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The bay and city arch of Vlora
At Vlora the coastline draws a wide arc. The blue of the bay takes up almost as much space in the aerial photo as the built-up shore. Behind it, the slopes rise and explain why the city stretches along the water for such a long distance.
The coastal arch as a guideline
The wide, curved bay gives Vlora a different layout than a harbor with straight basins. In the further view you can see the city as a coastal band. When you look up close, you notice how differently densely built up the individual sections are right up to the water.
The two sides of a bay do not have to take up the same amount of space in an aerial photo. Often the closer headland obscures part of the opposite bank. A higher view opens up the space in between and shows the transition to open water. This makes a second view particularly valuable for depicting the location. While one image explains the location on the coast, the other can show the sheltered interior area, where the course of the shore and the use of the land are more clearly visible.
The coastline as orientation
From land the first thing you notice is the open water. In an aerial view, the process can be reversed and the coast can be seen from the sea. Wherever it changes direction, small protected spaces are created. Other sections extend almost straight to the edge of the picture. When selecting a motif, it is worth comparing these transitions with each other. A single, striking rocky outcrop can identify a location more clearly than a much larger expanse of water with only light and waves visible.
What the roofs reveal about the floor plan
A city center can often be read by its roofs. Where narrow gables are close together, the street space is also divided into short sections. A large, connected building interrupts this sequence. In the aerial photo you can follow the direction of an alley from such an interruption. For an illustration in a smaller format, a section with just a few easily distinguishable roof groups is worthwhile. In a large print, however, the spaces and small changes in direction are allowed to keep their place.
The distribution of blue tones
To switch between two of the 4 aerial photos, shot 4 and shot 3 can be called up directly in the gallery. In the first excerpt, shades of blue play a smaller role. In the second shot, blue areas take up more space. Blue can extend over a large contiguous area or only appear in individual parts. What also counts for the effect is whether these areas extend to the edge of the picture or surround the main subject.
Shot 1 and Shot 4 are among the views from September 23, 2021. According to the camera's time information, there is about a minute between the two images. ISO 100 and an exposure time of 1/800 second are recorded for both files.
Select the coastal view for a photo series
In a coastal view, water is both a motif and an open space. Whether a large piece of sea remains in the picture depends on the story. When reporting on the shoreline, it holds different landforms together. For a portrait of a coastal town, the development may need more space. An aerial photographer can take this difference into account when choosing the angle of the image. When publishing, it's worth taking a final look at the final format so that a headland or riverside path at the edge isn't accidentally cut off.
Related motifs in the aerial photo archive
Two additional views can be used in the archive for comparison. The first can be found under Saranda. In Saranda, the buildings move up the slope from the water in several stages. The second belongs to the article Durres. In Durrës, long piers reach out into the Adriatic.