Monasteries of Bucovina,  are considered another jewel of Romania, I have once explored in my own way by taking on foot those winding roads, sleeping in a tent and sometimes,  in the guest rooms of the hermitages or monasteries. For about 2 weeks, I was fully immersed in monastic life, full of life lessons. I don’t know if in the nowadays tourist world this is still possible … back then, it was just before the aggressive industrialization of tourism.

When I took this picture it was completely different: The whole experience it could be called something like… “tourist circuit by car”. That is, you get in the car, you get to various places when fate and traffic allows you, you get in with hundreds of other similar “tourists” and try to check off all the must-see list from that place, possibly following the guides of all kinds, previously checked and browsed.

Good, okay! and if you happen to be a photographer you would like to take some pictures. And so, you try to find a few quiet moments in all this hustle and bustle to eventually catch a little of the spirit of the place. It’s not easy! Not at all!

Before I got here, I was thinking about what I could photograph. Among other things, I wished I could get an overview picture of the monastery. In order to get such shots one needs to prepare extensively. This involves studying the place at different times of the day to familiarize yourself with the lights and shadows of the place. Also, exploring the surroundings is extremely important to try to display the building in the place to which it belongs. During the fast circuits by car, in most of the cases you do not have time for such “philosophical” preparations. But, in fact, these are the ones that make a good photographer and not necessarily the number of pixels and the weight of the camera and possibly the length of the lens.

So, under those given conditions, I took pictures of the whole building despite the existing tourist restlessness and the lack of time to apply techniques that can get rid of the crowd at the moment of photography. However, I was not fully satisfied! The result was not what I was looking for.

What was I supposed to do? And then, I applied a often life-saving strategy: the detail. I thought, if it  doesn’t work with the whole display let’s see what we can discover if I get closer.

Probably because of my general agitation in search for the best shot, obviously  visible from the outside, at one point a nun approaches me and we started talking.

Wall detail at Voronet Monastery, Bucovina, Romania.

Among other things, she describes to me a very nice small window on one of the famous blue walls of the monastery. And she emphasized how important that slit – window was in the life of the traditional Voroneț Monastery. Like any other window, this one was also a source of light. Through it, light penetrated the cool and calm interior of the traditional monastery. And the way the light entered was not surprisingly different depending on the season, weather and the moment of the day. And in this way, the light actually “organizes” the monastic program of the nuns and their prayer.

With the help of the nun and her story I have made this image; in the end, it seemed for me to be more illustrative than all the overview pictures taken until then.

Of course, an even more representative image would have been from inside the monastery, capturing all the shades and light effects,  but the moment did not allow such thing, because inside it was still …crowded … a hustle that twisted even the light that brings magical vibes…

On the other hand, this is a useful image for a travel guide. The famous painted wall looks great with religious scenes against the famous “blue of Voroneț” background . The place of the slit-window creates the kind of visual poetry, which for those open to spiritual light can represent something  special. For me … and for you who are reading now … the image is actually the story of the nun who talked to me while I was being worried that I may never get a proper shot.