

[Rob MacKillop]

You shouldn't have given it away so quickly, Pete. Let us guess a little, next time. It's a cracking shot, though! Very surreal - looking at the past from above, through a dotted glass floor. Very weird.

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Love the layering and the tricks this plays with image depth

 

[Pete Askew]

Thanks all. I included my shoes deliberately in the original shot but cropped them out in PP (as it seemed too obvious) and I nearly posted it without an explanation.

It is actually several metres from the glass floor to the excavation and I guess the dots are there to make it a bit less disconcerting. They do look like reference marks though. There is a similar floor at the top of the museum over the atrium. However, they have added opaque areas to each side to provide modesty to ladies wearing skirts (which Ina was rather pleased about!).

Who would have thought they had electric cables in those days!

A little known fact, but indeed they did. Sadly it look another couple of thousand years for someone to work out how to generate electricity!

 

[Beth Carter]

the glass floor sounds interesting. i seem to remember the ancient egyptians had electricity and lightbulbs too. i like the little dots.

 

[Aldous Lau]

Interesting shot Pete

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Took me all night to think of this...

Apparently the macho Greeks also invented the glass ceiling...

 

[Pete Askew]

One of the interesting things about planning in Greece is that if your property has ancient components either in or under you are obliged to display them so glass panels in floors and exposed stone-work are quite common in Athens.